The Porpoise

This was not what I expected, but it was fabulous. Mark Haddon is an excellent storyteller. The characters were skilfully woven, passing through different time periods while knitting the story together.

An interesting project. Haddon fuses two storylines: one contemporary, the other a retelling of Apollonius of Tyre and the effect is unexpectedly engaging.

There were some long stretches where I felt the two tales didn't cohere as well as they could and, frankly, the emotional arc of bad feelings about bad behavior was a exhausting. The story left me a little bruised and I'm not certain I was compensated fairly.

Those criticisms aside there is no denying this is a literary page turner. Haddon's prose is tight and at times graceful. His characters are intriguing and the scenes of violence effective. It's a good read. I'm just not sure I liked it very much.