A review by leksikality
The Pesthouse by Jim Crace

medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Crace avoids many of the tropes these sorts of settings - have - wild, lawless places with people desperate to survive - while still acknowledging that they are a real worry for the characters. 

Rather than possessing a superhuman uniqueness or good fortune, Franklin and Margaret survive through sheer determination.

In some ways it's a very quiet book - the journey itself lacks frequent bouts of intense drama but it still provides a fairly compelling journey of the choices people make, why they make them, and what they're willing to sacrifice to pursue them.