Review of A Fine Line
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Hilary Cooke
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Review of A Fine Line
[Following is a volunteer review of "A Fine Line" by David Gilbertson.]
“A Fine Line” by David Gilbertson is a sweeping epic of a tale following the lives of the working poor of Liverpool and Dundee. It recounts the stories of different families throughout history, linking them together through location and relationships.
The familial stories that Gilbertson presents are strong, interesting and have a powerful female bent. Indeed, the early tales of the first three books all focus on the lives of women. It is refreshing to hear the stories of these sections of society, which are usually ignored. Gilbertson handles them well and with compassion.
There are strongly adult themes here. Poverty, prostitution, religious differences, domestic violence, and sexual aggression are all represented. Such emotive and contentious issues could risk becoming an opportunity for the author to be judgemental. Gilbertson avoids this. His perspective defends the women, justifying their actions without apportioning blame. I am particularly impressed by his defence of prostitution, as explained by Ann in Book One. Similarly, his handling of a woman trying to live her life through creeping domestic violence in Book Two is an excellent representation. The characters are complex and rounded when they could easily have slipped into archetypes.
All this makes it disappointing when Gilbertson’s characters do slip into stereotypes. The Murdoch/Hearne storyline is the most obvious of these, as his thoroughly despicable nature risks making him a two-dimensional character. The closing of his storyline seems a little contrived, too. The author seems to have been too eager to tie up all the loose ends in his tale.
Indeed, whilst the individuals’ stories are fascinating, openings and endings are a weakness for Gilbertson. The start of the book is awkward and clumsy, as characters are introduced in rapid succession, along with snippets of information about them. A bit like being introduced to dozens of strangers at a party, the information becomes overwhelming and forgettable. The characters do not become memorable until their stories begin to be told, which does not start happening in earnest until chapter seven.
The ending of the book also feels a little laboured. As each character gets to look back on their life, they voice their reflections to their friends and family. It is a chance for the author to conclude each story, pointing the reader towards what he wants us to take from the tales. It is a problem, however, that the voice they all use is Gilbertson’s own. There is no difference here between the speech patterns of the working-class female octogenarian, the grandson who is back from the war, the shopkeeper and everyone else. They all speak with the measured intelligence of the highly educated author.
One more issue disrupted my enjoyment of the book – this time a problem of structure. At various times, primarily in Book One, Gilbertson jumped from one storyline to another without any break in the chapter or page. This was confusing. It is the kind of convention a reader does not notice until it is broken. Gilbertson broke it repeatedly and the abrupt switches between storylines were jarring.
Apart from these issues and an unexpectedly large number of grammatical errors, I was extremely impressed by the book. The author mined the wealth of history about Liverpool and its people and produced an interesting, informative, and gripping book. He did not shy away from difficult subjects and managed uncomfortable subject matter with compassion and understanding. For these reasons, I give the book a mark of 4 out of 5.
******
A Fine Line
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
“A Fine Line” by David Gilbertson is a sweeping epic of a tale following the lives of the working poor of Liverpool and Dundee. It recounts the stories of different families throughout history, linking them together through location and relationships.
The familial stories that Gilbertson presents are strong, interesting and have a powerful female bent. Indeed, the early tales of the first three books all focus on the lives of women. It is refreshing to hear the stories of these sections of society, which are usually ignored. Gilbertson handles them well and with compassion.
There are strongly adult themes here. Poverty, prostitution, religious differences, domestic violence, and sexual aggression are all represented. Such emotive and contentious issues could risk becoming an opportunity for the author to be judgemental. Gilbertson avoids this. His perspective defends the women, justifying their actions without apportioning blame. I am particularly impressed by his defence of prostitution, as explained by Ann in Book One. Similarly, his handling of a woman trying to live her life through creeping domestic violence in Book Two is an excellent representation. The characters are complex and rounded when they could easily have slipped into archetypes.
All this makes it disappointing when Gilbertson’s characters do slip into stereotypes. The Murdoch/Hearne storyline is the most obvious of these, as his thoroughly despicable nature risks making him a two-dimensional character. The closing of his storyline seems a little contrived, too. The author seems to have been too eager to tie up all the loose ends in his tale.
Indeed, whilst the individuals’ stories are fascinating, openings and endings are a weakness for Gilbertson. The start of the book is awkward and clumsy, as characters are introduced in rapid succession, along with snippets of information about them. A bit like being introduced to dozens of strangers at a party, the information becomes overwhelming and forgettable. The characters do not become memorable until their stories begin to be told, which does not start happening in earnest until chapter seven.
The ending of the book also feels a little laboured. As each character gets to look back on their life, they voice their reflections to their friends and family. It is a chance for the author to conclude each story, pointing the reader towards what he wants us to take from the tales. It is a problem, however, that the voice they all use is Gilbertson’s own. There is no difference here between the speech patterns of the working-class female octogenarian, the grandson who is back from the war, the shopkeeper and everyone else. They all speak with the measured intelligence of the highly educated author.
One more issue disrupted my enjoyment of the book – this time a problem of structure. At various times, primarily in Book One, Gilbertson jumped from one storyline to another without any break in the chapter or page. This was confusing. It is the kind of convention a reader does not notice until it is broken. Gilbertson broke it repeatedly and the abrupt switches between storylines were jarring.
Apart from these issues and an unexpectedly large number of grammatical errors, I was extremely impressed by the book. The author mined the wealth of history about Liverpool and its people and produced an interesting, informative, and gripping book. He did not shy away from difficult subjects and managed uncomfortable subject matter with compassion and understanding. For these reasons, I give the book a mark of 4 out of 5.
******
A Fine Line
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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