I have had a good experience with Booker winners and even Booker Shortlists. So I try to pick up as many as possible. It also helps me discover new authors, that is authors who are new to me. This is the second book that I have picked up from the 2023 longlist after 'The House of Doors'.
The book revolves around the Barnes family , which is your average dysfunctional family from Irish books. The Barnes were once the first family in a small down near Dublin. However things are not the same any more. Dickie's Volkswagen showroom isn't doing all that well. His wife Imelda, who was a renowned beauty, bought stuff because she could - now she is busy selling most of that stuff on e-bay. Their daughter Cass who was always destined to go to Trinity college is binge drinking across the county while their son is working on plans to run away from home. There are other interesting characters such as the Barnes patriarch Maurice, his dead son Frank and Cass's beautiful friend Elaine.
The story goes forward and in flashback where a lot of clues to the present lie. With over 500 pages to spare the characters are well fleshed out across over years. The story meanders and develops in a lazy fashion before tightening up right at the end where several threads converge.
One of the hallmark of indulgent writers is that the protagonist is hardly ever the person whom you think it will be for the first 100 pages.
No comments:
Post a Comment