A review by suprconman99
Appointment in Samarra by John O'Hara
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A slow burn that becomes increasingly compulsively readable as the story progresses, thanks to O’Hara’s incredibly tight, snappy writing and absorbing dialogue and characterization.
Part character study, part condemnation of the self-absorbed small town elite in Prohibition-era America, who ruin their own and each other’s lives with reckless abandon. And an eerie look at how one seemingly insignificant lapse of judgment can trigger a catastrophic series of events that sends an already discontented person over the edge. The moments when we, the reader, sympathize with Julian’s most self-destructive impulses are the moments when O’Hara shows us how we, too, feel stifled in our day-to-day lives by the constraints of superficial “polite” society.
Part character study, part condemnation of the self-absorbed small town elite in Prohibition-era America, who ruin their own and each other’s lives with reckless abandon. And an eerie look at how one seemingly insignificant lapse of judgment can trigger a catastrophic series of events that sends an already discontented person over the edge. The moments when we, the reader, sympathize with Julian’s most self-destructive impulses are the moments when O’Hara shows us how we, too, feel stifled in our day-to-day lives by the constraints of superficial “polite” society.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Minor: Infidelity