Thursday, March 16, 2017

2017 book 49

Catriona Lally's Eggshells
I had read several positive reviews of this that made it seem like it would be a sweet and satisfying story--my main concern was that it would veer into cheesiness. Instead it is aggressively, annoyingly, disconcertingly quirky. The narrator is supposed to be "whimsical" but instead reads as though she is a disturbed child locked into a fantasy world.  Like, she sounds and acts less sensible than some nine year olds I know. Like, I was really worried she was going to do something terrible and violent. There are also some gross parts (ie describing unbrushed teeth in detail, horrifying for this dentist's daughter to imagine). I kept waiting for the story to lead somewhere, but though it hints at childhood trauma, nothing is ever addressed head-on, and I didn't feel like there was any resolution. Just a sad, mad protagonist. B-.

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