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A review by melc
There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
Did not finish book. Stopped at 49%.
Normally I adore Shafak and was really looking forward to this release.
However, I am sad to say this was not for me. Characteristic of Shafak it contains her usual blend of culture, storytelling and philosophy.
But there were two aspects to the flow of this novel that meant I felt removed from the characters and prevented me from connecting with the story -
1. The blend of historical and scientific fact which constantly wove around the story made me feel like I was reading an encyclopedia and disrupted the flow of the plot and the character development. It was like there could have been endless footnotes in this novel but they were contained in the prose but none the less still felt like asides all the time to me. I could see how they related but felt like interruptions which distracted me constantly.
2. I really dislike plotlines that have the kind of pacing where an event in someone's life is introduced and then we see the development and effect of this within the next few paragraphs. I prefer a slower more convoluted plot development that feels more nuanced.
I'm so disappointed and DNFd at 50% but I will still follow Shafak in the future as I think she is intelligent and insightful.
This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.
However, I am sad to say this was not for me. Characteristic of Shafak it contains her usual blend of culture, storytelling and philosophy.
But there were two aspects to the flow of this novel that meant I felt removed from the characters and prevented me from connecting with the story -
1. The blend of historical and scientific fact which constantly wove around the story made me feel like I was reading an encyclopedia and disrupted the flow of the plot and the character development. It was like there could have been endless footnotes in this novel but they were contained in the prose but none the less still felt like asides all the time to me. I could see how they related but felt like interruptions which distracted me constantly.
2. I really dislike plotlines that have the kind of pacing where an event in someone's life is introduced and then we see the development and effect of this within the next few paragraphs. I prefer a slower more convoluted plot development that feels more nuanced.
I'm so disappointed and DNFd at 50% but I will still follow Shafak in the future as I think she is intelligent and insightful.
This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.