A review by grubstlodger
Never the Bride by Paul Magrs
1.0
This one seems pretty innocuous. It’s a quirky, cosy mystery about an old woman who runs aa B&B in Whitby. She and her friend Effie investigate mysteries in the town that all have an odd, genre-novel, twist.
The tone the book is trying to reach is a Douglas Adams-esque, fun romp full of crazy ideas and hilarious jokes but it does it in an extremely lacklustre way. There isn’t a plot as such, it’s more like a number of short stories squeezed together. The jokes almost always fall flat. Sometimes a book can feel a little unsteady at first but eventually the authorial voice comes together and you can rely on them to keep you on track for the rest of the book - this book never does that.
The authorial voice reminds me of one of those people who try and be funny by doing comedy catchphrases, or like an awkward uncle who doesn’t really know any children trying to be fun for the nieces and nephews. It’s clumsy and sad and irritating.
The most irritating part about this book (which irritated me no-end in general) was Brenda’s mysterious backstory. She’s covered in scars, she takes different size shoes, she’s extremely strong, she’s…The Bride of Frankenstein. Oh-ho, how we failed to laugh!
The tone the book is trying to reach is a Douglas Adams-esque, fun romp full of crazy ideas and hilarious jokes but it does it in an extremely lacklustre way. There isn’t a plot as such, it’s more like a number of short stories squeezed together. The jokes almost always fall flat. Sometimes a book can feel a little unsteady at first but eventually the authorial voice comes together and you can rely on them to keep you on track for the rest of the book - this book never does that.
The authorial voice reminds me of one of those people who try and be funny by doing comedy catchphrases, or like an awkward uncle who doesn’t really know any children trying to be fun for the nieces and nephews. It’s clumsy and sad and irritating.
The most irritating part about this book (which irritated me no-end in general) was Brenda’s mysterious backstory. She’s covered in scars, she takes different size shoes, she’s extremely strong, she’s…The Bride of Frankenstein. Oh-ho, how we failed to laugh!