Title: Frustrating.
Product review: I adored Pamela Dean's TAM LIN, but aspects of her writing (focus on characterization, leisurely explorations of philosophy) that were strengths in that novel occur at the expense of pacing and plot in JUNIPER, GENTIAN, AND ROSEMARY. Dean doesn't seen interested at all in her own plot -- girl beguiled by demon -- and largely confines it to the last 30 pages of the novel, as well as leaving myriad loose ends (Why does Dominic move in next door? What does he hope to accomplish with his time machine? etc.) Instead, we spend lots of leisure time with Gentian and her friends. While they're charming (like Janet and her friends in TAM LIN), the plot payoff at the end doesn't counterbalance the 300 pages of indifferent setup. Finally, Dean includes stuff -- such as a near line-by-line reading of two acts of Julius Caesar -- that feels wholly self-indulgent. A frustrating, disappointing read from a writer who can do better.
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