I resonate with everything that’s been said. I enjoyed the book a great deal, (if not the story
). I really enjoyed Fitzgerald’s writing; a beautiful voice!
On one hand, it was very spare, and yet all the settings were vivid and evocative. You could feel the unrelenting wind, smell the must in the old buildings and hear the empty footsteps in Mr. Brundish’s front hall.
It’s true that the characters weren’t fleshed out, but I thought the ‘inner moments’ she caught, and the exchanges between people, were quite powerful. There is a feeling of remoteness, but I think it’s intentional.
Though Florence is quite admirable, we watch her make serious mistakes, and recognize Violet and her ilk. So there are no surprises. Since I knew what was going to unfold, for me the book evoked feelings of decline, futility and loss. I think
Bookpossum is spot on, from the vantage of loneliness, it’s very well done. Maybe it’s just my age showing, but I also felt the themes of aging & decline quite strongly too.
That said, I enjoyed Fitzgerald’s sense of humour and felt it rescued the book from being mired down. There’s a lot of resistance and resilience in the face of fate.
PS
I enjoyed Christine too, but I don’t feel so pessimistic for her. I think Fitzgerald would have her lose, like everyone loses in the end, but show the same pluckiness as the landscape and people around her.