Hall, C: Broken Country AMAZON'S BOOK OF THE YEAR - THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER

Wurde von meiner Buchhandlung empfohlen. Wer kann, sollte es im Original lesen und wenn möglich in Großbritannien - ich tue gerade beides. Spielt im Süden Englands Mitte des letzten Jahrhunderts.

I picked up this book because of the many ravishing reviews. Sadly, the story about Beth, her first love Gabriel, her second love with the farmer Frank and then her affair with Gabriel several years after the death of Bobby (Franks and her son), could not grab me. Quite the opposite: I was annoyed with Beth and her behavior. Yes, she was heartbroken when her and Gabriel's relationship did not work out when they were young, and even more heartbroken after Bobby's death. But even so, it feels to me as if Bobby is Beth's excuse for everything. She was obsessed with him while he was alive and talking about him now with Gabriel and his son Leo eases her pain. She also knows that meeting Gabriel more and more often and refalling in love with him will hurt Frank, but she decides to take this risk because being with Gabriel makes her feel good. Overall, Beth is not portrayed as a villain but as a victim of her own circumstances and I'm sorry, I somehow cannot sympathize. The story is otherwise written nicely, the chapters jump between the past and present and also hint that Beth's and Gabriel's affair will cause someone to be in court. Altogether, this was not my cup of tea. I liked Frank and the farm life but that was about it.

Ich habe sehr viele euphorische Kommentare bzw. Bewertungen zu diesem Buch gesehen und mich entsprechend auf die Lektüre gefreut. Leider sind die Figuren für meine Wahrnehmung aber nahezu allesamt massiv überzeichnet, (fast) keine zeigt nachvollziehbares Verhalten. Daher konnte ich mich auch mit niemandem indentifizieren und das Schicksal der Charaktere bliebt mir egal. Spannung auf die (tendentiell vorhersehbaren) Wendungen gab es dadurch auch nicht. Eine der größten Enttäuschungen, die ich erlebt habe!