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A review by jayda_lily
Argylle by Elly Conway
2.0
Conway got so caught in making this cinematic, I'd wager on account of the way it fits into the new movie, chopping between multiple perspectives without conviction from any of them, that the book fails to convey any feeling or purpose at all. Instead of using the perspectives' of the antagonists to heighten the stakes or strengthen the protagonists cause, they're just there so that we, as readers, all know what is happening. Except for that one convenient time where we are left in the dark that just so happens to tie in to the plot twist.
Aside from the erratic choices of perspective, and my personal aversion to third person omniscient narration and the present tense, the writing itself was clunky and hard to comprehend. For "an excellent action-thriller", (Daily Telegraph), there were many a sentence requiring the brainpower expected to decipher a literary classic or a research paper. Everything was described in so much detail that I lost track of what was being described in the first place and the use of repetition became irritating rather than a tool. It was as though Conway had heard about repeating important information 3 times for it to be remembered and ran with it. And, for those wondering, no, that does not mean repeat the same thing the same way, (bar maybe the use of a thesaurus if we're lucky), 3 times in the same chapter because it leads to something important at the end of it.
There were also just some wacky descriptions of characters that seemed extremely unnecessary, most notably, "Her surgically lifted breasts hover in front of her chest like a toddler's strapped-on flotation device." Or the fact that every time said character was mentioned, so was some form of cosmetic alteration that she possessed, because we must know that she is fake or less than every other woman in the novel despite the very powerful and influential woman that she is.
Unfortunately every character suffered from the detachment caused by the writing style. Even though we got to see the story unfold from so many of their perspectives, I believe each one and the plot would have been so much stronger if Conway stuck to one point to get across, one persons view to focus on. Or even just splitting the perspectives strictly into chapters, which isn't uncommon, to give more purpose and responsibility to each perspective.
The plot had potential. The characters are interesting. The concept of this book existing in a movie based on a fourth book that doesn't yet exist is innovative and what drew me in in the first place. However, the lack of utilisation of the medium of the novel lets every thing aforementioned down and leaves a forgettable tangle of almost-there-ideas.
Aside from the erratic choices of perspective, and my personal aversion to third person omniscient narration and the present tense, the writing itself was clunky and hard to comprehend. For "an excellent action-thriller", (Daily Telegraph), there were many a sentence requiring the brainpower expected to decipher a literary classic or a research paper. Everything was described in so much detail that I lost track of what was being described in the first place and the use of repetition became irritating rather than a tool. It was as though Conway had heard about repeating important information 3 times for it to be remembered and ran with it. And, for those wondering, no, that does not mean repeat the same thing the same way, (bar maybe the use of a thesaurus if we're lucky), 3 times in the same chapter because it leads to something important at the end of it.
There were also just some wacky descriptions of characters that seemed extremely unnecessary, most notably, "Her surgically lifted breasts hover in front of her chest like a toddler's strapped-on flotation device." Or the fact that every time said character was mentioned, so was some form of cosmetic alteration that she possessed, because we must know that she is fake or less than every other woman in the novel despite the very powerful and influential woman that she is.
Unfortunately every character suffered from the detachment caused by the writing style. Even though we got to see the story unfold from so many of their perspectives, I believe each one and the plot would have been so much stronger if Conway stuck to one point to get across, one persons view to focus on. Or even just splitting the perspectives strictly into chapters, which isn't uncommon, to give more purpose and responsibility to each perspective.
The plot had potential. The characters are interesting. The concept of this book existing in a movie based on a fourth book that doesn't yet exist is innovative and what drew me in in the first place. However, the lack of utilisation of the medium of the novel lets every thing aforementioned down and leaves a forgettable tangle of almost-there-ideas.