So Colm Toibin has won the Costa fiction prize for his novel Brooklynn. This interests me as I read it recently, and it made so little impression on me that when I was given it for Christmas, I was delighted to have it, was looking forward to reading it, and then remembered that I'd already read it. I am bemused at the success of what I have heard described by critics as a 'slight book', for that is (for me) what it is. Well-written, certainly; atmospheric, yes; but with a plot which barely registered in my mind. The Sea by John Banville (Booker Prize winner) had the same effect on me. Both these novels are quite short, but both are, I think, short on plot. I don't need a rip-roaring story every time, but I do like a book which grips me, with characters I really care about.
Has anyone else read Brooklynn, and if so, what did you think? Am I missing something?
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I haven't read it. And, I must say that, given your reaction to it, I'm disinclined to dash out and find it!
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