The Battle of the Sun, Jeannette Winterson
I remember quite enjoying Tanglewreck, so I was somewhat surprised to be rather unhappy with The Battle of the Sun. The opening is fairly promising — the description of Jack being so, so eager for his spaniel, so full of thoughts of the spaniel, that he’s practically a spaniel himself, it really works and paints exactly the picture it needs to. Not that vivid imagery has ever been a problem for Winterson, and it’s so surprise that her writing is poetic and vivid and phantasmagoric.
However, it’s also quicksilver, jumping from thought to thought, and things aren’t explained — they just happen, one after another, and who knows why? I can’t remember if I found Tanglewreck to be like that, but I can’t say I enjoyed it in this book. In the end, I zipped through to the end on my ereader and put it down with a sigh of relief. Just not one that worked for me.
I’m not a fan of books that jump around and seem confused about where they are going. I like the spaniel stuff and the cover. What a shame it didn’t work out for you.
Yeah, there was some promising stuff, but alas… 🙁
My impression of this exactly, and a huge disappointment after ‘Tanglewreck’. However, I’ve ‘Lighthousekeeping’ by Winterson still to read which, as far as I can see, also features Silver, so I hope to pick that up soon and hoping it’s more promising.
Hmmm, maybe I’ll check that out.