A very unusual book. The characters were sensitively portrayed, and we saw events from multiple viewpoints, which helped understand better the various personalities. I was often shocked by Michael, who alternates between normal and charming boyish inquisitive behaviour, and bursts of anger or obsession showing the damage that has been done to him by his early childhood.
The action, such as it is, drifts along at a leisurely pace, with a backdrop of a coastal town in summer in the 1950s. I felt that the feeling of the narrative matched the simplicity and dreamlike qualities of Hopper's paintings, and it was a peaceful kind of book in this sense.
Having said all that, I was left with the question of why the author chose to include well-known people in this work of fiction, and why the Hoppers specifically? I was left with a slightly uneasy sense of not knowing how much was true and how much came from the imagination of the writer. Overall I did quite enjoy this, although it was a rather slow read, but I just found it very odd.
The action, such as it is, drifts along at a leisurely pace, with a backdrop of a coastal town in summer in the 1950s. I felt that the feeling of the narrative matched the simplicity and dreamlike qualities of Hopper's paintings, and it was a peaceful kind of book in this sense.
Having said all that, I was left with the question of why the author chose to include well-known people in this work of fiction, and why the Hoppers specifically? I was left with a slightly uneasy sense of not knowing how much was true and how much came from the imagination of the writer. Overall I did quite enjoy this, although it was a rather slow read, but I just found it very odd.