The Narrow Land by Christine Dwyer Hickey

          This is a slightly bizarre little book that I struggled to really settle in to, there was just something about the writing style that kept me at arms length.  It is written in a sort of 1.5 person perspective - so you go from a clear third person perspective to an intimate internal thought (clearly first person) and then bounce back again; all within the space of a paragraph.  This really stopped me enjoying the book as I was constantly aware that I was reading the text and not being immersed in the story.

The novel starts with us being introduced to Michael, a war orphan from Germany who has now been adopted by an American family.  We get a small insight in to his damaged psyche from the train journey he undertakes to Boston to stay with the Kaplans for the summer.  I foudn this section of the book very emotive and was eager to learn more. 

Unfortunately, the majority of the book is actually about Mr and Mrs Aitch.  They are a rather odd couple (to say the least); he is a celebrated artist and she is, well not to put too fine a point on it, a self-absorbed monster.  I really struggled with her personality throughout the novel and that did ruin a large part of my enjoyment of the book too as everytime it came to a section about her I internally groaned - you could certainly see why she felt alienated from people.

I wasn't honestly sure what the point of the story was.  I suppose it describes a snapshot of one summer for a varied cross section of people but other than that there is really no denouement, no grand sweeping change to any life.  Although Mrs Aitch does entertain the idea, albeit briefly, that people's assessment of her as self-centred and possessive of her husband and his talent may be entirely justified ther eis little to no sign that she is going to work on improving herself.  Richie Kaplan does go off to boarding school and Michael Novak returns to New York with his mother and Harry and their soon-to-be new addition.  The Kaplans go back to wherever they are form and Katherine probably dies.  That is it, no idea of what happens to these people after the book ends, no sense of one section of life ending and a new one beginning just more of the same old same old mundanity.

I readily admit that I am a sort of reverse-literary snob - the more "profound" the writing is supposed to be, the more "literary" it is, the more I am likely to not like it.  I would honestly have an averagely written, immersive story that sucks you right in to the place and time rather than something that has "merit".  Unfortunately, I suspect that this book falls in to the "literary" category.

THIS IS AN HONEST REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK PROVIDED BY READERS FIRST.