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A review by eala_said
Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
What on earth did I just read? No seriously. Wtf. I went a bit up and down with this book, but over all I'd say it was a miss.
I found the structure really hard to get into because the chapters are really bitty, with some of the characters intentionally really incoherent because they're on drugs (Flora and William in particular). It's a choice I didn't like as opposed to lack of talent I suppose, do with that what you will.
Mostly I didn't get the point of this book (maybe it's just gone over my head idk), but the plot arc I found pretty boring and unfulfilling. There were some interesting characters and points, just overall I think that they could've been better articulated, or even gone more in depth with them. I didn't find any of the characters particularly inspiring except for maybe John (William's lover), which I did find a nice way to begin discussing asexuality, especially from within the gay community (would've like to see more than just like a couple paragraphs on this though, could also be described as having been written is as an afterthought). Most of the plot could probably be described as an afterthought tbh, because barely any of it is consequential, even to the sub-plots. I also couldn't get over the idea that these people are making a bit of a leap to connect their circumstance to the building, particularly in the earlier chapters. Like yeah *we* know that, but why does Levi think it's No. 10, and not the High street, or the city, or the country, or his flat in particular instead of the whole building.
I found the structure really hard to get into because the chapters are really bitty, with some of the characters intentionally really incoherent because they're on drugs (Flora and William in particular). It's a choice I didn't like as opposed to lack of talent I suppose, do with that what you will.
Mostly I didn't get the point of this book (maybe it's just gone over my head idk), but the plot arc I found pretty boring and unfulfilling. There were some interesting characters and points, just overall I think that they could've been better articulated, or even gone more in depth with them. I didn't find any of the characters particularly inspiring except for maybe John (William's lover), which I did find a nice way to begin discussing asexuality, especially from within the gay community (would've like to see more than just like a couple paragraphs on this though, could also be described as having been written is as an afterthought). Most of the plot could probably be described as an afterthought tbh, because barely any of it is consequential, even to the sub-plots. I also couldn't get over the idea that these people are making a bit of a leap to connect their circumstance to the building, particularly in the earlier chapters. Like yeah *we* know that, but why does Levi think it's No. 10, and not the High street, or the city, or the country, or his flat in particular instead of the whole building.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail