I probably should stop reading novels just because they won a prize, though in this case Trust had won the Pulitzer, not a random local award handed out in the courtyard of a primary school!
What the novel doesn't lack is ambition, as it tackles the Great Depression from the perspective of four people deeply connected to the events and - each in their own way - rather influential in shaping the experiences and perceptions of their fictional contemporaries.
What it lacks, however, is something truly gripping. The conflicts - open or tacit - between the various forces and characters often feel petty, and the final chapter, with tokenistic surprise element, is rather uninspiring and doesn't leave the reader (or at least it didn't leave me!) with any particular desire to find an answer to the last unanswered questions of the novel.
No comments:
Post a Comment