The Versions of Us by Laura BarnettMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I give this one three stars for the effort. But, considering what a unique concept this is, it's a shame it wasn't better written and more evolved.
The book follows the love story of Jim and Eva. The story begins in Cambridge, October 1958. The incidents of this day fork into three possible outcomes for these two characters. Over the three versions of Jim and Eva's lives, we see their successes, failures, their loves, their children, their losses.
It's seems a pity to take this tripartite structure and make it into a romantic drama. Sci-fi and comic book fans are aware of the many uses of alternate versions and endings. In this one, we just we the different ways in which the two characters seem to make the same bad decisions.
Jim is an unlikable hero. He's authentic, in that he has a lot of flaws. He's well fleshed out - he's an artist, and views the world in that fashion. However, he has zero judgement skills, constantly unable to get to know people properly before jumping into a relationship with them. And every time he's awfully surprised that the people are different than what he expected. Uh, it would make sense if you had a few more meetings with them before ringing the wedding bells. He also loves wallowing in self-pity.
Eva is ridiculously passive. Everything happens to her, she doesn't do anything. She succeeds in one version as an author and writer, but we don't see how. We never see her motivation or her view of the world. Where Jim wistfully thinks of painting what he's looking at and admiring others' brush strokes, etc. Eva is never given the chance to fall in love with words or to philosophise for an upcoming article. Being a woman writer I just don't get why it is so hard to flesh out and bring life into your female protagonist. Why are they so reactive? Eva is perfect and flawless, to whom bad things just keep happening. Sorry, not sorry at all.
While there are patches of purple prose, most of the writing is stilted and cliched. It also comes across as pedantic (my new favourite word of the month). The greatest sin of this novel is the overuse of parenthesis. Even when disguised as dashes, it is atrocious. Meandering asides in between the beginning and end of sentence meant I had to re-reading the sentences just to make sense of them.
I know a few people who absolutely loved this book, but I couldn't get into it at all. It's also recommended to read large chunks of it at one go, though that's probably going to be impossible for the majority of the readers. I read it in snatches, usually during lunch hour or just before going to sleep. That meant I was completely lost as to which version I was in reading, and what events precisely preceded this one. Not a comfortable.
For a first-time novelist, it is no doubt an ambitious project. Considering how well it's been received, I am but a minor dissenter. Definitely worth a read.
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