Erin reviewed Un chant de Noël by Charles Dickens
Review of 'Un chant de Noël' on 'Goodreads'
There's a lot about this book that should work for me, but at 50% I threw in the towel.
I do love a petty suburban drama, even more so if it's speculative or a little weird, so I'm still muddled over why this one didn't work for me. I've enjoyed the movies Greener Grass and Coherence. I've enjoyed the books Just Like Beauty, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Termush - all of which have elements in common with With Regrets, though all of those books are also more literary.
I just didn't care in this one. Part of it might be the focus on parenthood which is hit or miss for me. Maybe it was trying to do too much with 4 POVs such that no character got fleshed out enough. I do think part of it was that once the crisis hit, I was confused by some character choices …
There's a lot about this book that should work for me, but at 50% I threw in the towel.
I do love a petty suburban drama, even more so if it's speculative or a little weird, so I'm still muddled over why this one didn't work for me. I've enjoyed the movies Greener Grass and Coherence. I've enjoyed the books Just Like Beauty, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Termush - all of which have elements in common with With Regrets, though all of those books are also more literary.
I just didn't care in this one. Part of it might be the focus on parenthood which is hit or miss for me. Maybe it was trying to do too much with 4 POVs such that no character got fleshed out enough. I do think part of it was that once the crisis hit, I was confused by some character choices and obstacles. I'm really not clear on why Liz has such a hard time just leaving the house if that's what she wants to do. Are they going to physically stop her? Why would anyone besides Tom care enough to do that?
I also think I was feeling bogged down in logistical issues of the crisis which are far less interesting than the social dynamics. So I think I'd have enjoyed a version of this story where all the kids are there - no one is worried about getting home to their children. Instead they are all just stuck, and their petty nonsense comes to a head because of being forced together for so long with limited space.
