REVIEW: 2 STARS
Wreck and Order by Hannah Tennant-Moore is about Elsie, a twenty-something who wants to change her life, but must first deal with her inner problems. Courtesy of her father, he gives her money to flit around the world, from Paris to Sri Lanka and New York City. I struggled to continue reading because of her angst, constant careless sex and extended periods of navel-gazing.
The writing is excellent, but it’s not enough to keep the reader interested if the story is depressing and disturbing. When good things come her way, she dismisses them and throws away the opportunity. Her low self-esteem contributes to her self-sabotage behavior by having sex with abusive strangers. The story is told in a flight of ideas style of prose that captures Elsie’s confused state of mind. When her problems become too hard to handle emotionally, she travels to a different country, in hopes that the new setting will solve her problems. Her problems follow her wherever she lands since it’s easier to change her outside life rather than her inner life. I couldn’t connect to Elsie because of her angst and self-sabotage behavior. Plus, her “job” consisted of the translation of a vintage book from French to English, which leads her nowhere. Elsie will not change until she works on her inner problems.
Despite beautiful writing, the story depressed me. Elsie is a self-centered hopeless woman who won’t change her life for the better because it takes courage and strength to change your inner self. The only takeaway from this book is to change your inner problems first, instead of physically running away from them in hopes that will solve your problems.
I received an advanced copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
MJ Reads 