It is a long time since I read a book of short stories, and I started A Possible Life by Sebastian Faulks, whose previous work I have enjoyed, with eager anticipation. However I have been left a little dissatisfied. I somehow found it hard to connect with the characters in each of the five different stories. Each is set in a different time and place, from World War II, to Victorian England, Italy in 2029, nineteenth century France and 1970's California. The main character in each is not at ease with their life, and are striving to make the best of things, or at least endure what's being thrown at them, in the hope that a better future is coming. Sometimes this seems attainable, but more often, it is not. I felt that it was a book about the hard slog that life can be, which I suppose is true for almost everyone on the planet ... it's just that I like books to take me away from the slog, not stick the boot in with such relentless determination. Some have said that each story is linked, but I couldn't see it ... except maybe for the undercurrent of melancholy, which I'm not sure the author was going for. Whilst the writing, as you would expect from Faulks, is beautifully done, I was left feeling a bit down in the dumps. There is very little to lighten the load of the characters and scant hope on offer. It's a short book, but it took me a ridiculously long time to read, which tells me something! Now, off I go to find something to lift my spirits.
My STAR rating: THREE.
Length: 294 print pages.
Price I paid: zero, borrowed from my husband.
Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, ebook.
No comments:
Post a Comment