There seems to be only two things that could get me to abandon a book: unbearable prose, and a problematic event that is unjustifiable no matter how the narrative spins it. I’ve yet to encounter the latter, and this book was my first - and so far only - encounter with the former.
I’m not going to leave a low rating on this book because of the importance of its subject and since I’m well out if its intended age group, but I couldn’t read it. The prose is written in the style that its teenage narrators would think in: simple, stilted, and full of slang. I was already struggling with it when I reached the following passage and couldn’t continue:
“When we got to the Cambis, Willy sprinted up the front steps. I hung back. He rang the bell and Mrs. Cambi waved to me from the doorway. She wore slippers. I stayed right where I was on the sidewalk, not wanting to get too close. Not wanting to get roped into staying longer than I had to. Just wanting to get the hell out and get the party started for the night.”
Reading it back in isolation now it doesn’t seem nearly as bad as it did at the time, but on top of all the pages I’d just read it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. (Also, shouldn’t it be “the Cambi’s,” with an apostrophe? It’s not saying he arrived at the Cambi family, it’s the Cambi’s place.)
I’ve read 34 books - not including this one - in 14 weeks this year and this is the sole book I’ve abandoned, so you can tell that I didn’t do it lightly. I’m sure the writing would be fine for a lot of its intended age group, but for me it was unbearable.
I’m not going to leave a low rating on this book because of the importance of its subject and since I’m well out if its intended age group, but I couldn’t read it. The prose is written in the style that its teenage narrators would think in: simple, stilted, and full of slang. I was already struggling with it when I reached the following passage and couldn’t continue:
“When we got to the Cambis, Willy sprinted up the front steps. I hung back. He rang the bell and Mrs. Cambi waved to me from the doorway. She wore slippers. I stayed right where I was on the sidewalk, not wanting to get too close. Not wanting to get roped into staying longer than I had to. Just wanting to get the hell out and get the party started for the night.”
Reading it back in isolation now it doesn’t seem nearly as bad as it did at the time, but on top of all the pages I’d just read it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. (Also, shouldn’t it be “the Cambi’s,” with an apostrophe? It’s not saying he arrived at the Cambi family, it’s the Cambi’s place.)
I’ve read 34 books - not including this one - in 14 weeks this year and this is the sole book I’ve abandoned, so you can tell that I didn’t do it lightly. I’m sure the writing would be fine for a lot of its intended age group, but for me it was unbearable.
