Having been so impressed by Lionel Shriver's We Need to Talk about Kevin, I picked on Double Fault from the other six novels she has written. However, this was quite disappointing and took a long time to reach the end. And then there is no happy ending. In fact the main character, Willy loses both ways at the conclusion. So her struggle, and mine, were not worth it in the end.
The next two books were the opposite and were devoured far too quickly. In fact On Chesil Beach is such a short novel (166 pages) that it would never take long. But Ian McEwan wrings out everything you ever want to know about the two main characters. His writing is superb and the drama of such a little story is mesmerising.
I have read ever book written by John Le Carre. But the poor reviews of The Mission Song nearly put me off. I'm glad they didn't as the author has lost none of his craft and wit. It is equal to any of his later novels, a great plot, stunning locations and brilliant writing. I cannot wait to see the film.
I thought Notes from an Exhibition would be right up my street. Set in Cornwall, time twisting narrative and interesting characters. However it did not quite work for me. There were sections that were quite tedious, interspersed with something quite magical. I must have found the right key three quarters through as suddenly it flowed to a satisfying conclusion.
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