The first few pages of Grace and Disgrace by Susi Osborne started off really well. The pace was high, something was constantly happening and I felt as if I was in the kitchen with the family, taking part in their chaotic life. Then it started to slacken off and slowed down further and further, until it finally came to a grinding halt. And that's where I stopped caring about the characters.
I soon discovered the problem with the book, why it slowed down so much. It was because Osborne had gone from SHOWING the characters to TELLING me what they were doing. It can really put a break to any great plot line.
Another part of the book that was really disturbing were the sex scenes. It is almost as they were put in afterwards to spice up the book. Two sentences of TELLING of heavy thrusting could have been made into a paragraph of SHOWING loving and caring.
Am I being to harsh about the story? After all I didn't even bothered to finish the book. Perhaps. I do think however, the book helped me realise a lot with my own feeble attempts at writing fiction. Not even a good plot line can rescue bad writing.
Josefine
Title: Grace & Disgrace Author: Susi Osborne ISBN: 978-1-84624-463-6
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