Finished The Testament of Jessie Lamb, which never really lifted itself off the ground for me. I couldn't quite believe in Jessie, and was irritated that she was the sacrificial Lamb. The different worlds of the activist groups were blurry and insufficiently well differentiated, and the most credible of the relationships was that between Jessie and her father, though even that seemed clunky. I could understand why he resorted to desperate measures but couldn't believe in the level of brutality. I didn't see the point of the brutality given their relationship. So, the overall impression is that it was all a bit disappointing, and I was particularly disappointed because I wanted it to be so much better than I thought it was. Maybe it will last, linger in the mind, insinuate itself into my daily internal meanderings and I will think perhaps it had something deeper and more powerful than on first impressions.
Also, it is one thing to be reading a book from choice and another to be reading it because it is part of a list, which although it is an annual treat for me, you cannot help but draw comparisons rather than reading each book on its own merit.
Oh well, onwards brave hearts, a whole list awaits our generous attention....
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