A review by mapscitiesandsongs
Elmet by Fiona Mozley

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Minor Spoilers ahead: 

The first 80% of this book were just uninteresting. I was waiting for something to happen, but I was disappointed. I am not that kind of person that wants things to constantly happen, but if you have characters that are so stereotypical and not at all fleshed out, you need a convincing plot to keep me engaged. I am also quite puzzled by the fact that the future narration by Daniel lead to absolutely nothing.  The ending came out of nowhere and basically felt like a sledgehammer. Like other reviewers have pointed out, it was similar to a Quentin Tarantino movie. I just couldn't take it seriously. There were other things that also bothered me: Who is Vivien exactly and why was her character even present in the story? It felt like she had a greater purpose, but nothing happened. What about Daniel's sexuality? Why was that even included and singled out (e.g. truck driver)? Another thing that made my blood boil was the unnessary violence against Cathy. STOP. USING. RAPE. AS. A. PLOT. DEVICE. 
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