Book Review: The Shore by Sara Taylor

I started reading The Shore several months ago. Reading the first chapter, I didn't feel very intrigued. Then I read the last sentence, ...

I started reading The Shore several months ago. Reading the first chapter, I didn't feel very intrigued. Then I read the last sentence, and BAM! I thought it was going to be a great read. Then it took me almost two weeks to get through two more chapters. Eventually, I left the book on the shelf, and forgot about it.

I started a reading challenge for myself this year, and I decided I wanted to try to finish the book. I struggled through several more chapters, then read about three more chapters within an hour or so.



The novel was difficult, I will say that. Each chapter focused on a different character, in a different year. The book, as a whole, spanned over a few hundred years (1800s-2100s). The chapters focusing on the 1980s-2010s were the easiest to read, because they seemed to make sense and sucked me in. Other chapters I just couldn't get into, and those ruined the entire book for me.

Additionally, since there were so many characters, who were connected in one way or the other, I had to flip to the family tree in the front of the book several times a chapter (and sometimes, several times a page). While I'm glad the family tree existed for reference, the abundance of characters and plot lines were very confusing to me. This is not to say Taylor is not a great writer; I have the same difficulties reading authors like Charles Dickens.

There were some nice twists and turns and shocking revelations, but overall, I just could not enjoy most of the book. If the book took only the chapters from the 1980s-2010s, then put them in sequence, it would have been a much easier read.

For more information on this book and the author, please visit here.









I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. 

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2 comments

  1. It's too bad when you come across a book and it just doesn't work for you. I really hate forcing myself to read stuff when I know I'm struggling, so good for you for finishing this book! I will make sure to stay away from it lol.

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    1. It was such a weird struggle, because I felt the need to know what happened, but it was still so confusing at the end (I do the same thing with TV shows. I'll continue watching them just to see what happens even if I'm not feeling it anymore!).

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