Kirjailijakuva

Elanor Dymott

Teoksen Every Contact Leaves A Trace: A Novel tekijä

4+ teosta 160 jäsentä 8 arvostelua

Tekijän teokset

Silver and Salt: A Novel (2017) 27 kappaletta
Slack-Tide (2019) 9 kappaletta
Bevor sie mich liebte (2013) 1 kappale

Associated Works

xo Orpheus: Fifty New Myths (2013) — Avustaja — 274 kappaletta

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Jäseniä

Kirja-arvosteluja

This wasn't the most thrilling of thrillers, in my opinion. I did find the setting interesting as much of the action takes place in a college in Oxford. I saw in the acknowledgments that the author attended this same college so that probably explains why the descriptions are so detailed. On the other hand, the characters seemed rather one-dimensional and I wasn't much taken by any of them.

Alex is a well-to-do solicitor in London. having studied law in Worcester College in Oxford. Richard, a well-to-do barrister, was almost the first person Alex met in Oxford and since they had the same tutor they saw a lot of each other. At Richard's wedding, Alex was seated at a table with Rachel, another former student at Worcester. Alex was rather smitten by her when they were in school and, at the wedding, they feel a mutual attraction. This attraction turns into something deeper and they are soon married. Then, on midsummer night while they are visiting Rachel's old tutor in Worcester, Rachel is brutally murdered. Six months later the police are no closer to solving the crime and Alex has had to take a leave of absence from work to deal with his grief. Rachel's old tutor, Harry, invites Alex to Oxford and promises to pass on some information that may clarify matters. Over the course of several days, Harry tells Alex a different version of events than he told the police and he leaves it up to Alex to decide if the police should be informed. The information paints a picture of Rachel that Alex never suspected.

The unveiling of the perpetrator wasn't much of a surprise to me; what puzzled me was why this would not have been deduced by the police as well. Obviously, Inspector Morse wasn't on the case.
… (lisätietoja)
½
 
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gypsysmom | 5 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Jan 29, 2024 |
I enjoyed the first half of this book. The author creates some wonderful image - the protagonist, Alex, comparing himself, at a time of immense confusion, to a tapestry, held in a frame, with shuttles rattling above and below him, and threads running back and forth beneath his skin particularly sticks in my mind.

I liked the way the story gently unfolds, not in a completely chronological order, but as Alex remembers events, making the book feel almost like a conversation.

Unfortunately, this method can inevitably only tell half the story, and so it is that halfway through, rather than being the Alex's memories, we get the protagonist telling us a version of events that was described to him by someone else. This second half, as a result, feels somewhat laboured, and towards the end of the book, I found myself getting annoyed with the slow pace things seemed to move over the last 30-40 pages.

I also found myself getting annoyed with the characters, with whom I had no sympathy or empathy. We are given snippets of information about the central couple, Alex and Rachel, perhaps aimed at explaining the behaviours leading to the events in the story, but we are not told enough, we are left hanging. There are numerous references to a significant event in the Alex's childhood, but we never discover what actually happened. Do we need to know? Perhaps not, perhaps it is enough to know it, and other events, impacted on the Alex's emotional growth, but with so many references to the events, some further information would be better.
… (lisätietoja)
 
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TheEllieMo | 5 muuta kirja-arvostelua | Jan 18, 2020 |
This book was a random pick from the shelves of my local library, and as such it wasn't too bad. It's an unusual story in which we, the readers, can clearly see that the woman (Elizabeth) is foolish in imagining that she will be able to have a good relationship with the man (Robert). He is a controlling manipulative person, but she is disregarding that aspect because she wants to become a mother and she is blinded by her 'maternal' emotions. Elizabeth's friends can see the reality of the situation too and they try to persuade her to see sense, but we can see that she's going to have to discover this for herself. We know from the outset that the relationship will end, and the whole book is an exploration of what they go through to get there. There is a constant tension as every interaction between Elizabeth and Robert either tends to pull them apart of come back together. As a reader I wanted to grab Elizabeth by the shoulders and shake her until she saw reason. In some ways that feeling made me feel like quitting the book, but then I took the view that this is the reality of so many relationships that it's worth considering, despite the tension, just as I would keep relating to a friend who was behaving like Elizabeth. The book seems to raise the questions: could any one of us be an 'Elizabeth' in the right circumstances? If Elizabeth was my friend, what should my role be in relation to her relationship with Robert?… (lisätietoja)
 
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oldblack | Oct 15, 2019 |
When their famous photographer father dies, Ruthie and Vinny reunite at the family villa in Greece.
Ruthie had been estranged from her father for the last fifteen years and returning to the place of much hope and sadness, has a profound and emotional effect. A young girl and her family, renting the villa next door will trigger a chain of misfortune that ends in tragedy.

Silver and salt, this intriguing title are elements used in the developing of film. There is much about photography and the process, the way to see things others don't, grouping things together to make a story, make your photos have meaning. The lobe of photography was shared by Ruthie and her father, but was also the basis for emotional and physical abuse. The book travels from present to past, back stories and incidents are revealed slowly, like developing film, not rushed.

A darkly thematic novel of mental illness, of a continuing grief relating to both mother and father. Bea, the father's sister often is the only shining light in this book. Her love for the girls, her willingness to care for them when their parents cannot, Vinny's saving grace. A beautiful character amidst the darkness. I was intrigued by this book, the many layers it encompassed, the insidious tone, and the fact that everything wasn't spelled out for the reader. Reading between the scenes, very much required. A book that shows the many ways a family does not relate and the ways that they can and how sometimes that may not be enough.

ARC from publisher.
Publishes April 4th.
… (lisätietoja)
 
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Beamis12 | Mar 31, 2017 |

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