So media works.
I had a stash of review cuttings to go alongside it to review when I'd finished.
"big fast-footed tragi-comically opportune novel"
"expertly choreographed"
were just two examples.
Having read it through I felt it had a large cast of characters some of whom were very strong, the footballer's father, the old lady's daughter and then there were weaker characters who really didn't need to be in the book. The strong pieces here were incredibly good - the waiting game of a mother dying for example.
Other elements were, in my opinion, unnecessary to the book and almost at a childish story level in comparison to the powerful parts- finding £500k in a chimney? Who didn't know what would happen to that cash? anyone?
This was my first outing with John Lanchester and as such it was quite disappointing following the hype. However as usual-
The decider- would I read another by the same author? Yes. I'd make sure it was thinner and hope that the really good writing was in it and not the padding, or I'd make sure it's already on my shelf. It is, it's called Whoops!
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