#Ireland David Park

• Author: David Park
• Title: Travelling in a Strange Land
• Published: 2018
• Trivia: shortlisted for the 2019 Kerry Group Irish Novel of the year
• List of Challenges 2019
• Monthly plan
• #ReadingIrelandMonth19
• @746books.com

Shortlisted books:  read 1/5

 

Quickscan:

1. Tom, the narrator, is travelling from Belfast to Sunderland in
2. heavy snow to collect his son from
3. Sunderland university for the Christmas holidays.
4. It proves to be a very emotional journey.

 

Conclusion:

1. Weak point: David Park is trying too hard…..
2. Park’s writing is interesting, but a bit belabored.
3. There are more words and images
4. ….there than you really need to make the point.
5. Example: “Ice-up car the words have nowhere
6. to go and so they hang until frozen in silence”.
7. Weak point:  the backstories felt like a chunk of events
8. the author is simply trying to get out the way.
9. Flashback scenes, dream sequences or piece of dialogue
10. were dishwater gray…..recap information
11. purely for the reader’s benefit…did not add tension to the story.
12. The gimmick of a child asking father silly riddles got on my nerves.
13. The use of a another gimmick…a the car’s navigational voice
14. (satnav) as a constant thread in the narrative
15. …was annoying.
16. I tried to stay focused but after 30% of the book my
17. mind was drifting snow, blinded by Park’s white-out of
18. never ending references to winter.
19. Sometimes …less is more.
20. In short…this book was not in sync with “my personal satnav.”
21. It was all I could do to ‘hold on to the steering wheel’
22. and at least finish the book.

 

Last thoughts:

1. This book is just not my cup to tea.
2. But this does not diminish the book’s merit
3. …in any way.
4. I don’t think this will win the
5. 2019 Kerry Group Irish Novel of the year
6. …perhaps I’ll be proven wrong.
7. #Read the book and….form your own opinion!