David
Irritatingly overwritten. There’s a superfluity of detail but no depth. For example:
“Richard, unsure what to say, studied the beige-knotted carpet in Ben’s study with great intensity. His eyes wandered to the kelim rug under Ben’s desk, woven with a repetitive triangular pattern in reds and browns.”
Without losing anything, that could have been written as:
“Richard, unsure what to say, stared at the floor.”
There’s a lot more like that throughout the whole book. It’s flabby and dull. Endless cataloguing of superficial “colour” passing as insight.
Underneath the terrible writing is a moderately engaging story about politics, class war and revenge, but it feels almost like a parody of stuff we’ve read many times before. And none of the characters are at all likeable.
I’ve not read any Elizabeth Day before. Apparently this is a sequel to an earlier novel. I won’t be rushing to read that one.
Irritatingly overwritten. There’s a superfluity of detail but no depth. For example:
“Richard, unsure what to say, studied the beige-knotted carpet in Ben’s study with great intensity. His eyes wandered to the kelim rug under Ben’s desk, woven with a repetitive triangular pattern in reds and browns.”
Without losing anything, that could have been written as:
“Richard, unsure what to say, stared at the floor.”
There’s a lot more like that throughout the whole book. It’s flabby and dull. Endless cataloguing of superficial “colour” passing as insight.
Underneath the terrible writing is a moderately engaging story about politics, class war and revenge, but it feels almost like a parody of stuff we’ve read many times before. And none of the characters are at all likeable.
I’ve not read any Elizabeth Day before. Apparently this is a sequel to an earlier novel. I won’t be rushing to read that one.