(2.5 / 5)
Ultimately this book disappointed me. Imagine a bell curve; that perfectly illustrates the energy and my interest in this novel.
The beginning was slow and that’s okay, a lot of books begin that way. I was prepared to be patient. The writing was good and occasionally very clever, clever enough I felt it promised satisfaction just around every page. I waited, then podded, onward. Even though I’m a self-proclaimed anglophile and I just absolutely adore anything British I was seriously contemplating not finishing this book. Nothing was happening, no character was strong enough to care too deeply about. Could I really abandon such a hallmark of British Literature? But ah ha! Low and behold, something started to happen around the 1/3 mark. The story gained momentum, albeit only a little, but still. “At last!” I thought, surely the heart of the story was just around the corner. With renewed zeal I plunged ahead.
For approximately 100 pages I enjoyed myself, I began to think how mischievous the author was-perhaps the painfully boring beginning was a tactical move to weed out the unworthy. Alas, by the 2/3 mark my interest had waned, but still I wanted to believe it would surprise me again. It never did. Even with ten pages to go I held out hope. Only on the last page did I admit defeat. Maybe I need to actually be British to fully appreciate it, perhaps I read this book too early in life (certainly not too late). For whatever reason, this book that the masterful J.K. Rowling herself proclaims “has one of the most charismatic characters I’ve ever met” was ultimately tiring and dull for me.
Violence: Low Language: Low Adult Content: Low