Last Last ChanceFiona Maazel
This one is an odd duck, since I both liked and disliked Last Last Chance.
The premise seemed intriguing: A lethal strain of virus -- superplague -- vanishes from a lab. The epidemic, not to mention a healthy dose of panic and paranoia, runs rampant. Even worse, Lucy's (now dead) father is to blame, although Lucy's got bigger fish to fry. She's battling addiction and her own inner demons; her family doesn't fare much better. Her mom's a crackhead. Her "true love" married her best friend. And so on.
Unfortunately, the intriguing premise did not translate into an enjoyable novel, and I nearly abandoned it after the first fifty pages. I just couldn't connect to the story -- there was too much going on, too many characters I couldn't care about. Nevertheless, I persevered, and ultimately found Last Last Chance to be just okay.
The good: Maazel's prose, reminiscent of Amy Hempel, is glorious. Her writing appears effortless and natural, and I was frequently struck by a neat turn of phrase. If it weren't for her prose, I probably wouldn't have finished the novel.
The bad: The length. And, to a certain extent, the story. Last Last Chance is ambitious, and Maazel's tackling a lot in it. Unfortunately, the story feels too crowded -- not to mention too long. The novel could have lost a good quarter without being the worse for wear. I also couldn't find any sympathy for any of these characters (except for the grandma, but c'mon, who doesn't love a grandma?), and I almost wanted someone to get superplague just to take the story up a notch. THAT woulda been entertaining!
In a nutshell: I wasn't a fan of Last Last Chance, but Maazel's prose makes her one to watch.
Bibliolatry Scale: 3 out of 6 stars
FTCBS: I received Last Last Chance as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.
The premise seemed intriguing: A lethal strain of virus -- superplague -- vanishes from a lab. The epidemic, not to mention a healthy dose of panic and paranoia, runs rampant. Even worse, Lucy's (now dead) father is to blame, although Lucy's got bigger fish to fry. She's battling addiction and her own inner demons; her family doesn't fare much better. Her mom's a crackhead. Her "true love" married her best friend. And so on.
Unfortunately, the intriguing premise did not translate into an enjoyable novel, and I nearly abandoned it after the first fifty pages. I just couldn't connect to the story -- there was too much going on, too many characters I couldn't care about. Nevertheless, I persevered, and ultimately found Last Last Chance to be just okay.
The good: Maazel's prose, reminiscent of Amy Hempel, is glorious. Her writing appears effortless and natural, and I was frequently struck by a neat turn of phrase. If it weren't for her prose, I probably wouldn't have finished the novel.
The bad: The length. And, to a certain extent, the story. Last Last Chance is ambitious, and Maazel's tackling a lot in it. Unfortunately, the story feels too crowded -- not to mention too long. The novel could have lost a good quarter without being the worse for wear. I also couldn't find any sympathy for any of these characters (except for the grandma, but c'mon, who doesn't love a grandma?), and I almost wanted someone to get superplague just to take the story up a notch. THAT woulda been entertaining!
In a nutshell: I wasn't a fan of Last Last Chance, but Maazel's prose makes her one to watch.
Bibliolatry Scale: 3 out of 6 stars
FTCBS: I received Last Last Chance as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.
2 comments:
I hate it when an author is a beautiful writer, but the story is weak. It's such a waste! I probably will skim this, but like you I look forward to whatever Maazel decides to do next.
Sounds disappointing. Hopefully she'll be able to put her beautiful prose to better use in the future!
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