Andrew Wardle answers “Am I the only reader who found this book a...”

Maureen asked this question about The Unconsoled:

Am I the only reader who found this book a never-ending loquacious boring bag of misery?

Andrew Wardle No, Maureen, I think you're spot-on. This is wilfully obscure nonsense with terrible characters and worse dialogue. If he weren't already famous he'd …moreNo, Maureen, I think you're spot-on. This is wilfully obscure nonsense with terrible characters and worse dialogue. If he weren't already famous he'd never have got it published. It set me thinking about his writing generally. We accept Stevens in "The Remains......." because his repression and snobbery prevent him seeing the world as it really is. The central character in "Floating World" is racked by guilt and regret and also comes from a culture whose traditions are unfamiliar to Europeans. But then you get the cardboard cut-out detective in "When We Were Orphans", and Ryder in this. And I begin to suspect that this is an author who can't actually create a recognisable human being, a believable real-world character. Or put any convincing dialogue into his mouth.(less)

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