I'm sort of torn about this book.
On one hand, it starts out strong, and I felt compelled to keep reading. I had many instances of "just one more chapter before bed," and then two hours (and several chapters) later, I had to force myself to put it down for the night.
On the other hand...the whole thing is a bit weird. It reads more like a really long allegory than a novel. It shifts POV constantly. The first 3/4 of the book is fairly clear, but the closer it gets to the end, the harder it becomes to follow. Characters who seemingly have little to no purpose in the storyline suddenly have POV chapters. Characters are alternately called by their first name or their last name or a title, or sometimes by their title in French instead of English, and it becomes difficult to keep them straight. Certain things happen that don't really seem pertinent to the development of the story, or are poorly explained. There are also extended places where characters seem to be hearing voices, maybe arguing with those voices, but it's difficult to figure out whose voice is whose, or even how many voices are involved. By the end, I was incredibly frustrated with how scattered and unpolished the last part of the novel felt.
So overall, a fairly entertaining read, but the last 25% of the book was just such a hot mess, it really diminished my enjoyment of the story.
On one hand, it starts out strong, and I felt compelled to keep reading. I had many instances of "just one more chapter before bed," and then two hours (and several chapters) later, I had to force myself to put it down for the night.
On the other hand...the whole thing is a bit weird. It reads more like a really long allegory than a novel. It shifts POV constantly. The first 3/4 of the book is fairly clear, but the closer it gets to the end, the harder it becomes to follow. Characters who seemingly have little to no purpose in the storyline suddenly have POV chapters. Characters are alternately called by their first name or their last name or a title, or sometimes by their title in French instead of English, and it becomes difficult to keep them straight. Certain things happen that don't really seem pertinent to the development of the story, or are poorly explained. There are also extended places where characters seem to be hearing voices, maybe arguing with those voices, but it's difficult to figure out whose voice is whose, or even how many voices are involved. By the end, I was incredibly frustrated with how scattered and unpolished the last part of the novel felt.
So overall, a fairly entertaining read, but the last 25% of the book was just such a hot mess, it really diminished my enjoyment of the story.
