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A review by kristenbooks
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
3.0
I have a lot of mixed feelings about this one, and idk how to describe them yet. I'm gonna have to ruminate on that a bit...
One of the biggest complaints people have about this book is about Ines being so apathetic. On one hand, I think that's a unique perspective to have-- usually MCs are very active and reactive. And IMO, that's for a good reason. Because after reading this, I appreciate her POV's uniqueness and the way it shapes the way the story unfolds... but I'm not sure I *enjoyed* reading from that POV. I want to know what's going on and to dig deeper into these mysteries and turn this into a legitimate *mystery* story... but Ines doesn't. So we never get that. That said, though, I do actually very much enjoy the very dreamy, hazy atmosphere created by her POV, and I think that's the strongest aspect of the entire book. So, like I said... mixed feelings.
I was tentative going into this, because I knew it'd been described as plotless and that a lot of people were dissatisfied by the lack of explanation. Because of this, I feel like I actually got more explanation than I expected. Sure, things are weird, and we don't totally understand everything happening, but that's ok. I like Murakami-- I'm used to this. The plotlessness, however, ties into Ines's apathy, IMO, and I feel pretty much the same about the plotlessness as I do about the apathy.
The more I try to explain this, the more I think my issue with the book boils down to this: I don't mind a meandering, pointless plot. I don't *mind* an apathetic main character. I don't mind weird things happening and never getting explained. BUT. I didn't totally *enjoy* the way those 3 elements combined together in this book, whether just because they were all combined, or because the way it was executed. I think this is probably why I sometimes am dissatisfied with Murakami novels and sometimes really enjoy them. It's a tricky balance, and the way it was executed in this one didn't work as well for me as it did for other people.
Also: I wish it had ended differently...
One of the biggest complaints people have about this book is about Ines being so apathetic. On one hand, I think that's a unique perspective to have-- usually MCs are very active and reactive. And IMO, that's for a good reason. Because after reading this, I appreciate her POV's uniqueness and the way it shapes the way the story unfolds... but I'm not sure I *enjoyed* reading from that POV. I want to know what's going on and to dig deeper into these mysteries and turn this into a legitimate *mystery* story... but Ines doesn't. So we never get that. That said, though, I do actually very much enjoy the very dreamy, hazy atmosphere created by her POV, and I think that's the strongest aspect of the entire book. So, like I said... mixed feelings.
I was tentative going into this, because I knew it'd been described as plotless and that a lot of people were dissatisfied by the lack of explanation. Because of this, I feel like I actually got more explanation than I expected. Sure, things are weird, and we don't totally understand everything happening, but that's ok. I like Murakami-- I'm used to this. The plotlessness, however, ties into Ines's apathy, IMO, and I feel pretty much the same about the plotlessness as I do about the apathy.
The more I try to explain this, the more I think my issue with the book boils down to this: I don't mind a meandering, pointless plot. I don't *mind* an apathetic main character. I don't mind weird things happening and never getting explained. BUT. I didn't totally *enjoy* the way those 3 elements combined together in this book, whether just because they were all combined, or because the way it was executed. I think this is probably why I sometimes am dissatisfied with Murakami novels and sometimes really enjoy them. It's a tricky balance, and the way it was executed in this one didn't work as well for me as it did for other people.
Also: I wish it had ended differently...