A review by kalkie
The Bookshop That Floated Away by Sarah Henshaw
1.0
This book has sat on Mt. TBR for a fair while now. It was bought as a gift for me and looked good from the blurb on the back, but unfortunately the execution of the book was a disappointment.
Henshaw herself says at the beginning that there are very few characters that are constant through the book. Pretty much just Sarah herself, Joseph the boat, and a few people who pop in and out such as her on-off boyfriend Stu and her parents. This gives the book a very disjointed feel as people appear for one chapter, only to disappear again. It's almost like a series of short stories - yet hasn't been written like a short story, so it's ultimately unsatisfying.
Henshaw's writing is also all over the place with some events hinted at, while other seem to appear from nowhere, leaving the reader wondering what they've missed. In parts it almost feels like a diatribe against the kindle, which is understandable (she also appears to be equally against Scottish banknotes, which is less so!) but it does get a bit much. She also comes across as someone with very little business nous, which makes the whole commercial aspect of the book barge very questionable to say the least. Ultimately it appears that without parents and her aforementioned on-again/off-again boyfriend to shore up the finances, the venture would have folded very quickly (or possibly not got off the ground at all).
I also skipped Part 2 completely as that was a fictional account of the book barge's life, written in the first person. It was just odd!
Overall she comes across as impulsive and privileged to have people who can shore up the financial aspect of something which is nothing more than a flight of fancy. This one just wasn't for me.
This review was originally posted on Babs' Bookshelf
Henshaw herself says at the beginning that there are very few characters that are constant through the book. Pretty much just Sarah herself, Joseph the boat, and a few people who pop in and out such as her on-off boyfriend Stu and her parents. This gives the book a very disjointed feel as people appear for one chapter, only to disappear again. It's almost like a series of short stories - yet hasn't been written like a short story, so it's ultimately unsatisfying.
Henshaw's writing is also all over the place with some events hinted at, while other seem to appear from nowhere, leaving the reader wondering what they've missed. In parts it almost feels like a diatribe against the kindle, which is understandable (she also appears to be equally against Scottish banknotes, which is less so!) but it does get a bit much. She also comes across as someone with very little business nous, which makes the whole commercial aspect of the book barge very questionable to say the least. Ultimately it appears that without parents and her aforementioned on-again/off-again boyfriend to shore up the finances, the venture would have folded very quickly (or possibly not got off the ground at all).
I also skipped Part 2 completely as that was a fictional account of the book barge's life, written in the first person. It was just odd!
Overall she comes across as impulsive and privileged to have people who can shore up the financial aspect of something which is nothing more than a flight of fancy. This one just wasn't for me.
This review was originally posted on Babs' Bookshelf