Set in 1950s rural Ireland, Snow follows a murder investigation in one of the remaining Houses of the era. Ballyglass House, full of secrets is where the body of a priest is discovered. Even the characters are struck by the irony of it all. In the Library, one exclaims!
I feel the author is trying to be clever, and show us he is aware of his cleverness by highlighting it to show he's only half serious, but the tone of the book leaves no room for humour elsewhere, so it feels like he's just showing off.
Its not a long book, but it is a long read, tedious at times, and not very interesting. The main character, Strafford with an r, is utterly insufferably boring. The crime itself, while gory and apparently motiveless, takes back stage to the self pity and droning on of most of the characters.
The motive reveals itself through a flashback to be one of the most clichéd, lazy pieces of writing I've read in a long time.
The author writes beautifully, and the scenes he paints are vivid and stunning, like painting with words, but sadly all that fails to elevate the story, which simply isn't great.
The coda goes a way to give closure, but feels it would have been better explained in the main narrative rather than 10 years later when all the characters have already moved on.
Sadly disappointing.
I feel the author is trying to be clever, and show us he is aware of his cleverness by highlighting it to show he's only half serious, but the tone of the book leaves no room for humour elsewhere, so it feels like he's just showing off.
Its not a long book, but it is a long read, tedious at times, and not very interesting. The main character, Strafford with an r, is utterly insufferably boring. The crime itself, while gory and apparently motiveless, takes back stage to the self pity and droning on of most of the characters.
The motive reveals itself through a flashback to be one of the most clichéd, lazy pieces of writing I've read in a long time.
The author writes beautifully, and the scenes he paints are vivid and stunning, like painting with words, but sadly all that fails to elevate the story, which simply isn't great.
The coda goes a way to give closure, but feels it would have been better explained in the main narrative rather than 10 years later when all the characters have already moved on.
Sadly disappointing.
