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A review by abeanbg
The Lake on Fire by Rosellen Brown
2.0
This novel sort of frustrated the hell out of me. In all honesty, I likely wouldn't have finished if not for some odd loyalty to Chicago history being used as the backdrop. And the research here is the best part of it! Brown does a very fine job bringing parts of Gilded Age Chicago to interesting life.
The trouble is that this is a novel, not a history book. As a novel, I just don't think it works. The main character, Chaya, drove me quietly crazy with her boring refusal to be anything but a stick in the mud. Her brother, Asher, is intriguing and certainly more lively, but makes little actual sense as a character. He's a collection of odd traits who doesn't behave like a real person, but as a collection of traits whom acts and feels as the plot occasionally requires. It's sort of a mess. I rather think the different moments and segments might've worked better as a collection of interwoven short stories.
The trouble is that this is a novel, not a history book. As a novel, I just don't think it works. The main character, Chaya, drove me quietly crazy with her boring refusal to be anything but a stick in the mud. Her brother, Asher, is intriguing and certainly more lively, but makes little actual sense as a character. He's a collection of odd traits who doesn't behave like a real person, but as a collection of traits whom acts and feels as the plot occasionally requires. It's sort of a mess. I rather think the different moments and segments might've worked better as a collection of interwoven short stories.