August 19, 2011

The Convict Lover Needs to go Back to Jail

The book club read only one book this summer and I'm sorry to report that despite all the awards it received, the majority of us didn't like it.  The Convict Lover's concept is intriguing.  An author buys an old house in Kingston, Ontario  and finds a bunch of letters in the attic.  They are notes written by a convict serving time at the penitentiary just after WW1.  The author invests years researching Canada's penal system, the convicts history and the recipient of the notes, a farm girl, to form a story.  Sounds promising right?

Here are some of the comments ;
"The prose was not alluring. It was like reading paint dry, never mind watching it dry."
"There was no plot, no character development. A boring Laura Ingalls story."
"It's not a love story.  I did appreciate learning more about the prison.  My favourite part was the map at the very beginning."

Overall Rating ***** (1 star out of 5)