Reviews with content warning for Racism - A Line Made by Walking

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

A Line Made by Walking by Sara Baume

5 reviews

mariebrunelm's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Frankie’s grand-mother has just passed away and the young artist has decided to take residence in her Irish-countryside cottage. There, she witnesses death in all forms and records it in a photographic project.

I was attracted to this book because of the rural Irish setting, the artist protagonist and the reflection on death and memory. I gleefully ignored the part where it said the main character took pictures of dead animals for her artistic project, and I certainly wasn’t expecting these pictures to feature at the opening of all ten parts. Which, you know, isn’t the most pleasant thing to find and didn’t make me feel particularly kindly towards the protagonist. So there was a level of discomfort in my reading experience that doesn’t especially do justice to the book, but I’ve read great reviews so I know it’s just me.

The narration is done in short sequences alternating between past and present, following Frankie’s train of thoughts. It lent a sort of impressionist air to the narrative which relies more on character observations than on any sort of plot.

Content Warnings