Shelf Life
Robert Corbet
FROM THE COVER:
Check this out for quality, value, and freshness.
A cart full of stories about life in the fast aisle.
Louisa never stops working.
Adam has only just started.
Jared & Dylan are out of control.
Chloe dreams of being a dancer.
Rachel is marrying a stranger.
Abdi has a temporary visa.
Tessa is planning her funeral.
Stephen has disappeared.
My rating: 3 hearts.
MY THOUGHTS:
This isn’t a total disappointment, but it didn’t leave any impression on me whatsoever. It’s a quick read; the story continually moves through the characters and you’re never stuck on one for long. Yet, that’s the problem. There’s no character to attach or relate to. Some are simply never brought up again after they’re introduced.
The entire story felt impersonal, yet depressing. Some characters come from broken homes, have broken love lives, or are just feeling broken. There are comedic moments, especially concerning Jared and Dylan, but it’s not enough to brighten the rest of the story, which feels as though it’s lacking a plot. It just reads as brief glimpses into the lives of grocers.Shelf Life is written well, though. The descriptions are nice and purposeful, and the dialogue reflects the personalities of the characters. However, it’s not enough to save the novel as a whole.
This sounds interesting, but I'd never heard of it before your review. I'm not sure I'd be able to read something this depressing though...lovely honest review! :)
ReplyDeleteHmm..I might try this one next year. Would you recommend it?
ReplyDeleteHannah - I wouldn't exactly recommend it. It's more like if you stumbled across it and decided to read it, it's not so bad.
ReplyDeleteOk. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi Alissa, I found you through the blog hop on Crazy for Books.
ReplyDeleteYou wrote a great review! I appreciate that you wrote about the characters and how you don't really get to know them. I'm a huge fan of character driven books. So this one probably isn't for me.
HAPPY readings!