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A review by guardtristan
Schlangenhaus by Marie-Luise Bezzenberger, Sharon Bolton
2.0
I'm finally done, and I mean FINALLY. The way the story is constructed, the way it is written is good so much is true and I have read books that made me actually put it down and never finish at all that had way less pages but:
BIG but.
I really cannot deal with the amount of cliches that are put in the storyline, be it stuff like the constant "typically male" on the first half (Starting from mentioning that the guys in this TINY LITTLE village actually try to help her catch those snakes, my god it's a TINY VILLAGE and guess what? Sometimes people just like to help other people. Sometimes without it having to do with genitals. Sometimes in TINY VILLAGES there are men that LIKE TO HELP WOMEN. She even does write the sentence "typically guys" OUT) or the even worse logical mess ups that make me cringe all few chapters (no a thin polyester rope is NOT suitable for getting someone - a grown man that weights more than the the person acting as anchor - down several feet. ESPECIALLY NOT WHEN ITS WRAPPED AROUND THE ANCHORS MIDDLE. Mother of god that would have been deathly to BOTH of them!). It also does not help that it's spiked with unnecessary page fillers, how does "Like many women I cry when I'm upset" even fit in the story? A simple "I cried out of rage" would have done the job as well and not felt as a poor attempt to connect the reader with the character... (surprise not all women cry when they are upset either). And why is it that she got not ONE but TWO love interests? I thought this story was about the snakes and the mystery behind it not "how Clara found her religious side and two hot men as side dish" but for that there is too much weight on her and those two (cliched) guys.
This book would have been more enjoyable if the story had been about the mystery and not the characters love life (it's not even "character growth" it really feels like it's ONLY about that ONE aspect).
BIG but.
I really cannot deal with the amount of cliches that are put in the storyline, be it stuff like the constant "typically male" on the first half (Starting from mentioning that the guys in this TINY LITTLE village actually try to help her catch those snakes, my god it's a TINY VILLAGE and guess what? Sometimes people just like to help other people. Sometimes without it having to do with genitals. Sometimes in TINY VILLAGES there are men that LIKE TO HELP WOMEN. She even does write the sentence "typically guys" OUT) or the even worse logical mess ups that make me cringe all few chapters (no a thin polyester rope is NOT suitable for getting someone - a grown man that weights more than the the person acting as anchor - down several feet. ESPECIALLY NOT WHEN ITS WRAPPED AROUND THE ANCHORS MIDDLE. Mother of god that would have been deathly to BOTH of them!). It also does not help that it's spiked with unnecessary page fillers, how does "Like many women I cry when I'm upset" even fit in the story? A simple "I cried out of rage" would have done the job as well and not felt as a poor attempt to connect the reader with the character... (surprise not all women cry when they are upset either). And why is it that she got not ONE but TWO love interests? I thought this story was about the snakes and the mystery behind it not "how Clara found her religious side and two hot men as side dish" but for that there is too much weight on her and those two (cliched) guys.
This book would have been more enjoyable if the story had been about the mystery and not the characters love life (it's not even "character growth" it really feels like it's ONLY about that ONE aspect).