Comment: I've gotten this book because I loved another one also by Agatha Christie writing as Mary Westmacott, where the focus is not in a crime but in the psychology of the characters and their choices. I hoped this would be as intriguing and perfectly polished as Absent in Spring, but it was not so.
In this novel, the focus seems to be on Laura Franklin, a young girl who feels threatened by her younger sister Shirley, especially after their brother Charlie dies. Laura feels jealous of the baby and she often wonders what would it be like if she were to die as well and perhaps Laura could then have all the love of their parents to herself. Everything changes when a fire almost kills the baby and Laura takes the risk to save her which turns her obsession about her potential death into ways to smother her with love.
As their relationship grows as they go through life though, Laura has to realize she can't make Shirley's choices for her and her opinion is only that...
I expected this to be as emotionally rich as the other book by the author I've tried. I thought it would, again, touch interesting notions and the story would be compelling but unlike the other book, I struggled a little to appreciate some of the situations Laura sees herself in.
This situation is even more difficult because the book is divided into parts, and only the first one, where we are supposed to infer Laura's psychological state, is actually about Laura.
The other parts focus on other characters, namely Shirley and her desire to marry a man Laura initially deems as not good enough for her.
This situation makes for a story that revolves mostly around Shirley and not necessarily how it affects Laura, as I imagined it would.
Of course the question is if the burden of love is stronger in those who let themselves suffer/be seen as weak because they care so much for someone else like Laura, or is it worse for those who know they are unconditionally loved but can't seem to feel they deserve it like Shirley.
I think the morality and the notions of what it to feel something for someone else and what it does imply even if not in a romantic sense are quite intriguing but the narrative itself felt short.
Most of the novel is centered on Shirley's bad decisions and how that affects her moods. To be honest, Shirley did feel a little spoiled and I didn't really enjoy so much of the narrative centered on her. There are two new characters who take a more central stage in the last two parts of the story but I had already "disconnected" so it was with a sense of "best to finish to end this" that I carried on.
Close to the end Laura confesses she feels she might have done wrong things in influencing Shirley and how she thought some of her actions might have led her into a path she now feels Shirley might have avoided if otherwise. I don't have this idea, to be honest. I think Shirley wasn't that naive, just thought she would know better...
This novel is labeled psychological romance but despite us having an HEA by the end of book, I wouldn't say there is actually romantic content here. I don't think the reader was led in a believable nor intriguing enough path with these characters, there's a lot of missed opportunities to make this a better read. The message, or the purpose we if we prefer, of this book is lost among the superfluous details and the way the characters were connected. The author did a lot better later on, I suppose this being one of her first "romances" is evidence enough she didn't really plan who this would develop.
All things considered, this was not an enjoyable read as a whole. I always thought while reading the characters should do this, shouldn't do that, so it got to be disappointing to re-write the novel in my head, even if in the page things were going towards a path I think was not the best option.
I was interested in Laura and in her story but it seems she was never meant to be the central character. If that was Shirley, then this couldn't be positive since she annoyed me more than I pity her.
I'll try another story by the author to see where my preference lies in how I can appreciate this side of her, if I love the stories more than I get annoyed with them.
Grade: 5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment