A review by berlinbibliophile
Day by A.L. Kennedy
2.0
I read this book for a uni course on contemporary Scottish literature, and that is the only reason I finished it.
The first fifty pages or so were incredibly hard work to slog through, and with the past flowing into the present, random italicization of some thoughts, and shifts back and forth to the second perspective, the author doesn't really seem to want the reader to have a good time reading her book.
Once you get used to the style of the narration, however, (and once the italicized intrusive thoughts vanish), the going gets easier, and I even felt that the book was really engaging. Kennedy is a lot better at group dynamics and interactions with other characters than at solitary stream-of-consciousness. The characters are slowly developed into rounded personalities, the reader learns more about past events, and overall it is a good read.
On the other hand, the premise and the plot fall apart at the slightest thought. The war movie setting develops more holes the longer the characters spend there, and Vasyl is a strangely constructed antagonist with a story cut short abruptly. Instead of having a proper plot, this novel just seems to have characters whom things happen to.
In the end, I was frustrated by the book and my expectations remained unfulfilled.
The first fifty pages or so were incredibly hard work to slog through, and with the past flowing into the present, random italicization of some thoughts, and shifts back and forth to the second perspective, the author doesn't really seem to want the reader to have a good time reading her book.
Once you get used to the style of the narration, however, (and once the italicized intrusive thoughts vanish), the going gets easier, and I even felt that the book was really engaging. Kennedy is a lot better at group dynamics and interactions with other characters than at solitary stream-of-consciousness. The characters are slowly developed into rounded personalities, the reader learns more about past events, and overall it is a good read.
On the other hand, the premise and the plot fall apart at the slightest thought. The war movie setting develops more holes the longer the characters spend there, and Vasyl is a strangely constructed antagonist with a story cut short abruptly. Instead of having a proper plot, this novel just seems to have characters whom things happen to.
In the end, I was frustrated by the book and my expectations remained unfulfilled.