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A review by carlaabra
Slade House by David Mitchell
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Read this because I loved Cloud Atlas. This was a plot driven book, and I felt the plot was meh. Mitchell shines once again in his first person narration of different characters - that was the saving grace of the book for me. You get such a feel for the characters not through the storytelling but their inner dialogue on the page. However I feel it would’ve been a lot more enjoyable if I had read the related novels, The Bone Clocks, first. A lot of the world building principles used in this book are thrown at you with little explanation - I’m not sure if it’s *supposed* to be a mystery (at least until they dump exposition on you about 3/4 of the way through) or if you’re supposed to have already read the related novels and know.
And the repeated descriptions of the same thing happening to each character as they die (soul being sucked out etc) was boring. Way to kill what should be a tense final moment.
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Sexism
Some of the passages from the cop’s point of view were a little gross to read. Nothing acted out thankfully, it’s just his thinking about women. They’re supposed to be that way - he’s supposed to be a sexist pig - but if you don’t like that maybe skim it.