Why I've DNF'd **2** Books in January

 

FINICKY FYCTION STAR RATING SYSTEM

* Ugh. I just cannot with this book!

** Oy – not a fan. DNF’d before page 50.

*** It’s a good story in general.

**** Great read – highly recommend!

***** OMG I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH I WANT TO LIVE IN IT! 

 

*sigh*

 I hate to start a new post off this way, but I have to be honest.

I have two titles that I Did Not Finish (DNF) this month, and I’m quite disappointed that these particular titles were added to that category of my Read books for 2021.

What are those two books, you ask?

The first is The Lake House by Kate Morton, and the second is The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.

I’ll try not to be too long-winded, but I also won’t tip-toe around my reasonings for adding these titles to my DNF list.

A shared complaint for both works is the amount of factual information that is included within the narratives. Now, don’t get me wrong: I’m totally okay with true facts being included in fiction. HOWEVER, I don’t want to feel like I’m reading a textbook; I especially had this reaction to The Art of Racing in the Racing. With the story being told from the family dog’s point of view (POV), I had a difficult time activating my brain’s suspension of disbelief. What I did enjoy about this perspective is the emotional aspect, and how once again the dog proved why he is man’s best friend.

Morton’s The Lake House is set in two locations, seven decades apart: 1930s Cornwall, and early 2000s London. To make the dual timeline even more fun (and at times, confusing), several scenes occur in the early 20^th century. Also, multiple POVs take place throughout the book: Alice Edavane, Eleanor Edavane (Alice’s mother), Sadie Sparrow, and Peter. This element of story structure is reminiscent of Jodi Picoult’s The Storyteller, which spans multiple decades as well; however, it should be noted that while the timeline does jump back and forth, it’s not in a linear fashion (e.g. it doesn’t shift from 1911 to 2003 to 1933 in order). This really took me out of the story because I had a hard time keeping up with the constant changes. Again, this is just a personal quirk that annoyed me about the presentation of the story itself.

What I love about The Lake House is Morton’s ability to truly immerse me in the atmospheric settings, especially at Loeanneth. This was a nice element of escapism that I really enjoyed while I was reading the book. I think I was on Page 93 by the time I said “I can’t move forward with this one”.What I enjoyed about The Art of Racing in the Rain was the analytical mindset of Enzo, the family’s golden retriever. I thought it was creative how Stein was able to take me through the dog’s daily routine, and apply reasons for why he did things the way he did. Also, Enzo is truly his family’s best friend; not just Denny’s, but Eve and Zoe’s as well.  

With that being said, just because I DNF’d these titles doesn’t mean I wouldn’t recommend them to others; they just weren’t my cup of tea. And that is why I’m giving both The Lake House and The Art of Racing in the Rain ***3/5*** three out of five stars because they are good stories.  

Who knows? Maybe I’ll dive back into them at a later time. Happy Reading!

~Melanie