John S. (Seajack) reviewed on + 347 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
The protagonist's name is a palindrome, who lives in a palindrome of a zip code; the chapter titles are palindromes as well. It's as though the book were straining too be cutesy, over-the-top -- yet it wasn't.
Florey has a remarkable gift for evoking place (Williamsburgh, Brooklyn), probably the strongest point of the story. Her characters are well-written, and interesting, although as a group they can be a bit gentrification-ish; I felt more connection with some of the secondaries, than with Emily herself. Technically, there is a plot, but not a lot of suspense; I didn't find that a problem, but was aware that events "drifted" rather than moved.
Much of one chapter concerns that month's meeting of "the Trollope group" to which Emily and Marcus belong. They discuss (debate) points of "Dr. Wortle's School", agreeing to read "Miss Mackenzie" next. Trollope enthusiasts (guilty as charged!) will enjoy Emily's thoughts on that book as she reads it during the second half of Solos.
Florey has a remarkable gift for evoking place (Williamsburgh, Brooklyn), probably the strongest point of the story. Her characters are well-written, and interesting, although as a group they can be a bit gentrification-ish; I felt more connection with some of the secondaries, than with Emily herself. Technically, there is a plot, but not a lot of suspense; I didn't find that a problem, but was aware that events "drifted" rather than moved.
Much of one chapter concerns that month's meeting of "the Trollope group" to which Emily and Marcus belong. They discuss (debate) points of "Dr. Wortle's School", agreeing to read "Miss Mackenzie" next. Trollope enthusiasts (guilty as charged!) will enjoy Emily's thoughts on that book as she reads it during the second half of Solos.
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