A review by eclectictales
The Sunken Cathedral by Kate Walbert
1.0
I won an ARC of this book via the GoodReads First Reads programme. This review in its entirety was originally posted at eclectictales.com: http://www.eclectictales.com/blog/2015/06/01/review-the-sunken-cathedral/
Unfortunately, I didn’t really feel for the story. The first few pages were disconcerting, but I thought it just took some getting used to, getting a feel of the storytelling and slipping into the lives of these characters. But about a third into the story, I wasn’t feeling for anything at all–the story, the characters, even the setting. Everything about this novel just felt so disconnected. The characters felt remote, between me and them, and even between each other.
There are a few moments of lovely prose here and there and fleeting moments that the characters experience. Unfortunately these touch-and-go moments aren’t really grounded in anything to keep the reader going (in this case, the characters, or even something sembling a plot). I was really expecting something more about this book based on the premise, something more introspective than the vagueness that I read. Maybe other readers will get more out of this novel, but it just didn’t work for me.
Unfortunately, I didn’t really feel for the story. The first few pages were disconcerting, but I thought it just took some getting used to, getting a feel of the storytelling and slipping into the lives of these characters. But about a third into the story, I wasn’t feeling for anything at all–the story, the characters, even the setting. Everything about this novel just felt so disconnected. The characters felt remote, between me and them, and even between each other.
There are a few moments of lovely prose here and there and fleeting moments that the characters experience. Unfortunately these touch-and-go moments aren’t really grounded in anything to keep the reader going (in this case, the characters, or even something sembling a plot). I was really expecting something more about this book based on the premise, something more introspective than the vagueness that I read. Maybe other readers will get more out of this novel, but it just didn’t work for me.