A book about a cul-de-sac, which is inhabited by various Irish folk who interact in a standard village communal way. The writing is quite good, but there are many characters to get to know in this 30 page extract.
The book opens with a whatsapp group consisting of the gossipping neighbours talking about various issues on the street, rat infestations, a newspaper thief, the usual niffnaff and trivia. One of these folk, Calmel has eyes on the door of her dead neighbours to spot the new family setting up residence. The poor cul-de-sac has no response to their avid gossip.
The many characters do create a vibrance in the claustrophobic cul-de-sac, they are busy handing out their gossip, some of which I find very representative of these kinds of people. There are a few dodgy backgrounds to provide conflict, maybe with a few new friendships forged out of the smoldering ruin of the collective of their crises. There were not any strong or interesting characters, all lacking depth, which may be because these 30 pages weren’t enough space for their expression. A more rapid character development is needed, perhaps a jiggling of the chapters could have achieved this, or a more intense focus on individual characters.
This book could be a good read for somebody who is more interested in this type. I would want to see characters thinned out or faded into the background, allowing the creative space to develop a little more zing to bring forward some sharp personalities, which hopefully will happen as the plot develops, but I’m not reading further.
The book opens with a whatsapp group consisting of the gossipping neighbours talking about various issues on the street, rat infestations, a newspaper thief, the usual niffnaff and trivia. One of these folk, Calmel has eyes on the door of her dead neighbours to spot the new family setting up residence. The poor cul-de-sac has no response to their avid gossip.
The many characters do create a vibrance in the claustrophobic cul-de-sac, they are busy handing out their gossip, some of which I find very representative of these kinds of people. There are a few dodgy backgrounds to provide conflict, maybe with a few new friendships forged out of the smoldering ruin of the collective of their crises. There were not any strong or interesting characters, all lacking depth, which may be because these 30 pages weren’t enough space for their expression. A more rapid character development is needed, perhaps a jiggling of the chapters could have achieved this, or a more intense focus on individual characters.
This book could be a good read for somebody who is more interested in this type. I would want to see characters thinned out or faded into the background, allowing the creative space to develop a little more zing to bring forward some sharp personalities, which hopefully will happen as the plot develops, but I’m not reading further.