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A review by willowbiblio
Devotion by Howard Norman
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
"This tableau ... constituted part of the same choreography of punishment and encouragement that defined each of Maggie's visits over the next few weeks, and raised in William's mind questions about what inventive stupidities people were capable of when wounded and confused, no matter their native intelligence."
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There was nothing that particularly made me dislike this book, I just didn't feel much for it. I think David, the protagonist, was so emotionally flat that despite being declaratively head over heels for Maggie, he was seemingly content to drift along in limbo until she told him what to do. That's why her vocal/memo/letter to him was so apt, and yet it didn't spur him to action.
Generally, I didn't really believe any of it. There was no depth to the emotion that was being written and so it didn't make me as a reader care much for the characters or the outcome. It was also deeply confusing because David didn't actually cheat on Maggie, yet seemed content to let her believe it was true, or at least ambivalent. That's basically how I felt about this book: ambivalent.
Norman did a good job with the constantly shifting timeline, so it made it easy to follow the plot. William's own actual infidelity made his tolerance of David in his space and as a caretaker believable. Overall I think this just felt fairly mediocre to me.
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There was nothing that particularly made me dislike this book, I just didn't feel much for it. I think David, the protagonist, was so emotionally flat that despite being declaratively head over heels for Maggie, he was seemingly content to drift along in limbo until she told him what to do. That's why her vocal/memo/letter to him was so apt, and yet it didn't spur him to action.
Generally, I didn't really believe any of it. There was no depth to the emotion that was being written and so it didn't make me as a reader care much for the characters or the outcome. It was also deeply confusing because David didn't actually cheat on Maggie, yet seemed content to let her believe it was true, or at least ambivalent. That's basically how I felt about this book: ambivalent.
Norman did a good job with the constantly shifting timeline, so it made it easy to follow the plot. William's own actual infidelity made his tolerance of David in his space and as a caretaker believable. Overall I think this just felt fairly mediocre to me.