Adult Book Mini-Reviews (3)

The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch. I enjoyed this book but didn't love it, something for which I partly blame my too-high expectations. I heard this book would be the historical thriller for those who don't like historical thrillers (more or less my category), and while it was quite good as far as books in that genre go, it still wasn't my cup of tea. My chief complaint was that the book just moved too slowly for me, both in terms of plot progression and character development, and it was only in the final quarter of the book that the pace picked up. It was this quarter that I enjoyed the most as finally I was flipping pages with the eagerness of someone who wants to know what happens next. Still, this had an inventive and unique plot based upon real events, and it was indeed quite interesting to read the perspective of someone as morbid as a hangman. Recommended? Yes, if you're a fan of historical fiction or want to try it out.

NW by Zadie Smith. I didn't know this before going on - and it didn't negatively impact my reading experience at all - but this is not so much a traditional novel as an experimental piece of fiction. I was a little thrown off at first but the raw, lyrical quality of the writing appealed to me almost immediately. It was like reading poetry encapsulated in story form, free from the rigidity of typical novels but still very much with a sense of coherency. This form lent itself very well to exploring the characters deeply and really giving insight into the inner workings of each of the four main perspectives, as well as showing how all their complicated lives and tensions connected into one main story. Note that this certainly is not a book for everyone. Recommended? Very highly so, but only to those who enjoy or think they may enjoy experimental fiction - it may fall flat otherwise.