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This felt a bit like an amalgamation of Educated by Tara Westover and The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah in some ways. The writing is very evocative of the surroundings and really drives home the isolation of the area and the characters. Things are written very introspectively, so that it feels like a nonfiction work rather than a novel, with a narration style that reveals pieces in small turns, weaving the plot together like a puzzle.
There is a lot at work in this piece and it really is developed magically. The writing is solid and at times beautiful, with other moments leaving me questioning reality or feeling slapped in the face. The lives of the characters are full of heartbreak with only brief glimpses of happiness...this is certainly not a book to grab if you're looking for something light or uplifting.
The construction of the plot can be a little confusing, as it bounces around both in timeline and POV. This works in a way, as it reveals important information in small snippets, keeping the reader gripped and questioning. The multiple POVs do give an interesting view into the characters who truly should be the protagonists (Wade and Jenny), but who instead are left as somewhat secondary characters due to their individual situations (Wade suffering from dementia and Jenny locked inside her own guilt). The choice to use Ann and Elizabeth as the narrators instead was an interesting approach that added something extra to the piece, but at the same time left things a little gauzy.
The ending left me a bit unmoored. I'm not quite sure what I expected or what I wanted out of the ending, but I felt as if I was left mid-sentence in a way. There was some conclusion and some understanding of the trajectory of these characters, but the emotional impact was both disorienting and disturbing in a way. It makes sense in reflection as it really does conclude in a way that follows real life...continuing...it's just not a typical approach and so somewhat caught me off guard.
An impactful work and an emotional one, but not one developed in its entirety for plot. Expect a more literary approach and more of a character study in this one.
There is a lot at work in this piece and it really is developed magically. The writing is solid and at times beautiful, with other moments leaving me questioning reality or feeling slapped in the face. The lives of the characters are full of heartbreak with only brief glimpses of happiness...this is certainly not a book to grab if you're looking for something light or uplifting.
The construction of the plot can be a little confusing, as it bounces around both in timeline and POV. This works in a way, as it reveals important information in small snippets, keeping the reader gripped and questioning. The multiple POVs do give an interesting view into the characters who truly should be the protagonists (Wade and Jenny), but who instead are left as somewhat secondary characters due to their individual situations (Wade suffering from dementia and Jenny locked inside her own guilt). The choice to use Ann and Elizabeth as the narrators instead was an interesting approach that added something extra to the piece, but at the same time left things a little gauzy.
The ending left me a bit unmoored. I'm not quite sure what I expected or what I wanted out of the ending, but I felt as if I was left mid-sentence in a way. There was some conclusion and some understanding of the trajectory of these characters, but the emotional impact was both disorienting and disturbing in a way. It makes sense in reflection as it really does conclude in a way that follows real life...continuing...it's just not a typical approach and so somewhat caught me off guard.
An impactful work and an emotional one, but not one developed in its entirety for plot. Expect a more literary approach and more of a character study in this one.