Okay, absolutely NOT. I'm so glad I tried this one from the library (and then online, when I couldn't get the second volume), because I had consideredOkay, absolutely NOT. I'm so glad I tried this one from the library (and then online, when I couldn't get the second volume), because I had considered buying a bunch of volumes during the Seven Seas Crunchyroll sale and am patting myself on the back for not being stupid.
The first couple chapters were interesting, although I still wasn't entirely sold on their relationship. Kirishima isn't getting much depth - he's just violent and masochistic and would ditch Yoshino again the moment he got bored. Yoshino I like; I wouldn't have minded getting to see more of her development.
But in the third chapter, we see a graphic scene of Kirishima having sex with another woman, while talking to her about her boyfriend, about his interest in Yoshino, and how exciting it would be if she cheated on him with some other man.
He's absolute trash, and I'm done with this story. Not bothering to finish this volume, returning the rest to the library, and I guess not watching the anime. What a waste of time, but at least it only took me two volumes to figure that out. ...more
I hate leaving books unfinished, but I gave up 84 pages into this one. I don't think I'd enjoyed a single page, so what's the point of muddling througI hate leaving books unfinished, but I gave up 84 pages into this one. I don't think I'd enjoyed a single page, so what's the point of muddling through another 120+?
I may also have to give up on these publishers that are discovering and reissuing forgotten works by lesser-known authors. Perhaps there's a reason these books dropped out of publication to begin with.
The title for this one is apt, anyway: there really is nothing much to report about Oman's story. Or, should I say, what story?
This is a meandering, muddled attempt at portraying pre-war life in a small English town, but I'd just finished a remarkably superior book by Margery Sharp on that topic, which put Oman's work on even worse footing. Her central character, Mary Morrison, has little personality and seems to be present merely to wander around her neighborhood, talk to every single person in town, and get info-dumps about all these villagers' lives - but without any attempt to convey who they are, how they're related to each other, what relevance they're going to have to the ongoing story, etc. Because there, again, is no story to speak of.
Apparently there was a sequel, which makes me feel a little better about giving up here, since there's certainly no way I'd continue through a second blandly boring book where I haven't liked a single one of the characters. If things aren't going to get wrapped up in one volume, what's the point in trudging on to the non-finish-line.
Oman was known for her lengthy historical works, primarily biographies, which even the introduction by her nephew-in-law noted were: "well researched, [but] most would strike the modern reader as ponderous and lacking a sharper critical insight and analysis."
Ponderous is an excellent word for her writing. Wish that had been in the summary instead of that one sharply funny line that hardly worked in context and certainly didn't reflect the rest of this narrative at all. Don't be like me, falling for that trick or for the 5 star reviews on here, which truly baffle me. This is not a good book, even for its time period or genre.
The writing is dense, dull, and full of awkwardly expository dialogue. I should've given up after the scene where two ladies go into a church and one describes the piece of art they're looking at in great detail. Here's an excerpt of that absurd section:
"Look at the little shepherd in a felt dunce's cap and jerkin, piping to his lambs, and the milkmaid on her stool, in a horned head-dress, with dozens of buttons down her jacket, and the two gaffers in top-boots, gathering apples, and the dog after a hare, and the hooded men stooking corn. They're supposed to show the things country people do during the Twelve Months. Aren't they neat and waggish, and isn't the oak a lovely silvery color?"
"Quite perfect," agreed Lady Rollo. "How long should you think they've been up there?"
"I know," said Miss Morrison mildly, "because they've got the Hart, the badge of the unfortunate Richard of Bordeaux, on the south side."
This is not how human beings talk to each other. All of the conversations, really, are close to this awkward and unnatural, but it's particularly apparent here. They pop into this "watching chamber" literally just to look at and describe this item, then run off to tour other parts of the town. It reads very much like Oman was simply cobbling together a huge amount of notes she'd made while visiting and researching a similar town.
That's not how you write a novel, and it certainly does not make for an enjoyable reading experience....more
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