This is the first book by Alex Michaelides that I’ve read although I’m familiar with his other works. I was drawn in by the way the story is structured, as though we’re being told the story first hand. It has a very intimate quality to it, like you’re being let in on a secret. But soon it’s all too apparent that our unnamed narrator (later revealed as Elliott Chase) is completely unreliable.
We’re told early on that the events that transpired - where a group of people holiday on a remote Greek island and someone ends up dead - are told entirely from Elliott’s perspective even going so far as to fill in thoughts of others and dialogue for moments that he was absent for.
Clearly, he’s leading the story which I was happy to allow because as I said you’re pulled in by the intimacy of feeling like you're getting in on the secret of finding out what happened. Considering one of the people in the group that day was a famous and beloved actress and it adds another layer of almost salacious gossip. But don’t get too comfortable as the narrative quickly twists to add other unforeseen layers.
Told like the acts of a play, I really appreciated the way in which Alex Michaelides added those layers of the story. It lends itself well to the performative aspect of Elliott's iteration of events. The repetition between the "acts" while also revealing new morsels of information was done really well.
While I like the reframing of the story as we go - which allows for a lot of change of perspective - I think it treads too fine a line and for me just crossed over into being too much. Too much unreliability in the things I was reading. Little to nothing that I could believe in without a shadow of a doubt which is an aspect I need in my books, even if it's just a morsel of truth. Unfortunately, all of this boils into the conclusion of the book, so it's not until then that I could confidently say that these were issues for me.
Beyond that, I did like the narrative choice. Despite being unlikable and unreliable, I like Elliott. He has a charisma about him that comes across so well. You can't help but lean into the story to see where he takes you.
Overall, I think it's a worthy read (or listen). I'd say it's more of a character study than a hard-hitting mystery. Maybe that's the key that I was missing while reading.
Edit Review
We’re told early on that the events that transpired - where a group of people holiday on a remote Greek island and someone ends up dead - are told entirely from Elliott’s perspective even going so far as to fill in thoughts of others and dialogue for moments that he was absent for.
Clearly, he’s leading the story which I was happy to allow because as I said you’re pulled in by the intimacy of feeling like you're getting in on the secret of finding out what happened. Considering one of the people in the group that day was a famous and beloved actress and it adds another layer of almost salacious gossip. But don’t get too comfortable as the narrative quickly twists to add other unforeseen layers.
Told like the acts of a play, I really appreciated the way in which Alex Michaelides added those layers of the story. It lends itself well to the performative aspect of Elliott's iteration of events. The repetition between the "acts" while also revealing new morsels of information was done really well.
While I like the reframing of the story as we go - which allows for a lot of change of perspective - I think it treads too fine a line and for me just crossed over into being too much. Too much unreliability in the things I was reading. Little to nothing that I could believe in without a shadow of a doubt which is an aspect I need in my books, even if it's just a morsel of truth. Unfortunately, all of this boils into the conclusion of the book, so it's not until then that I could confidently say that these were issues for me.
Beyond that, I did like the narrative choice. Despite being unlikable and unreliable, I like Elliott. He has a charisma about him that comes across so well. You can't help but lean into the story to see where he takes you.
Overall, I think it's a worthy read (or listen). I'd say it's more of a character study than a hard-hitting mystery. Maybe that's the key that I was missing while reading.
Edit Review