As far as I'm concerned, this book represents everything that is wrong with the publishing industry at the moment. I've read some fantastic reviews about this book, and was really looking forward to it, despite being quite unimpressed with the two marketing stunts the book (I don't know whether this should be attributed to the author or the publishing company) tried to pull:
One was the blurb at the back cover, which reads:
We don't want to tell you what happens in this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it.
Nevertheless, you need to know enough to buy it, so we just say this:
This is the story of two women.
Their lives collide one fateful day. and one of them has to make a terrible choice.
Two years later, they meet again - the story starts there...
Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds.
Seemingly inspired by the fantastic Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, which also has a blurb refraining from giving an accurate gist of the story, I wasn't too put off by the above, on its own. However, the opening page of the book has an "editor's note" that starts:
Dear Reader,
You don't know me. I'm Chris Cleave's editor, and I'm writing to tell you how extraordinary The Other Hand is.
She goes on to categorize the book with the likes of Schindler's Ark and Cloud Atlas, and makes it sound like the best thing since sliced bread.
Now, I know the book requests me not to disclose any more facts, so I'll just state three points that aggravated me most about it (and I think there were far more than three):
- One of the protagonists talks of her country, where people don't understand what 'wood floors' and 'coffee tables' mean. Yet, they're massive U2 fans. That's the one thing that unites people world-wide: Everyone loves U2.
- The book is repetitive - repetitive to the point where it feels patronizing, and you get a jolt of deja vu: Hang on, I've read this before. You flip back a couple of pages, and sure enough - you have.
- The other protagonist has an insipid lackluster personality, but, she's still capable of making a 'terrible choice' (note: the 'terrible choice' is more of an 'incredible sacrifice', but, I don't think that would sell as well).
I also thought that the book went in for the 'shock' factor, without dealing with the sensitive and controversial topics that it addresses. Characters lacked depth, the two narrators weren't realistic, and a lot of the story was unbelievable. There was, I thought, one saving grace to the book: the child you see on the front cover, but the author managed to ruin that as well, by overusing his single nuance.
Sorry publishers, but I didn't really feel like telling my friends about this book after I read it.
Rating : 1