An interesting read overall, but one that didn’t quite manage to stick the landing.
Without giving any spoilers, the structure of the book does make moAn interesting read overall, but one that didn’t quite manage to stick the landing.
Without giving any spoilers, the structure of the book does make more sense as the novel goes along, but it’s the twist at the end which doesn’t seem to “gel� with most of the previous 390 pages. The whole book may broadly be characterized as an extreme example of an unreliable narrator.
I was sort of surprised to see some reviewers here claiming the book was slow to get going, because the beginning was the most compulsively readable part to me; I went through the first 50 pages in a single sitting because there were enough little hooks dangled by Darnielle implying that there was more to this story than met the eye. The book’s pace slowed when it reached the first perspective-change chapter (readers who hate second-person narration are going to have problems with this book), and it never quite recovered.
This isn’t really a “crime� book or a “horror� book—it’s more interesting and less straightforward than that, but it was perhaps too ambitious in its scope for the ending to be anything other than moderately disappointing.
Edit: I’m dropping this review another star after learning what I had charitably assumed was hamfisted political propagandizing on behalf of a character was actually hamfisted political propagandizing on the part of John Darnielle. After learning what political “lesson� he thought he was imparting with the story, I can say that not only was it obnoxious, but that he failed spectacularly at it. But some of the book was still an enjoyable read, so I’ll leave it at two stars....more
**spoiler alert** Felt like I had to give this a shot as a local—there are not a lot of books about places I have lived—but was let down. A dreadful, **spoiler alert** Felt like I had to give this a shot as a local—there are not a lot of books about places I have lived—but was let down. A dreadful, pointless book, trying very hard to be funny and folksy, and failing miserably. The book is peopled by a number of flat, dull characters who are difficult to care about, and the incidents that make up the narrative are similarly uninteresting, mostly consisting of explosives, animals, and whimsical contests, feeble attempts to mimic tall tales. Even if it’s partially based on true events in the history of Cleveland and Ohio City, the fictional inventions are so absurd and annoying that it’s not worth the effort to try to separate the two.
I listened to the audiobook; the best thing I can say about it is that the narrator at least learned how to pronounce “Cuyahoga�, though he butchers both “Wooster� and “Medina�.
Cleveland has enough problems to deal with already without bad novels adding to its miseries. (Oh, and the Cuyahoga catches on fire late in the book, because of course it does.)...more
Promising concept, incredibly dry execution. Most of it felt like a regurgitation of facts gleaned from a biography (or related primary sources); lotsPromising concept, incredibly dry execution. Most of it felt like a regurgitation of facts gleaned from a biography (or related primary sources); lots of names, dates, places, but little that transforms the facts of the case into a work of art. All I really got from the novel was a desire to return to the poems of Hopkins, and to seek out nonfiction works on him which would help me get a fuller understanding of his life and his thoughts. I felt sorry for the poor nuns, but seeing them transformed into a set of stereotypical archetypes in the absence of more information on their lives or fuller knowledge of their personalities does them no favors either....more
**spoiler alert** The basic idea of the plot seemed interesting, but there wasn’t really any payoff in the novel itself. It was unbelievably slow movi**spoiler alert** The basic idea of the plot seemed interesting, but there wasn’t really any payoff in the novel itself. It was unbelievably slow moving (almost nothing happens in the first 100 pages), characters were bland and uninteresting, their motivations were nonsensical or nonexistent, and even the multiple worlds themselves feel essentially hollow. Lots of exposition, but little engagement. The writing was bland as well. There are a number of things set up within the book which are obvious pieces of sequel bait (Kell’s amnesia about his origins, claims that Lila has magic potential and the fact that she’s missing an eye make me suspect she’ll turn out to be Antari or something, etc.), but I’m not really engaged enough to want to read the next two books, as I sort of doubt they’ll be written any better than this one was....more
Some bits were amusing, some provoked eyerolls. A slight book with slightly overblown pretentions, but then again, since it was originally intended toSome bits were amusing, some provoked eyerolls. A slight book with slightly overblown pretentions, but then again, since it was originally intended to be a bunch of short public radio segments, it may have worked better in that context....more
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