I led a book club discussion on this book in May 2014. We read mostly literary fiction, and this is definitely right up our alley. To be honest, I had read the book, quickly, a couple months earlier, was confused on several plot elements, and would have given it about a 7/10
…more for some of the more unrealistic aspects. When I re-read and took notes to keep the timelines and characters straight, I realized what the author was doing. I was in possession of a real gem and my score moved to 9/10).
The writing is absolutely superb. The characters breathe. The story line/s (you will understand that /s after you read it) grab you so you actually care about what is going to happen to them.
One of our more erudite members referred to the novel as a whole as "picaresque" (a term the rest of us had to look up).
I really can't describe the plot without giving the whole thing away. I will be first in line to buy the next book Jansma writes. Just ordered two copies of the paperback from my local independent in hopes that they will stock and so I always have a copy to hand someone to borrow!
Highly recommend with the caveat of not reading it too quickly and to re-read the first chapter (at least) after you finish. (less)
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