Following in the footsteps of The Rotters' Club (bwl 34), this is a novel for our disturbing times. Coe writes beautifully about the intertwined lives of Benjamin Trotter, his family and friends, but everywhere, as in real life, there is despair, disillusion, bewilderment and barely suppressed anger. Closer acquaintance with his characters through reading earlier books might have made me more sympathetic towards some of them. Alas, based on this one alone, I was not very engaged.
(Jeremy Miller - bwl 94 Autumn 2019 ) |
