BOOK REVIEW: THE TIDAL ZONE BY SARAH MOSS

2.5 stars

*Sigh* This has got to be one of my most disappointing reads of the year. 

I was so ready to love this. I'd been eyeing it for months, anticipating the day that I would finally read it. You can imagine my disappointment, then, when my reaction to finishing this was to chuck it aside because I was so damn frustrated by it. The beginning was great; it grappled with exactly what I wanted it to grapple with: how to deal with death as a part of life, to accept the fact that it could arrive at any moment. However, as I quickly found, that got really really redundant halfway through the book. I understand that Miriam's dad was going through a lot, but having the same thoughts repeated to me over and over and over again just didn't make for a particularly compelling story. It just couldn't—and didn't—sustain the whole book. I got very bored very quickly, and then pretty much forced myself to finish the book. Also, I couldn't care less about all those Coventry Cathedral sections. I may or may not have skim read them all. Sorry not sorry. 

One thing I did appreciate was the portrayal of a stay-at-home dad and all the baggage that comes with that. It's something I rarely see in any of the books I read, so hats off to Sarah Moss for that.

I'd like to stop thinking about this book now. Let's just leave it in the past, where it belongs.