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| − | {{infobox | + | {|border ='1' |
| − | |title=Ordinary Hazards | + | |+ Needles |
| − | |author=Anna Bruno | + | !Size |
| − | |reviewer=Stephen Leach | + | !Circular |
| − | |genre=General Fiction | + | !Two Needles |
| − | |summary=Too much telling and not nearly enough showing in this slow-moving reflection on guilt and grief. | + | !DPNs |
| − | |rating=2 | + | |- |
| − | |buy=No | + | |2mm/14 |
| − | |borrow=No | + | |0 |
| − | |pages=272 | + | |1 |
| − | |publisher=Scribner UK | + | |0 |
| − | |date=August 2020 | + | |- |
| − | |isbn= 978-1471184864 | + | |2.75mm/12 |
| − | |website= https://annabrunobooks.com/ | + | |0 |
| − | |cover=1471184862 | + | |8 |
| − | |aznuk=1471184862 | + | |1 |
| − | |aznus=1471184862 | + | |- |
| − | }}
| + | |3mm/11 |
| − | | + | |1 |
| − | Some books either grab you or bore you. And this was one that I wanted so badly to like but unfortunately, I just wasn't hooked.
| + | |11 |
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| − | Told over the course of one night, Ordinary Hazards is more like an extended series of musings rather than a complete story. Sat alone in her local bar, Emma reflects on her life and the tragic events leading to her divorce. Over the course of the novel a succession of characters are introduced via a lengthy interlude to flesh out their backstories. This rapidly became formulaic and the fact that few of them impact the story meaningfully meant that I became less and less interested in finding out about them. Despite some great lines and intense description, I couldn't get into it: there's too much telling and not enough showing.
| + | |- |
| − | | + | |3.25mm/10 |
| − | I could enjoy a slow-burner if I had some idea where it was all going. But fifty pages in, I wasn't sure what the plot was. Fifty more pages, I felt like I was just starting to know. I was interested in Emma's relationship with Lucas, and what made them fall apart – but the story takes too long to get there, jumping from past to present constantly, and the eventual reveal feels like a rush of information.
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| − | What really sealed the deal, though, is that Emma isn't that engaging a character. She was difficult to like, I felt like I'd read what makes her different many times before (she likes to drink whiskey!), and nothing about her clued me in as to why I should care about her disintegrated relationship. Perhaps someone out there identified strongly with her, but I certainly didn't.
| + | |0 |
| − | | + | |- |
| − | If you like purely character driven novels without much in the way of plot, then this might be the book for you. But it wasn't for me.
| + | |3.75mm/9 |
| − | | + | |6 |
| − | A slow-burner I can recommend is [[Black Dog Summer by Miranda Sherry]].
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| − | {{amazontext|amazon=1471184862}}
| + | |4mm/8 |
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| − | {{amazontextAud|amazon=1471184862}}
| + | |20 |
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| − | {{amazonUStext|amazon=1471184862}}
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| − | | + | |4.5mm/7 |
| − | {{foyles|url=https://tidd.ly/35F7uC2}}
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| − | | + | |7 |
| − | {{waterstones|url=https://tidd.ly/2RtucVn}
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| − | {{commenthead}}
| + | |4.75mm |
| − | [[Category:Reviewer Centre]]
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| | + | |5mm/6 |
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| | + | |6mm/4 |
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| | + | |6.5mm/3 |
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| | + | |7mm/2 |
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| | + | |7.5mm/1 |
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| | + | |10mm/0 |
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| | + | |12mm/0 |
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| | + | |} |
