With a long wind up, De Bernieres provides a window into an obscure corner of World War II.
While De Bernieres does a fair job on an intellectual, introductory level, there is a remove to his characterizations which never allows the reader to feel quite the level of attachment to the cast of his novel as one might wish.
The end of the novel feels rushed and flat, especially when compared with the detail-laden, almost overdrawn beginning. It's as if the novelist tired of them or at the very least ran out of time.
All the same, due to my lack of knowledge regarding virtually all of this history, I did find many redeeming qualities and am glad that I took the time to read it. I enjoyed getting to know all the main characters as individuals whom I might have like to have known in real life.
While De Bernieres does a fair job on an intellectual, introductory level, there is a remove to his characterizations which never allows the reader to feel quite the level of attachment to the cast of his novel as one might wish.
The end of the novel feels rushed and flat, especially when compared with the detail-laden, almost overdrawn beginning. It's as if the novelist tired of them or at the very least ran out of time.
All the same, due to my lack of knowledge regarding virtually all of this history, I did find many redeeming qualities and am glad that I took the time to read it. I enjoyed getting to know all the main characters as individuals whom I might have like to have known in real life.
1 comment:
I read part of this book years ago because a friend raved about it. I just never got into it and finally reached a point where I figured, "Hey, this is not an assignment. There are lots of books I'd like to get to. The author hasn't won me over by page 100, so I'll stop." And I did.
Today in a book club I learned of McCLuan's (spelling?) Rule. When deciding to read a book, flip to p. 69. If the style is good, read it; if not, forget it. Evidently, many books start out promising, but don't deliver.
Post a Comment