Premise: As Cohen’s father wrestles imminent death after a severe injury, Cohen begins to reflect back on some of the most haunting memories of his childhood as he struggles to come to terms with old resentments he’s held against his dad after all of these years.
This story started out strong but I suppose they often do. Unfortunately, the spark of suspense the author initially ignited fizzled out for a good portion of the story. The first half was mainly family drama and there wasn’t anything particularly unique or shocking within that drama.
My biggest disappointment was that the synopsis notes that Cohen is the primary suspect in his dad’s death. This, as well as the beginning of the book, are very misleading. I thought I was entering into something much different. There was barely any focus on Cohen’s involvement in his father’s life-threatening injury and the investigation surrounding the incident was an incredibly muted part of the story.
The book eventually took a rather unexpected turn, at least when reflecting on childhood memories, and it created slight intrigue for me. Unfortunately, it was not enough to keep me actively engaged for the first half. I felt it began to get more interesting around the 60% mark, which was a relief as I kept pushing myself along. Another unforeseen twist closer to the end also created a more satisfying read. The author redeemed the tale a bit as it reached its momentum building conclusion.
Additionally, the author’s vivid descriptions, haunting phrases, and lovely, poetic flow did help pull me through some of the slower, less engaging parts.
But I must note that I feel a certain responsibility was dodged in never properly offering closure in how the book began. I feel like the author wanted to tell a much different story than the one he started with, which is fine, but I feel there was a level of deception with the beginning’s pull. I don’t think that’s a fair path to lay out for the reader. I felt it was one of many pieces in the book that lacked proper development and I found that to be incredibly frustrating.
I liked Smucker’s book and I think that if you enter in with the right expectations, you might enjoy it more than I did.
This story started out strong but I suppose they often do. Unfortunately, the spark of suspense the author initially ignited fizzled out for a good portion of the story. The first half was mainly family drama and there wasn’t anything particularly unique or shocking within that drama.
My biggest disappointment was that the synopsis notes that Cohen is the primary suspect in his dad’s death. This, as well as the beginning of the book, are very misleading. I thought I was entering into something much different. There was barely any focus on Cohen’s involvement in his father’s life-threatening injury and the investigation surrounding the incident was an incredibly muted part of the story.
The book eventually took a rather unexpected turn, at least when reflecting on childhood memories, and it created slight intrigue for me. Unfortunately, it was not enough to keep me actively engaged for the first half. I felt it began to get more interesting around the 60% mark, which was a relief as I kept pushing myself along. Another unforeseen twist closer to the end also created a more satisfying read. The author redeemed the tale a bit as it reached its momentum building conclusion.
Additionally, the author’s vivid descriptions, haunting phrases, and lovely, poetic flow did help pull me through some of the slower, less engaging parts.
But I must note that I feel a certain responsibility was dodged in never properly offering closure in how the book began. I feel like the author wanted to tell a much different story than the one he started with, which is fine, but I feel there was a level of deception with the beginning’s pull. I don’t think that’s a fair path to lay out for the reader. I felt it was one of many pieces in the book that lacked proper development and I found that to be incredibly frustrating.
I liked Smucker’s book and I think that if you enter in with the right expectations, you might enjoy it more than I did.