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amy_alwaysreading 's review for:
The Resemblance
by Lauren Nossett
slow-paced
Many thanks to my partners @flatironbooks and macmillan.audio for the #gifted copies.
When a fraternity member is murdered on the UGA campus, long held secrets and deep seated corruption will be challenged.
What’s the difference between strong, pertinent messaging and messaging that gets muddled because of the author’s immense emotion over the topic?
I’ve thought about that a lot after finishing The Resemblance.
It’s important to note that I, too, have a personal connection to this book:
🐾 I am a lifelong Georgia Bulldog. My grandfather nurtured this love from a very early age. And I’ve walked thousands of steps on that campus.
🐾Fraternity life enhanced my college experience and continues to enrich my life years later.
So when Nossett took direct aim at both Greek life and university politics, my senses were piqued.
Important for me to clearly note: As a Greek, I fully support a spotlight on the potential for power to be misused within fraternities or universities. Deadly hazing is *never* acceptable. And any effort to bring awareness, fictional or factual, on corruption within the Greek or university systems is always warranted.
So why then did the messaging go askew in this book? It was (overtly) apparent that Nossett wasn’t looking to create awareness. Rather, she had an ax to grind.
Instead of allowing the storyline to explore the complexities and atrocities, the approach was bombastic, turning into something harsh and cynical. And because of that, the storyline took a backseat to her personal vendetta and didn’t work.
On the positive, the eerie atmosphere of the book was established early on. It was what drew me into the book from the beginning. Ominous and dark, this college campus backdrop for murder was well done.
Unfortunately, even the best atmosphere cannot overcome inexcusably poor messaging, glaring plot inconsistencies, and disjointed writing.
As I often do, I partnered the physical and audio copies of this book. Saskia Maarleveld has become a favorite narrator, and her gritty portrayal in the book really worked.
When a fraternity member is murdered on the UGA campus, long held secrets and deep seated corruption will be challenged.
What’s the difference between strong, pertinent messaging and messaging that gets muddled because of the author’s immense emotion over the topic?
I’ve thought about that a lot after finishing The Resemblance.
It’s important to note that I, too, have a personal connection to this book:
🐾 I am a lifelong Georgia Bulldog. My grandfather nurtured this love from a very early age. And I’ve walked thousands of steps on that campus.
🐾Fraternity life enhanced my college experience and continues to enrich my life years later.
So when Nossett took direct aim at both Greek life and university politics, my senses were piqued.
Important for me to clearly note: As a Greek, I fully support a spotlight on the potential for power to be misused within fraternities or universities. Deadly hazing is *never* acceptable. And any effort to bring awareness, fictional or factual, on corruption within the Greek or university systems is always warranted.
So why then did the messaging go askew in this book? It was (overtly) apparent that Nossett wasn’t looking to create awareness. Rather, she had an ax to grind.
Instead of allowing the storyline to explore the complexities and atrocities, the approach was bombastic, turning into something harsh and cynical. And because of that, the storyline took a backseat to her personal vendetta and didn’t work.
On the positive, the eerie atmosphere of the book was established early on. It was what drew me into the book from the beginning. Ominous and dark, this college campus backdrop for murder was well done.
Unfortunately, even the best atmosphere cannot overcome inexcusably poor messaging, glaring plot inconsistencies, and disjointed writing.
As I often do, I partnered the physical and audio copies of this book. Saskia Maarleveld has become a favorite narrator, and her gritty portrayal in the book really worked.