These Things Hidden
by Heather Gudenkauf
I didn’t know too much of the premise when I bought this book. I thought it was about a young woman just released from prison for a crime she didn’t commit and about which the reader knows nothing; her family has disowned her, and she tries to adjust to her new rehabilitated life. I thought that was an interesting premise, and during the first chapter when she is released from prison, breathes fresh air, and expresses her fears while getting settled into a halfway house, I enjoyed the writing style. Without giving spoilers, I’ll explain as best I can why ended up hating this book.
I still maintain that the first chapter was well-written, but the rest of the book didn’t receive as much TLC from Heather Gudenkauf. The story is told from four characters’ points of view, and unless done extremely well, I find that type of storytelling to be lazy. Two of the POVs are told in first person, and the other two are told in third person. I’m sure Gudenkauf thought she was being deep and had some reason for this irregularity, but I couldn’t stand it. The story is written in present tense, but at least half of the story flashes back to the past (the setup and the night of the crime), so the writing feels very jarring. Had I known the book would flash back and forth, I probably wouldn’t have bought it. I really dislike that type of story. Again, it’s lazy. Writing a linear story is more difficult and methodical than writing a story that is cut up in chunks and placed haphazardly back together. It banks on readers with short attention spans and high sensitivities, hoping that by only giving percentages of the story, readers will say, “Oo! Tell me more! What a suspenseful story!” rather than investing their attentions into a linear story and paying attention to the writing itself.
Every major character was written inconsistently. Inconsistent characters aren’t always a detriment, but in this case, I was more than frustrated. When a character is written with a primary motivation, it doesn’t make sense to change that motivation without any explanation. For example, if a mother’s motivation is utter devotion to her child, she would never endanger her child without a very, very good reason.
Besides the writing and the characters, the story was hardly satisfactory. When we finally find out what the girl’s crime was, it’s a bit of a letdown. The four characters wind up tied to one another (no spoilers, these types of books always do that), and the magic Gudenkauf weaves in order to accomplish this is far from interesting.
Save yourselves, unless you like inconsistency, in which case you might be better off reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
I still maintain that the first chapter was well-written, but the rest of the book didn’t receive as much TLC from Heather Gudenkauf. The story is told from four characters’ points of view, and unless done extremely well, I find that type of storytelling to be lazy. Two of the POVs are told in first person, and the other two are told in third person. I’m sure Gudenkauf thought she was being deep and had some reason for this irregularity, but I couldn’t stand it. The story is written in present tense, but at least half of the story flashes back to the past (the setup and the night of the crime), so the writing feels very jarring. Had I known the book would flash back and forth, I probably wouldn’t have bought it. I really dislike that type of story. Again, it’s lazy. Writing a linear story is more difficult and methodical than writing a story that is cut up in chunks and placed haphazardly back together. It banks on readers with short attention spans and high sensitivities, hoping that by only giving percentages of the story, readers will say, “Oo! Tell me more! What a suspenseful story!” rather than investing their attentions into a linear story and paying attention to the writing itself.
Every major character was written inconsistently. Inconsistent characters aren’t always a detriment, but in this case, I was more than frustrated. When a character is written with a primary motivation, it doesn’t make sense to change that motivation without any explanation. For example, if a mother’s motivation is utter devotion to her child, she would never endanger her child without a very, very good reason.
Besides the writing and the characters, the story was hardly satisfactory. When we finally find out what the girl’s crime was, it’s a bit of a letdown. The four characters wind up tied to one another (no spoilers, these types of books always do that), and the magic Gudenkauf weaves in order to accomplish this is far from interesting.
Save yourselves, unless you like inconsistency, in which case you might be better off reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.