So. The Book of Paul is definitely not a tale for the faint of heart, or the even vaguely squeamish. It's creepy as hell, violent (though in a sort of not-really-blatant way), nasty, and dark. These are not criticisms, just warnings for readers who don't like that sort of thing. Because The Book of Paul is also really well written, and compelling in the morbid fascination sort of way. Reading it makes me feel seriously icky, but I won't be able to stop until I find out how it all turns out.
There are some minor issues that a hyper-critical reader like me will notice. Some of the similes, especially in the early chapters, seem to be trying to hard too be clever. There are a few typos (but mercifully few--I've seen plenty more in recent titles from big publishers), and a few odd sentence constructions. There's a peculiar formatting error where something--it's not consistent enough for me to tell what, exactly--is replaced with "3/4." One chapter has three or four instances, and then then are a few more scattered about. But generally, there was very little to pull me out of the story, and the writing was good--good enough to keep pulling me back in even when I was starting to feel soiled by the very creepy, nasty characters.
I can't say much about the structure of the story, since I'm only halfway through, but so far, so good. I suppose I wish there was a nicer character I could cling to--even the one innocent character has her twisted side--but the fact that I keep wanting to read even without someone to really identify with says a lot about the author's ability with words.
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Great review, Nic. I'd be interested to hear what you think once you finish. And for a likable innocent character what about young Martin? My heart just went out to him. Thanks for joining us on this tour, and please take a moment to cross-post your review to Amazon and GoodReads.
ReplyDeleteEm :-D
Hi Nic, thanks for the preliminary review. Re: the typos, I just found out about them at the beginning of the tour and was very upset since the copyeditor and proofreader received nice checks. The 3/4 glitch is supposed to be an ellipse and only appears in the first half. As to the strained similes, still like 'em:) Thanks for being part of the tour and for your support and determination to keep plowing ahead. You will be relieved to know that 95% of the squirmy stuff is in the first half also. I'm subscribed so I look forward (hopefully) to your final verdict somewhere down the line. If you or your readers have any questions about the book, I'd be happy to respond.
ReplyDeleteHey, Nic. I wanted to thank you again for hosting my book during the tour and just wanted to see what you thought once you finished the book? ;)
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