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A review by novabird
The Wolf Border by Sarah Hall
3.0
This was a fantastic storyline not done justice. Undoubtedly Hall is a powerful writer. Unfortunately, her style of a mechanistic, steady stream of unending short sentence construction did not engage me. The effect for me was one of staccato and artificiality and this blocked me from immersement in what was a superb tale.
I understood her tone within the first few pages. It was hard-edged, world-wise, realistic to the point of dark cynicism. (her depiction of the aged is unnecessarily cruel and stark) I simply didn't want to go there with her character Rachel; it was not worth the shared journey to me to foray into a bitter land of smaller hopes. "A boiled in the bag Eden." This is a bitter land where death and sex collide and do not recognize the need for each other so there is no reconciliation between these disparate human conditions, no deepening of the experience.
What did cause me to stop in my tracks was, "nuclear cargo ghosts along railways at night," and I was like, "Wow, that is truly apt imagery and so telling!"
When I only read the first 50 pages, I typically don't allow myself to view the ending. That gift is usually reserved for full reads which I wait for. With this book, however, I was curious to see if the tone or style shifted; it did not. Possible spoiler ahead .. not sure as I didn't read the entire book.
"She didn't want to lumber him with childhood duties."
I understood her tone within the first few pages. It was hard-edged, world-wise, realistic to the point of dark cynicism. (her depiction of the aged is unnecessarily cruel and stark) I simply didn't want to go there with her character Rachel; it was not worth the shared journey to me to foray into a bitter land of smaller hopes. "A boiled in the bag Eden." This is a bitter land where death and sex collide and do not recognize the need for each other so there is no reconciliation between these disparate human conditions, no deepening of the experience.
What did cause me to stop in my tracks was, "nuclear cargo ghosts along railways at night," and I was like, "Wow, that is truly apt imagery and so telling!"
When I only read the first 50 pages, I typically don't allow myself to view the ending. That gift is usually reserved for full reads which I wait for. With this book, however, I was curious to see if the tone or style shifted; it did not. Possible spoiler ahead .. not sure as I didn't read the entire book.
"She didn't want to lumber him with childhood duties."