Gallant by VE Schwab
My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.
I have mixed feelings about this book. I loved the Gothic atmosphere. Definitely the best thing about the book besides Olivia. The characterization of the house was so strong and well-rendered. I could see this as a movie very clearly. The imagery of this old, decaying manse and the darkness that surrounded it was quite impactful.
I feel like the characters were less well rendered, with the exception of Olivia. I do think I got to know Olivia very well and I felt very attached to her. I appreciated the viewpoint of a young girl who could not speak and how she was able to convey herself and define herself despite not having the ability to use her voice. She is trying to find out who she is and where she came from, and longs for a family. She was strong and determined, but also vulnerable. While she was rebellious, it was for a reason, as a young girl who had no control of her life and no security, she had to learn to advocate for herself.
I listened to the audiobook read by actor Julian Rhind-Tutt and I had some trouble initially with his narrative voice although I do like him as an actor. I feel like the book should have been narrated by a woman, honestly, or at least had a female and male narrator. The older male voice threw me off when I was supposed to be seeing the story through a young girl's viewpoint. Having said that, I did think his work was well done from the aspect of narrating the sinister moments and the point of view of the villain.
I also appreciated the unique elements of the plot. I haven't read a book like this. It took me a while to figure things out, to be honest. At first, it's not clear what is actually going on with Olivia or the house. I didn't feel like things are brought to life until close to the end, which was a source of frustration for me as I read the book. I am not a big fan of stories that drag out unnecessarily. There was a bit of that dynamic with this book. I feel like the pacing could have been better and things could have moved along more quickly. Despite that, overall, the ending what somewhat satisfying but sad in some ways.
It's a decent book, but it was problematic for me in the pacing, so this one sits at a three star for me for that reason.
I feel like the characters were less well rendered, with the exception of Olivia. I do think I got to know Olivia very well and I felt very attached to her. I appreciated the viewpoint of a young girl who could not speak and how she was able to convey herself and define herself despite not having the ability to use her voice. She is trying to find out who she is and where she came from, and longs for a family. She was strong and determined, but also vulnerable. While she was rebellious, it was for a reason, as a young girl who had no control of her life and no security, she had to learn to advocate for herself.
I listened to the audiobook read by actor Julian Rhind-Tutt and I had some trouble initially with his narrative voice although I do like him as an actor. I feel like the book should have been narrated by a woman, honestly, or at least had a female and male narrator. The older male voice threw me off when I was supposed to be seeing the story through a young girl's viewpoint. Having said that, I did think his work was well done from the aspect of narrating the sinister moments and the point of view of the villain.
I also appreciated the unique elements of the plot. I haven't read a book like this. It took me a while to figure things out, to be honest. At first, it's not clear what is actually going on with Olivia or the house. I didn't feel like things are brought to life until close to the end, which was a source of frustration for me as I read the book. I am not a big fan of stories that drag out unnecessarily. There was a bit of that dynamic with this book. I feel like the pacing could have been better and things could have moved along more quickly. Despite that, overall, the ending what somewhat satisfying but sad in some ways.
It's a decent book, but it was problematic for me in the pacing, so this one sits at a three star for me for that reason.
No comments:
Post a Comment