Caledonia Road

[cromwell44]

Wondering what others think of this hefty book. I felt like I endured the first half but it hurtled towards the end and really enjoyed the last third or so. It needed a good edit and not all the characters felt authentic but it became unexpectedly engaging by the end and I was sorry to finish.
It’ll make a great tv series in the right hands. Sprawling and Dickensian according to the critics and I don’t disagree.

Not read it but sounds intriging.

I was disappointed because I like Andrew O’Hagan’s books and was looking forward to this one. It’s readable but I thought the dialogue really creaked - no one talks like this, even pretentious literary types. Several of the characters felt like stereotypes and the way they behaved didn’t ring true. Also I felt that he really hated London and almost everyone in it, which I’m sure wasn’t his intention. Lots of people seem to love it though, so maybe it’s just me.