Stephanie Jane recenzis We and Me de Saskia De Coster
A bit disappointing
3 steloj
I had been looking forward to this highly praised Flemish novel, especially after reading glowing reviews such as the one on Turn Around. However, while I liked the writing style and sense of era and place that De Coster evokes, I feel at the end of 400-plus pages that I managed to completely miss the point. I struggled to empathise with the rich central family because their repression and lack of communication with each other meant that I was kept at arm's length too. I understand that the disintegration of this family was a tragedy for them, but I couldn't care enough about any of the individual characters to actually become invested in their lives. The occasional narrative voice switch from third person to a first person 'we' was baffling and I never did figure out who that 'we' was meant to be.
I am sure I will be in …
I had been looking forward to this highly praised Flemish novel, especially after reading glowing reviews such as the one on Turn Around. However, while I liked the writing style and sense of era and place that De Coster evokes, I feel at the end of 400-plus pages that I managed to completely miss the point. I struggled to empathise with the rich central family because their repression and lack of communication with each other meant that I was kept at arm's length too. I understand that the disintegration of this family was a tragedy for them, but I couldn't care enough about any of the individual characters to actually become invested in their lives. The occasional narrative voice switch from third person to a first person 'we' was baffling and I never did figure out who that 'we' was meant to be.
I am sure I will be in a minority with this less than enthusiastic review and perhaps I just picked the wrong time for me to engage with We And Me.