Books we like ... and books we're not too fussed about
Tom Rob Smith
Pocket Books
This novel, about a series of child murders in Stalin’s Russia, received rave reviews and won prizes. I’m a bit puzzled: the plot is implausible and the characters unbelievable. The dialogue – such as it is – is unconvincing: late twentieth century psychobabble sits uneasily in ‘fifites Soviet mouths. Nor is the writing technically up to much at times: we have verbless sentences, comma splicing, and “its / it’s” errors galore. On the other hand, it's an engrossing read which conjures up the suspicious, dangerous atmosphere of its time and place well (not that I was there of course, so I have no way of really judging this). It also seems miles better than its sequel, The Secret Speech, a short extract from which is given here. That’s not saying much, however.
6 June 2010
http://www.tomrobsmith.com/
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