More like the Time Thief...

Instead of working diligently on my H&P (partly due to the fact that I've realized I have a larger procrastinatory cushion than I'd previously thought), I've just finished Charles Baxter's The Soul Thief. I usually don't comment on books I've read - I may briefly gush like a love-struck school girl about some arrogantly eloquent, paradigm-shifting dark fantasy *cough-cough-The Darkness That Comes Before - cough*, but I usually keep my thoughts to myself. I've daydreamed about becoming one of amazon.com's top reviewers - in my reverie I plan out the rubricks by which I'll fairly criticize every book I can remember reading - but that's about it.

I am moved, however, to comment upon The Soul Thief - it is, perhaps, the single worst book I've ever finished. While the premise of identity is an interesting post-modern trope that hasn't' quite sauntered into mainstream lit, it seemed like it would support a riveting, thought-provoking novel. I'm sorry, to say, though, that it was just plain boring. I spent the totality of the 200-odd pages waiting....hoping that something interesting would happen. The reviewers said it was creepy, and this kept me going. However, the tedium cannot be excused on the grounds of Baxter's peppering his language with grad-school jargon.

To not explain what happens to a character is passable if done correctly; it can add an air of mystery. To not have the protagonist read a letter from that character after a terrible tragedy supplies a sense of melancholy. To do both, however, is just cheating. A riveting, exciting ending can justify a slow beginning - but c'mon Charlie...you have to tie up some loose ends. I will, however say, that the sentence construction was, in a word, jaunty.

I think I can sum it up in this one quote:
"Annoyed, Nathaniel wanders down the hallway, enveloped by his would-be confidants. Hysterical intellectualism is the norm at parties like this one."
I feel you, Nate.

Please don't think me unfairly negative; my opinion is ambivalent - though the story may have fallen flat, if this could get published AND decent reviews, I know I can too.