The Inheritance of Loss
by Kiran Desai
Monday, August 6, 2007
- I looked at the Booker Prize short and long lists last year in search of some interesting new books to read; this book was listed but hadn’t jumped out to me.
- This book ended up winning the Booker Prize, over several books I’d read and enjoyed.
- I spotted this book on the library shelf and thought it was worth a try.
- I didn’t really think I was going to like it but found myself enjoying the style after a few pages. It’s composed of very short sections, mostly less than a page, and jumps around between characters, places and times.
- After a while the choppiness started to grate and reading it became more of a chore than relaxation.
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- I gave up about two-thirds of the way in and skim read the last part. I stopped to read “properly” where it looked interesting but couldn’t sustain the interest from one chapter to the next.
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