NellaFantasia wrote:
I've been trying to read The Inbetween People for the past four months. I don't think I've ever had so much trouble with a 176 page book. First, I'd like to say, it's absolutely stunning. My delay is by no means a negative review of the book. It just has a tendency to overwhelm me every few pages. The Inbetween People by Emma McEvoy can probably be best described as a cross between The Reluctant Fundamentalist and The History of Love. Like The Reluctant Fundamentalist, it tackles real world issues (the Israeli-Palestine conflict rather than Pakistani fundamentalism) with a wonderful soft lyricism that's heavily grounded in first person narration. But in a addition to that, like The History of Love, it goes beyond just one person's story with letters and well, history. But The Inbetween People is better than both of those books because all of it feels natural and none of it seems gimmicky.
I had to go look that one up. It sounds really interesting. Is it the writing itself or the story that seems overwhelming?
A bit of both, but definitely more the writing itself. There are no full page paragraphs, but all the paragraphs are a good length, and most sentences too, are sort of long. And it has this...almost seductive quality to it, like I would drown in it if I read too much at once, so I don't. Although I probably should just finish it since it's not that long of a book...
The last book I had this much trouble with was The Swan Thieves, but that probably also had to do with the sheer length of the book and the slow pacing. Oh, for people who haven't read The Swan Thieves, I would recommend it to patient readers who love beautiful descriptions and just beautiful writing in general. Like I've said many times, it's a book about art that itself is also like a piece of art. There's not a lot of action or plot, but if you're the type that likes art museums, a splash of mystery, and well developed characters, then The Swan Thieves is for you.
Because I'm super behind on my reading goal this year (still 100 books like the last two years), I need recommendations for short books. (Preferably less than 200 pages)