Review: The Boys from Biloxi

The Boys from Biloxi by John Grisham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: The Drift

The Drift by C.J. Tudor
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

As a rabid fan of post apocalyptic fiction, I was beyond excited to read this new release by CJ Tudor. I dove in feet first, but it didn’t take long to feel as if I was drowning in details that were too obscure to connect. From the first page, I was thrown off balance and truly puzzled about where Tudor was headed. I could find no frame of reference to allow me to place the characters into a scenario that made sense and instead spent an inordinate amount of time trying to manufacture connections that would allow me to find an actual story I could follow. There just wasn’t enough background to anchor the events. Whilst the writing itself is on point, the structure and lack of depth just made for a chaotic read. Add to that a series of similar characters who remained flat and lifeless, and the result is a selection I would recommend leaving on the shelf.

The book unfolds in cycling chapters that focus on three different locations where characters are caught in the aftermath of a viral epidemic. One group finds themselves trapped on a bus that crashed during a snowstorm, while the second group of six is stuck high in the frigid air on a stalled cable car.. All, in both locations, were volunteers en route to “The Retreat”, an isolated former ski lodge now functioning as a facility focused on finding a vaccine. It is at that research institution that the reader finds the third and final group, a diverse mix of men and women engaged in various nefarious activities. One fact is made crystal clear—in each location, and to a person, everyone is harboring secrets.

From the beginning, the chapters exist in isolation. No group has knowledge of any of the others, and so the reader is left with the impression that they are reading three separate stories, related only by the virus that has decimated the world around them. The expectation, of course, is that the reader is being set up for a grand intersection. I have seen this technique utilized successfully when links between those parallel plots are revealed before they again divert and gain traction as completely separate storylines. They eventually spiral down into a single event that melds them seamlessly together when the plots collide, leaving the reader wondering how they missed the connections. Here, however, Tudor waits far too long to offer the reader any common threads. Instead, the stories stand apart with no clear relationship to one another, each weaving distinct paths that at times become tedious in their ambiguity. There’s a fine line between expecting the reader to infer and dissect clues and making the clues so obscure that it is nearly impossible to follow them to any logical conclusion, Tudor never closes the gap between the storylines in any satisfying way, and when the big picture is finally made clear (too little, too late), the result was, for me, a big “so what”.

Character development, or lack thereof, is another disappointment. In each group, the characters aren’t just eerily similar, they are near carbon copies, down to their vocabulary and the cadence of their speech. Some of these similarities are eventually explained, but others are just the result of inadequate character development. It’s as if Tudor storyboarded four or five stock character sketches, then recycled them as he moved forward.

Overall, the promise of a post-apocalyptic tale was replaced with a story borne of revenge and violence, structured in a way that left me disconnected and unable to invest.

I am grateful to NetGalley and Random House Publishing (Ballantine Books) for allowing me to receive an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Publication is set for January 31, 2023, at which time I look forward to reading other reactions and reviews.

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Review: The Half Moon

The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When I saw that Mary Beth Keane had published another novel, I was almost giddy. Ask Again, Yes is one my most favorite books, and to know that Keane had once again put pen to paper was exciting. I cleared my Saturday and dove in. Whilst this story has its strengths, there are a few hiccups that just kept me from loving it.

The Half Moon is the story of Malcolm and Jess, a childless couple in their forties, searching for meaning and direction. Malcolm is the proud(ish) owner of a run down bar called The Half Moon, and Jess is an accomplished lawyer. Both seem to be stuck in their own mid-life crises, reaching out for something tangible to define themselves and grasping only empty promises and disappointment. The tale floats through their journey, following the natural curves in the river, as the reader plays voyeur to their navigation of rough waters and scraping atop shallow banks.

The story itself is one that relates themes of self-doubt, self-discovery, betrayal and redemption—a heady combination that leaves the reader with a feeling of being weighted down with rocks in one’s pockets. The depressing narrative is a trudge with little to no lightness to ease the load. I felt as I read that I was slowly drowning in the mistakes and missteps of both Malcolm and Jess. Beyond the general tone, however, the biggest issue I had with the book was the structure.

Malcolm has a tendency to see everything through a lens of past events, though Keane’s attempts to recreate that lens seem arbitrary and capricious and make it sometimes difficult to follow. The story meanders from past to present, often a paragraph or two at a time, with no clear delineation of the jump. By the time the reader catches up to the time-line placement, the story moves yet again into another era. The best books are those that disappear in your hands as you become a part of the storyline. Here, however, it was a lot of work to keep track of where in the characters’ lives certain events happened, making it difficult to melt into the setting. One is constantly reminded that they must relocate themselves in relation to the events, which in turn separates the reader from the page as the adjustment takes place.

The news here, however, is not only bad. Keane’s genius in character development is once again on point, and every single character leaps from the page. Additionally, her prosaic text and ability to turn a phrase is positively brilliant. Finally, she leaves the reader longing to know more—to follow the lives of both Malcolm and Jess as they move forward.

Overall, it’s a book I wouldn’t have missed simply because of my love of this author. As a stand alone, without prior knowledge of Keane’s ability, I’m not sure I would have found it quite engaging. The structural issues and amount of concentration it took to readjust to the ever changing time line just make this more work than the investment warranted in returns.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner Books for providing me with an ARC for review. Publication is set for May 2, 2023.

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