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A review by samanthajanecates
The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally
3.0
It is 2 in the morning and I finally finished this book that I have been slowly chipping away at for the better part of this week.
My favorite genre is historical fiction, particularly focusing on WW1 and WW2. So, naturally I had high hopes for this book.
Unfortunately, I found The Daughters of Mars to fall flat to books of its same genre, such as The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.
In short, the plot was slow moving for so long, and then quick all at once. Keneally spent chapters describing a day or two, and then abruptly would skip to a short paragraph about an event the next season, or in the new year. The pacing was hard to follow.
The lack of quotations compounded my confusion. For a slow and tired reader like me, dialogue needs to be separated and more easily identifiable. I might be able to overlook this if the writing was advanced, but it was average at best.
The Durance sisters have some relatable and redeeming qualities which allowed me to stay engaged enough to finish the book. However, as a bit of a romantic at heart, I highly anticipated a compelling love story in the midst of the war. In reality, both Sally and Naomi's love stories were of little interest to me as they felt forced and devoid of true emotion.
The first part of the book felt like a necessary build to the plot, but in book 2 so many things happened just to happen. One big tragedy occurred in book 1 to help us understand Sally and Naomi a little more, and to force their bond. Book 2 was riddled with tragedy just for the fun of it. No true character development, no plot development. Just drop a bomb and move on.
And then I approached the last chapter and thought I was having a stroke. I was hopeful the ending would cure my ambivalence and finally make me love Keneally's story, but that was SO NOT the case. In all honesty, I could not think of a worse ending. It is way too long of a book to say so very little.
My favorite genre is historical fiction, particularly focusing on WW1 and WW2. So, naturally I had high hopes for this book.
Unfortunately, I found The Daughters of Mars to fall flat to books of its same genre, such as The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.
In short, the plot was slow moving for so long, and then quick all at once. Keneally spent chapters describing a day or two, and then abruptly would skip to a short paragraph about an event the next season, or in the new year. The pacing was hard to follow.
The lack of quotations compounded my confusion. For a slow and tired reader like me, dialogue needs to be separated and more easily identifiable. I might be able to overlook this if the writing was advanced, but it was average at best.
The Durance sisters have some relatable and redeeming qualities which allowed me to stay engaged enough to finish the book. However, as a bit of a romantic at heart, I highly anticipated a compelling love story in the midst of the war. In reality, both Sally and Naomi's love stories were of little interest to me as they felt forced and devoid of true emotion.
The first part of the book felt like a necessary build to the plot, but in book 2 so many things happened just to happen. One big tragedy occurred in book 1 to help us understand Sally and Naomi a little more, and to force their bond. Book 2 was riddled with tragedy just for the fun of it. No true character development, no plot development. Just drop a bomb and move on.
And then I approached the last chapter and thought I was having a stroke. I was hopeful the ending would cure my ambivalence and finally make me love Keneally's story, but that was SO NOT the case. In all honesty, I could not think of a worse ending. It is way too long of a book to say so very little.