Did you have trouble following the timeline?

Use this forum to discuss the October Book of the Month "McDowell" by William H. Coles.
Loveli
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Re: Did you have trouble following the timeline?

Post by Loveli »

This is the most irritating thing about this otherwise flawless book. I often went back to check whether I missed something somewhere.
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Post by Kajori Sheryl Paul »

I agree that the timeframe was unclear, but I also feel the fast pace somewhat makes up for it.
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Post by lazybekah »

Yeah, I would have loved some time markers or something. He included headings at the beginnings of chapters with character names, locations, etc. I think it would have been easy to give us some reference of time in there as well.
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Post by Jimi Adewole »

I had this problem with the timeline as well, but I felt once you got into stride with your reading, you just had to ignore the blips and forge ahead. I couldn't abide how inattentive the author was to the prison escape though. I seemed like the real pivot for the redemption of Hiram McDowell's character and it is almost a cursory note.
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Post by Cristina Chifane »

No, I didn't have any trouble following the timeline although the narrative threads were sometimes disjointed and disconnected. Towards the end, I got used to the writer's style to the point of not noticing the fractured plot development.
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Post by Harley-Panda »

I did a little. There were quite a few things which seemed to jump around, such as Billie and Tasha's storyline. Also, the trial and McDowell's time in prison were basically nonexistent in the story. How long did the trial go on for? How long was he in jail for and what happened during that time? Maybe I need to reread it to try and work it out.
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Post by SpencerVo »

I didn't have trouble following the story timeline, however the continuous jumping was irritating. Maybe the author only chose important details to create the fast pace but didn't want the story to unfold in such a short time.
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Post by Gotyourbakula »

Yes, it was super hard to follow. I'm glad I was taking notes, but I don't think I should have to just so I can follow along. I'm surprised when they re-read the manuscript that they were okay with it not making any sense.
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Post by TALIA ONYANGO »

I had no real issues with the timelines. The flow was just good and comprehensible.
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Post by leanne_brown17 »

I had no trouble following the timeline, I didn't feel it was issue at all. Rather, I enjoyed the style of writing because it was very succinct. Other writers can make the mistake of adding too much detail and information, which makes the story boring. Coles included just enough detail to give a view of what was going on, which made the book very enjoyable for me.
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Post by abbiejoice »

I didn't find much problem following the time. I can still get a good grasp of the story even without a detailed timeline.
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Post by Little_one11 »

I think I lost the time-line in the beginning of the book. But not in the second half of it. Also I don't think it affects anything in my reading.
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Post by Theresa Moffitt »

Life In Books wrote: 22 Oct 2018, 07:45 I did not have any trouble following the timeline. The flow of the story was smooth enough to make it an interesting and easy-to-read novel.
I agree - I thought the same thing. I really didn’t see an issue with the timeline as I was reading the book
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Post by Moddesser Elahi »

Theresam wrote: 06 Dec 2018, 11:24
Life In Books wrote: 22 Oct 2018, 07:45 I did not have any trouble following the timeline. The flow of the story was smooth enough to make it an interesting and easy-to-read novel.
I agree - I thought the same thing. I really didn’t see an issue with the timeline as I was reading the book
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Post by Shrabastee Chakraborty »

Yes,I have also noted this discrepancy considering the timeline. The time lapses were very uneven just like you mentioned. However, the overall progress of the novel was satisfactory, so I did not pay much attention to the confusing timeline.
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