I found myself really drawn by the premise of this novel. The reader meets Rosamond through her voice, just as Imogen would have done, as she is blind. We begin by following Gill, Rosamond's niece, shortly after Rosamond's death. Gill comes across recorded tapes Rosamond had made for Imogen to listen to. Imogen, who Gill had only met once, had a strange connection to Gill's aunt Rosamond. In an attempt to find Imogen, Gill listens to the tapes.
It was an extremely interesting perspective, to have Coe develop characters and a backstory through an old lady narrating photos from her life to someone she had only met a few times. That part, I felt, was done masterfully. But the story itself? It was good, without being wonderful; it was interesting, without being exciting; it was slow without being torturous. After putting the novel down, I had a hard time convincing myself to pick it back up. When I was reading it, it was an easy read. However, because it was so hard to convince myself to pick it back up, I'm only giving it a rating of 2/5.
It was an extremely interesting perspective, to have Coe develop characters and a backstory through an old lady narrating photos from her life to someone she had only met a few times. That part, I felt, was done masterfully. But the story itself? It was good, without being wonderful; it was interesting, without being exciting; it was slow without being torturous. After putting the novel down, I had a hard time convincing myself to pick it back up. When I was reading it, it was an easy read. However, because it was so hard to convince myself to pick it back up, I'm only giving it a rating of 2/5.
Interesting format for telling a story, traveling back and forth in time. A bit long for this tale.
