Negative Positive
Title: A padded short story disguised as a literary novel
Review: The kindest description of this book would be that it is well-written and quite pointless. The plot is paper thin and all the characters (with the possible exception of Mr Hilditch) are either two dimensional or borrowed from other, more superior, works. The much-touted plot twist, when it finally arrives, lacks any irony and seems contrived. William Trevor is best known as a short story writer and this book is essentially a short story padded into a novel. As a well-written, mildly diverting, piece of light entertainment it would have been acceptable, as a prize-winning piece of high literary pretensions, it is not. Dickens, Poe, even Highsmith have succeeded much better in what Trevor seeks to achieve.
Is the review positive or negative? 