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nicole_schmid's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
[read in the German translation]
This book is so slow. Nothing happens for ages, and when something does happen, it is negligible. As soon as both cousins are introduced and their appearances explained, the twist becomes quite obvious, though you still have to drag yourself through hundreds of pages to reach it. The main character is uninteresting, though his philosophical conversations with Ella give just enough of a hint that that could change that I clung to that hope.
I thought it was gutsy to add a gay character for a book of its time, but feared his treatment. Somehow, the resolution to his pure innocent love was even than worse I'd expected!
James' descent into being a man stuck in an abusive relatioship he is unaware of is, on the other hand, so rushed it seems unreal. Maybe rushed is the wrong word - glossed over, treated in a few paragraphs like some personal weakness, not something that could happen to anyone. Though inspiring in that the abuser is female and the abused is male, showing that that's thing too, unfortunately, no time is spent on it to the point of it basically only explaining why the fifty years of his life post-Ella are put into a handful of chapters.
It also becomes repetitive after a while. Yes, we know that you regret your actions now. Yes, we know that you would change the past if you could. Yes, we know that this could have been the moment to save you all. Yes, we know that you are old and your memory is weak and weird. Do you really need to repeat it every chapter? We've got the idea by now!
I also disagree with his decision not to unveil Sarah's crime. Maybe I've watched too many detective stories, but I'd like to believe that truth and justice come out in the end, even if only in fiction.
This book is so slow. Nothing happens for ages, and when something does happen, it is negligible. As soon as both cousins are introduced and their appearances explained, the twist becomes quite obvious, though you still have to drag yourself through hundreds of pages to reach it. The main character is uninteresting, though his philosophical conversations with Ella give just enough of a hint that that could change that I clung to that hope.
I thought it was gutsy to add a gay character for a book of its time, but feared his treatment. Somehow, the resolution to his pure innocent love was even than worse I'd expected!
James' descent into being a man stuck in an abusive relatioship he is unaware of is, on the other hand, so rushed it seems unreal. Maybe rushed is the wrong word - glossed over, treated in a few paragraphs like some personal weakness, not something that could happen to anyone. Though inspiring in that the abuser is female and the abused is male, showing that that's thing too, unfortunately, no time is spent on it to the point of it basically only explaining why the fifty years of his life post-Ella are put into a handful of chapters.
It also becomes repetitive after a while. Yes, we know that you regret your actions now. Yes, we know that you would change the past if you could. Yes, we know that this could have been the moment to save you all. Yes, we know that you are old and your memory is weak and weird. Do you really need to repeat it every chapter? We've got the idea by now!
I also disagree with his decision not to unveil Sarah's crime. Maybe I've watched too many detective stories, but I'd like to believe that truth and justice come out in the end, even if only in fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Confinement, Car accident, and Death of parent