Reviews

Don't Step On The Lines by Ben Richards

rosseroo's review

3.0

This second novel from Richards is a bit of a disappointment following his excellent debut, "Throwing the House of the Window." Richards is again mainly exploring how someone in their late 20s deals with picking their life back up after a traumatic relationship event. Here, however, the main character, Kerry, is female and there isn't the threat of violence lurking. Kerry and her best friend/roommate Marco are fairly engaging characters, the first trying to restart her life, the latter trying not to grow up. Many of the themes and touchstones (London neighborhoods, drugs, messy relationships, bad jobs, school, dealing with your family) are familiar, and unfortunately Richards fails to add anything particularly new or insightful to the mix. Hornby, Welsh, Amis, Hawes, et al have all trod of various parts of the same territory with far better results. It's not bad, just not all that noteworthy.