This book was a slow burn for me. It took me more chapters than usual to work out the characters and get into in, but eventually I did and enjoyed it. There’s some lovely evocative description of places and times in history, and familiar people. The characters are a bit 2-dimensional at times, and it feels like it could be a bit shorter, but on balance I’d recommend it. I finished it with a nagging doubt that I’d missed something, and would have appreciated a bit of context from the author about where the idea came from and give it relates to his own experiences.
There’s a slightly unbelievable element to the story about the extent of a family breakdown accepted by mother and daughter, and the rich friend is a bit of a caricature, but the coming of age elements are more believable and interesting. I liked the inserts of memoirs giving different perspectives on the events.
There’s a slightly unbelievable element to the story about the extent of a family breakdown accepted by mother and daughter, and the rich friend is a bit of a caricature, but the coming of age elements are more believable and interesting. I liked the inserts of memoirs giving different perspectives on the events.