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The Great Wide Open by Douglas Kennedy (view source)
Revision as of 15:54, 26 September 2020
, 15:54, 26 September 2020no edit summary
I often feel a sense of trepidation when starting a book so large, but it's refreshing to pick up a novel that doesn't over-promise and justifies its weighty length. Books of this nature can often feel somewhat inaccessible, but that's not the case here. The novel seems to have ample time for every character in it: this is truly everyone's story, and I didn't feel as though any of the characters were poorly-served by it. ''The Great Wide Open'' will stay on my shelf with pleasure – this is definitely one I'll read again.
I love a novel that spans a wide timeframe, so we can see the characters truly change and grow. David Mitchell's [[The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell|The Bone Clocks]] is an example of one such book. Alternatively, Jonathan Coe's [[Number 11 by Jonathan Coe|Number 11]] is a more lighthearted, but no less thorough and introspective, state-of-the-nation novel, this time looking at Britain in the mid-2010s. You might also appreciate [[Deus Ex Machina by Charles Matthew Sauer]] and [[The Ludlow Ladies' Society by Ann O' Loughlin]].
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