Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

I am finding it difficult to rate and review ‘Edinburgh� as there were some parts that I thought quite excellent and others that did not work for me. The darker aspects of the novel were handled well, with most implied rather than graphic; the focus was on the after effects on the characters. It was very effective. I thought the incorporation of Korean mythology was a lovely addition to the story and I loved the connection between Fee and his grandfather. I felt that the scenes with Fee’s family, friends and first employer added more to the story than most of the later scenes during the college time period.

However, the second half of the novel did not maintain the same depth and focus as the first. The third section needed a lot more development if it was going to be included at all, in my opinion. (view spoiler)[At first I thought Warden’s frequent sickness was from learning about his father, but then it was stated it was because of his love obsession with Fee. A crush, sure, but obsession to the point of spying, getting sick over and then finally the extremes to manipulate Fee into being with him? Where did that come from? (hide spoiler)] The fourth section too, I no longer felt connected with what Fee was thinking and experiencing and there were clearly important developments here. There were some odd coincidental or things unconnected to the main story that I felt distracted rather than added to it. (view spoiler)[The odd developments with Penny underscored for me that I didn’t care for how the female characters were written, as they felt more like archetypes to me and somehow all of them end up having kids. More central to the story, I understand having Eric die in a fire for thematic purposes but maybe that should have come about in a different way. As it was, I feel like Warden implicated Fee, if law enforcement were to look into it at all. (hide spoiler)] The last scenes, the ending, was lovely, and hopeful. I think I would have enjoyed the book more if the second half had focused on these themes, or been longer to give full weight and development to other elements introduced.