Review of Looking Glass Friends
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Milena Weaver
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- Latest Review: Looking Glass Friends by E L Neve
Review of Looking Glass Friends
[Following is a volunteer review of "Looking Glass Friends" by E L Neve.]
Looking Glass Friends is an award winning novel that shows the inner-most thoughts and souls of Neil and Ellie. Both married to other people, one longing for something to bring color his life, and the other reconciled to her cyclic existence. A random encounter in a bakery, a book gifted, and recognition of kindred spirits begins the soul-searching, half-hope, half-pain that punctuates and paints this story. Author E.L. Neve brings a story of defiant hope, crushing encounters with reality, and action that will have you longing to get on with it.
No doubt that E.L. Neve has an amazing grasp of the English Language and there was wonderfully descriptive pictures drawn of some of the settings, and the feelings of the secondary characters, and I was inclined to bask in the poetic prose of those descriptive words instead of paying attention to the characters and their story.
This book, so highly recommended, was a terrible read for me. Separated into two parts, with no definitive reason. The plot had potential, but fell short of delivering more than a trite married and miserable storyline. I was really hoping to see more. The main characters were 1-dimensional and stiff with no growing. It could very well be that their characters were drawn that way to advance the plot and affect tone, but when I found the supporting characters more real and more likable in some respects. Neil and Ellie were flat characters, written in such a way that I did not empathize, identify with, or even like, either of them. Even though characters had very dark moments, it felt like an after-thought to make them more believable. The words exchanges between Neil and Ellie seemed overreaction to call love what you’d call the intelligent conversation of that could have easily been obtained by joining a local library book club or a support group. The book choice used to spark the interactions was one that I would rather watch mindless cartoons than read. Rather, it has been used as one of those books that no one has really read (because it is incredibly boring) but everyone talks about to prove how intelligent they are.
My overall impression of this book is negative. I rated it 2 out of 4 stars. I had been ready for an award-winning book, which I was certain would have a more substantial plot, better drawn characters who experienced growth, but didn’t find it. I subtracted 2 stars for the lack of strong character development, as I pointed out.
(i)Looking Glass Friends(/i) is for mature audiences due to mentions of sexual assault and suicide, but my recommendation is to give it a try yourself since my taste is not everyone else’s, and know that if you find the characters dull and flat, it doesn’t get better.
******
Looking Glass Friends
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Looking Glass Friends is an award winning novel that shows the inner-most thoughts and souls of Neil and Ellie. Both married to other people, one longing for something to bring color his life, and the other reconciled to her cyclic existence. A random encounter in a bakery, a book gifted, and recognition of kindred spirits begins the soul-searching, half-hope, half-pain that punctuates and paints this story. Author E.L. Neve brings a story of defiant hope, crushing encounters with reality, and action that will have you longing to get on with it.
No doubt that E.L. Neve has an amazing grasp of the English Language and there was wonderfully descriptive pictures drawn of some of the settings, and the feelings of the secondary characters, and I was inclined to bask in the poetic prose of those descriptive words instead of paying attention to the characters and their story.
This book, so highly recommended, was a terrible read for me. Separated into two parts, with no definitive reason. The plot had potential, but fell short of delivering more than a trite married and miserable storyline. I was really hoping to see more. The main characters were 1-dimensional and stiff with no growing. It could very well be that their characters were drawn that way to advance the plot and affect tone, but when I found the supporting characters more real and more likable in some respects. Neil and Ellie were flat characters, written in such a way that I did not empathize, identify with, or even like, either of them. Even though characters had very dark moments, it felt like an after-thought to make them more believable. The words exchanges between Neil and Ellie seemed overreaction to call love what you’d call the intelligent conversation of that could have easily been obtained by joining a local library book club or a support group. The book choice used to spark the interactions was one that I would rather watch mindless cartoons than read. Rather, it has been used as one of those books that no one has really read (because it is incredibly boring) but everyone talks about to prove how intelligent they are.
My overall impression of this book is negative. I rated it 2 out of 4 stars. I had been ready for an award-winning book, which I was certain would have a more substantial plot, better drawn characters who experienced growth, but didn’t find it. I subtracted 2 stars for the lack of strong character development, as I pointed out.
(i)Looking Glass Friends(/i) is for mature audiences due to mentions of sexual assault and suicide, but my recommendation is to give it a try yourself since my taste is not everyone else’s, and know that if you find the characters dull and flat, it doesn’t get better.
******
Looking Glass Friends
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Looking Glass Friends by E L Neve
