As a native New Englander, I had been aware of Ann Leary for awhile in a peripheral manner, but somehow never read any of her books. I was excited to read her newest novel, set on a lake in Connecticut. At the outset, The Children appears to be a family novel about a non-
…more traditional blue-blooded WASP family with eccentric ways. The beginning of the book is filled with dry humor depicting the frugal Yankee ways of this rich family and I enjoyed (and recognized) some of their habits; native New Englanders will appreciate these anecdotes which seem to reflect a dying breed of New Englanders.
Despite enjoying the beginning of the book, the narrator, Charlotte, never feels completely compelling or relatable. Despite her wariness of others in regards to a lack of honesty or integrity, she unapologetically writes (and is paid substantially for) a mommy blog despite being a single woman with social anxiety. Leary also introduces difficult topics through both Charlotte and her sister Sally but never explores them in a meaningful way - serious issues don't always feel sensitively handled or researched, and as such, their effects on the characters are shallow.
A bigger problem with the novel is the sudden tonal shift in the second half of the book. Rather than continuing to explore the characters, the book turns dark and twisty and feels like a somewhat predictable thriller towards the end. Unfortunately, Leary doesn't use any of the dark plot points to effect change in her characters, or to create increasingly complex characters. The characters feel rather two-dimensional in light of all of the drama in the book, and this contributed to my disappointment in the resolution of the novel.
Overall, this feels like a family novel that never fully explores the family at hand, but the setting of the novel is rich and believable, and readers who enjoy plot-driven fiction may enjoy the plot twists within. (less)
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