The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
I am not quite sure how an author could turn an interesting idea and premise for a story into such rubbish. For the majority of the book I was under the impression that my inability to connect with the story was due to the fact that I was only ever able to read at best one chapter at a time. However, once I hit the 70% mark in the story, I knew that the problem was not with me, but rather with the author’s writing, the characters and the non-existing plot. I was so mad that I spent two weeks working myself through the book that I vowed to never speak of this book again…after this very restrained review.
To begin with, I should start by explaining that the synopsis at the back of the book provides the potential reader with more intrigue than will ever actually be present within these pages, making this story extremely boring. The author’s writing in general shows the lack of confidence and ease, which is required when attempting to write in the English style that was customary during the 1700’s. It feels chopped and unnatural and the flow of the conversation/narration is constantly undermined by the very obvious attempts to be as original as possible in syntax and word choice. Furthermore, the reader does understand that the story is set in Scotland, therefore it is not appreciated when characters continue to speak in a dialect that is neither explained nor understood. The author needs to keep in mind that not all, who read her story will have a fundamental knowledge of the various Scottish dialects and in a story that switches back and forth in dialects this can cause a break in the flow of the narration (mostly because no one knows what is actually going on).
The characters, in particular the two protagonists of the present and the past, are flat, uninteresting and naive. I had great hopes for a representation of a female character that was successful and still had a good grasp on reality; however, I was greatly disappointed and annoyed by the “better-than-thou” attitude she exudes. The female character of the past was just unbearably dense. If one had pushed her off a cliff, I would not have been sad. She barely aided in moving the plot forward and could not have been more mismatched for the original premise of this story.
The plot, or lack thereof, was just plain atrocious. Every other chapter the reader would be subjected to a history lesson that was supposed to inform of the political happenings of 1708. Unfortunately, this was done through misguided dialogue that felt out of place, usually spanned an entire page, lacked clarity and at times came across as just plain silly.
Overall, I have to say it was a waste of time and effort to work myself through this collection of failed attempts at romance, fiction and history. I cannot and will not ever recommend this to anyone.
