This was a difficult novel for me to really enjoy. The setting (a closed and moving train), the locked set of varied characters, and the ratcheting tension arc are, for me, a trifecta of almost guaranteed enjoyment. I'm familiar with and have read and re-read much of the author's oeuvre, but had a rough time with this one. The plotting and story arc are well done. I felt that the dialogue and characterizations showed their age somewhat (almost 75 years), but the biggest annoyance was the denouement. I have reread parts of the book several times after the initial read-through, and I can appreciate the precision of the plotting and tension, and the other technical aspects of the writing, but the ending was a turn-off for me.
I've thought about it for a while and I guess the easiest and probably most apt words for how it affected me would be preachy and florid with a soupcon of pretentiousness. I really wanted to enjoy this one a lot more than I did. I can heartily recommend all of the other current entries in this exceptional classics series published by Penzler & co.
Three and a half stars, rounded up for the technically brilliant writing.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
No comments:
Post a Comment