charlottesometimes's Reviews (3.33k)

funny lighthearted medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
challenging dark slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
emotional tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous dark tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
emotional reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I’m sure there have been occasions when I have re-read a previously disliked book, either from choice or because of a reading challenge, and have discovered new and admirable qualities which I missed on my first read. However this was not one of those times.

This book is a slow, thankless trudge through the uninteresting lives of some amount or other of identical old, straight white men.  Like his sometime collaborator Stephen King, Straub expects me to be invested in the fate of the type of nightmarishly conservative and limited American town in whose destruction I would delight. The core of the novel seems to be an attempt to justify all forms of male violence and predatory behaviour on the basis that women = Evil
I am actually reducing my  previous score by a 1/2 point. So I guess this can be considered an unsuccessful re-read.