We Weren't Lear
Have you ever encountered a book that was both highly popular and widely despised? That was what it felt like when I ran into We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. It's been out for a while, and I had seen a lot of publicity about it, so I thought it was high time to read it. However, several people, including my sister, warned me that it was the sort of book that I would want to throw against the wall at the end. They were right.
We Were Liars tells the story of Cadence, the heir of the Sinclair family. Every summer, she can her two cousins and their friend Gat spend their days on the family private island. One summer, something happens - Cadence is found in the ocean, she can't remember anything, and she is plagued with migraines that confine her to bed for days on end. Why can't she remember that summer? Was there more going on than people will tell her? With three generations of Sinclairs struggling to survive, something was bound to explode sometime or another.
This was a particular, pretentious, persnickety book. It was written from Cadence's perspective and thus involved a lot of weird, disturbing imagery describing her migraines. A major theme of the story was her dealing with a past that she couldn't remember and the wealthy, privileged lifestyle she can't escape. Lockhart came back to the same points over and over, drilling the reader into Cadence's mind. The short, sharp sentences, chock full of odd metaphors and adjectives, gave the feeling that there was an attempt at poetry, but it never truly crossed the gap. Most of the characters were static and defined in the same ways over and over. I got bored of hearing that Mirren was like rain and Gat was like strong coffee, etc., etc. Ultimately, I didn't feel like there was any real resolution to the story. It was description of self-loathing and self-guilt without any real society repercussions. I wanted more out of the characters than Lockhart was willing to give me.
My favorite part of We Were Liars is the deliberate use of the King Lear legends. As one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, it was intriguing to see it used in a new way. At times, I thought the reliance on Lear could have even been more distinct.
In the end, We Were Liars was a quick read that had very little character development, repetitive faux-poetry writing style, and weak thematic qualities.
Plot: C
Characters: C-
Overall: C
We Were Liars tells the story of Cadence, the heir of the Sinclair family. Every summer, she can her two cousins and their friend Gat spend their days on the family private island. One summer, something happens - Cadence is found in the ocean, she can't remember anything, and she is plagued with migraines that confine her to bed for days on end. Why can't she remember that summer? Was there more going on than people will tell her? With three generations of Sinclairs struggling to survive, something was bound to explode sometime or another.
This was a particular, pretentious, persnickety book. It was written from Cadence's perspective and thus involved a lot of weird, disturbing imagery describing her migraines. A major theme of the story was her dealing with a past that she couldn't remember and the wealthy, privileged lifestyle she can't escape. Lockhart came back to the same points over and over, drilling the reader into Cadence's mind. The short, sharp sentences, chock full of odd metaphors and adjectives, gave the feeling that there was an attempt at poetry, but it never truly crossed the gap. Most of the characters were static and defined in the same ways over and over. I got bored of hearing that Mirren was like rain and Gat was like strong coffee, etc., etc. Ultimately, I didn't feel like there was any real resolution to the story. It was description of self-loathing and self-guilt without any real society repercussions. I wanted more out of the characters than Lockhart was willing to give me.
My favorite part of We Were Liars is the deliberate use of the King Lear legends. As one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, it was intriguing to see it used in a new way. At times, I thought the reliance on Lear could have even been more distinct.
In the end, We Were Liars was a quick read that had very little character development, repetitive faux-poetry writing style, and weak thematic qualities.
Plot: C
Characters: C-
Overall: C
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