TOO MANY LOOSE THREADS
BETWEEN THE TWILIGHTS. By Dorothy Charques. Hamish Hamilton, London. ‘THIS is a curiously unsatisfying story. All the ingredients for a fine novel are present. There is atmosphere, there is skill in writing, there is character, and there is plot in the unfolding of the character. But the mixture is too uneven and not complete. It seems, too often, as though this were the first draft of the novel, and that Mrs. Charques intended to return later to fill in the details that. she has not so much neglected as lost interest in. There are minor incidents that stand out vividly, there are clear impressions of characters that appear for only one page. Yet the major characters, despite their constant self-examination, do not emerge clearly. It is as though quick outline sketches had been made, while the expression, the eyes, all the living features, had not yet been drawn. But with her village characters, all the details have beep filled in with loving care and they stand out, clear and distinct and far more interesting than are the Furnesses. Mrs. Charques writes with economy and occasionally with distinction, but the novel as a whole fails to hold our attention. It is too disjointed and has too many loose threads.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19470822.2.33.5
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 426, 22 August 1947, Page 17
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212TOO MANY LOOSE THREADS New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 426, 22 August 1947, Page 17
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