Their characters feel somewhat two-dimensional and undeveloped, for a novel that is character rather than plot-driven. Instead of sympathy for the twins, you feel indifference. Dot’s secrets are not as ‘big’ as they are made out to be, making the book feel, on the whole, slightly insignificant.Īdditionally, the plot often feels slow, dragged out by far too many long-winded references to Jeanie’s and Julius’s money troubles. However, once the truth is laid bare, you are left feeling underwhelmed, cheated, and a little bit disappointed. From the very first page, Fuller leaves you eager to discover the truth behind Dot’s secrets. Fuller is, undoubtedly, a master at building suspense. Unfortunately, Unsettled Ground fails to live up to its intriguing premise. It is also an exploration of poverty, community, and survival. However, this is not a typical mystery novel. But when Dot dies of a stroke, their way of life is threatened as her secrets begin to unravel. They grow their own food, refuse to use banks, preferring instead to stash their money away in cubbyholes, and have an overall distrust of ‘civilisation’. At 51 years old, they live with their mother Dot in rural England, disconnected from the modern world. Twins Jeanie and Julius are described as ‘unnatural’. Longlisted for the 2021 Women’s Prize, Unsettled Ground is Claire Fuller’s fourth novel.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |