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emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Mayflies is a dual timeline literary fiction novel about friendship, grief, and coming of age in Scotland during the 1980s. Told from a single perspective, it follows a male friend group during their raucous journey to a music festival in Manchester and then follows the narrator and his closest friend when disaster strikes a few decades later.
This is primarily a character-driven plot, focusing on Noodles (Jimmy) and Tully and their friendship over the years, as well as what it meant to both of them. There is a lot of poignancy in the novel and there are some wonderful emotional moments captured through the narrative.
The writing is good and captures the capriciousness of youth, as well as the atmosphere of post-punk era Britain. However, I did struggle with some of the wording as my grasp on Scottish vernacular is not that great. There is a lot of local terminology used and that often went over my head. Someone familiar with the dialect and the slang would likely glean much more enjoyment from the writing.
The structure of the novel was easy to follow, but didn't grab my attention as much as I wanted. Though there were absolutely some powerful scenes, the separation of the novel into two very clear eras made it feel a bit disjointed and didn't pull me as tightly into Jimmy and Tully's relationship as I would have liked. The suddenness of the break between the two parts and the longevity between the two time periods made it a little less than smooth in terms of transition and this may have caused me the biggest struggle with becoming immersed in the story.
I can't deny the talent of the writing and the fact that the emotions conveyed do come through the pages. The flow of the novel just didn't work for me as well as I wish it would have.
This will be a good read for those who love literary fiction as well as those who grew up during the 80s and took part in the punk rock scene. It should be able to create an even deeper connection with those who grew up in Great Britain and those with Scottish backgrounds.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
This is primarily a character-driven plot, focusing on Noodles (Jimmy) and Tully and their friendship over the years, as well as what it meant to both of them. There is a lot of poignancy in the novel and there are some wonderful emotional moments captured through the narrative.
The writing is good and captures the capriciousness of youth, as well as the atmosphere of post-punk era Britain. However, I did struggle with some of the wording as my grasp on Scottish vernacular is not that great. There is a lot of local terminology used and that often went over my head. Someone familiar with the dialect and the slang would likely glean much more enjoyment from the writing.
The structure of the novel was easy to follow, but didn't grab my attention as much as I wanted. Though there were absolutely some powerful scenes, the separation of the novel into two very clear eras made it feel a bit disjointed and didn't pull me as tightly into Jimmy and Tully's relationship as I would have liked. The suddenness of the break between the two parts and the longevity between the two time periods made it a little less than smooth in terms of transition and this may have caused me the biggest struggle with becoming immersed in the story.
I can't deny the talent of the writing and the fact that the emotions conveyed do come through the pages. The flow of the novel just didn't work for me as well as I wish it would have.
This will be a good read for those who love literary fiction as well as those who grew up during the 80s and took part in the punk rock scene. It should be able to create an even deeper connection with those who grew up in Great Britain and those with Scottish backgrounds.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *