French is notoriously long-winded. That was a big complaint about The Likeness, and I even referred to it in my own post: "French often uses three sentences when one would do." But while I enjoyed her style in that book, in Faithful Place her excess verbiage did me in. Usually it took the form of maudlin multipage conversations among a dysfunctional family of alcoholics and layabouts who pass their days accusing one another of historic betrayals and acts of violence, or convoluted theories about whodunit put forth by hostile law enforcement officers with competing agendas. Did I mention that this is a mystery? Who actually killed Rose is about 47th on the list of French's interests, it seems, well behind Dublin in the 1980's and the Irish economy, to name just two.
(Book 26, 2011)
4 comments:
Oh no! I am sorry you didn't like this one. It is my favorite book of French's. I felt like the character development was amazing.
Hmm, I felt that way about "In the Woods", but I managed to finish it. I haven't read "The Likeness" yes, but I JUST checked it out from the library.
Dysfunctional families are sooooo twentieth-century....
Having read Tana French's previous two novels and I like this one best of the three. I think it had to do with the main character. Frank Mackey, the protagonist, is believable and compelling. I did find some of the story hard to swallow. The bit about Kevin in particular. But I'll leave it at that. If you've liked Tana French's stories before, you'll enjoy Faithful Place.
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