The Potato Factory by Bryce CourtenayMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
"Why do I care how you take your tea?"
Review on audio version of book
Many reviewers have compared this book to Dickens. I wasn't looking for Dickens. I was looking for a very compelling story, which this had potential to be. Unfortunately, the book headed south for me after the first half.
There are many authors who get very descriptive in the details. One of my favorites is Diana Gabaldon. She really puts you in the moment. I some how find myself imagining the sprawling meadow sprinkled with a very detailed account of some yellow flower. It adds to the experience of the book. And in this novel, buried under far too many descriptions about how each character takes their tea (and pretty much everything else), there is a really good story. I just didn't want to work that hard to find it.
I was not bothered by topics of race, religion, sex or overall very disturbing, graphic violence, but it is worth noting for those with a stronger moral reading compass than I. These things for me invoked emotion that made me vested in the characters outcome, and eventually, made it possible for me to get to the end of the book.
The book did start out great. The story does pull you in rather quickly, but I can't help the feeling that the last 3 hours or so, was just fluff combined with a meandering need to complete the book. I wish the book had ended as strongly as it started.
A couple of audio specific things to consider: 1. The narrator does speak a little quicker than I was accustomed to, but I was able to adjust to the faster cadence after a few minutes. 2. The prologue goes on for a while and comes close to spoiling some of the suspense of the story. I recommend skipping it and if you haven't gotten tired of tea descriptions by the end, go back and have a listen. 3. They split the sections in really inconvenient places. It's like someone took a calculator and said, "Yep, that's a third... ." 4. It's harder to skim with audio, and this is definitely a book I would have wanted to skim over some details. 5. On the plus side, there was a bit of singing. Who doesn't like singing? 6. Was it me? Or did Ikey sometimes sound like Jack Sparrow?
View all my reviews
0 comments: