Crow Lake

We're actually discussing this book tonight at book club, and I have no idea what I'm going to say, honestly. Did I like it? Not really. But the thing I'm struggling with is articulating WHY I didn't enjoy it or feel it had value at all. I can't figure out how to approach it...

As a writer, and one who studies writing in school, I think the writing was baaaaad. We actually talked about "voice" in one of my classes this past week, and what makes an author's voice, what differentiates authors from one another, etc. Maybe that was a bad talk to have before picking up this book, because I felt like the storyteller and main character, Kate's, voice was just impossible to nail down. She was all over the place. She's a college professor (at...27 I think it was? Really? How easy is grad school in Canada?) yet she randomly slips into some sort of backwoodsy sentence constructions. But only sometimes. And not in such a way that you'd be all like "Oh, the inconsistencies tell you something about her character." In the way that made me think "Who edited this crap?" (Oh, I hope school has not ruined me forever...)

As a reader and a lover of books, in some ways it felt like a waste of time. It wasn't *boring* per se (though I will say I took 2 naps - something I NEVER do - on Friday and Saturday while trying to get through this book. It could have been the dreary weather and Spring Break fatigue... but Crow Lake certainly played a role in it!!!) Since there wasn't much interesting ON the paper to ponder, I guess I just let my critical mind wander and started wondering why the author didn't go anywhere new and interesting with the plot. It felt like there were a bunch of interesting and potentially conflicting roads she could go down, but she just didn't. The ending brought it all together, but I still was a little mad bc I wish the author had told me some of that stuff sooner so I could have been interested in the book before page 270!! I also happen to believe the ending was kind of an easy and unbelievable ending... the character's realizations are good, but the plot was just sophomoric. :)

Maybe I'll think of some positive things to say about it. I love books, I love reading, and I don't get to do much of it during the semester. I SO wanted to like this book, and I only say that because when I feel so negative about a book I question my attitude - like did I really give this book a chance? I TRIED... but oh well. Not every book can be awesome, and I'll try to think of it like cleansing my palate.