Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsSentimental, cliched, and politically correct
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 10, 2021
My book club chose this novel; otherwise I wouldn’t have continued past the first 20 pages. The characters are so stereotyped (good at heart or purely evil, not much in between) that you’d have to be naive or a child to fully believe in them, and their actions get more and more improbable. Nevertheless, I did want to find out how the story ended (abruptly and improbably), and I liked the realistic backdrop of the Great Depression. The author’s values are spelled out and will be acceptable to most people (“forgive”), but the stink of political correctness does drift in (no good cops, anywhere, any time). The plot consists of one damned thing after another, and often the events come without much connection to what happened previously. The author’s end note thanks his editors for lots of help, but at best, this book is knee-deep In cliches, sometimes three or more to a page. I’m giving it 3 stars only because it does little harm and passes as entertainment, if you don’t demand humor, insight, or a polished style. I’m sorry to be so negative, but the author’s concept was such a good one, that it’s disappointing to see it so poorly executed. Whoever says this is another Huck Finn clearly has never read Mark Twain.
