zumbador reviewed What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn
Review of 'What Was Lost' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
I stopped reading at about 90% very near the end.
This book is divided into two sections, and is uneven as a result.
The first half is from the point of view of a precocious (and utterly unbelievable) ten year old girl. Charming enough, and interesting, even if she was an adult's idea of a child, rather than an actual child.
The second half is set many years later, and follows the lives of several adults whose lives are connected to the girl although you only gradually discover how.
Much of this is vivid and gripping, to the point that I wanted to know what happens to each character, and cared how they would end up, which suggests that the writer achieved their goal to some extent. However, the story is such a strange mixture of self-conscious, twee, and crudely violent that I kept being pulled out of the story. …
I stopped reading at about 90% very near the end.
This book is divided into two sections, and is uneven as a result.
The first half is from the point of view of a precocious (and utterly unbelievable) ten year old girl. Charming enough, and interesting, even if she was an adult's idea of a child, rather than an actual child.
The second half is set many years later, and follows the lives of several adults whose lives are connected to the girl although you only gradually discover how.
Much of this is vivid and gripping, to the point that I wanted to know what happens to each character, and cared how they would end up, which suggests that the writer achieved their goal to some extent. However, the story is such a strange mixture of self-conscious, twee, and crudely violent that I kept being pulled out of the story.
I reached my limit when a character I cared about met a horrible fate in a way that felt emotionally manipulative and dishonest. I put the book down. I considered whether or not I still cared what happened to the other characters. Discovering that I did not care to be manipulated any further, I closed the book and will not finish it.