I loved the first three quarters of this book. Hannah Rothschild's first novel The Improbability of Love is a delight. I found the interwoven stories of a number of larger than life characters associated with the art world to be highly entertaining. Annie, our heroine, is only there because it is she who buys a picture in a junk shop that is really a lost masterpiece! Yes, I know, all highly improbable, but as I said entertaining. But then towards the end, the story turns into a slightly cheesy and rather unpleasant thriller that ultimately descends into farce. Maybe that was predictable, but no less disappointing. There are even a couple of crucial plot holes that are never resolved. I don't think we ever got the answer to the expensive bit of blue paint. But by then I had lost interest. Such a shame as it was mainly five star stuff.
A strange but highly enjoyable romp through Britain today. Full of comic and sad characters, some comic and sad stories that all come together in the end. My first Jonathon Coe novel and it wont be my last.
After having enjoyed five of Maggie O'Farrell's novels, My Lover's Lover was a disappointment. Whilst it was still very well written, it was basically a one trick pony: the answer to the one question of why did Sinead leave Marcus. So this book is an intensive forensic examination into a doomed relationship. It is quite uncomfortable at times and just occasionally riveting. There is an apparition that is integral to the story that is never resolved or explained, and seemed a weird tangent to the feel of the book. The ending felt messy. Fortunately the characters are very well drawn, and it is a short, easy read. But nowhere near O'Farrell at her best.
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