Smashbomb

The Essex Serpent

Sarah Perry | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry

7.1

(8 Ratings)

Book Rating

Beautiful, prosaic writing (0 more)

There were moments where my attention wandered (0 more)

Expertly written, but I struggled to get into it.

Sarah Perry definitely has a way with words. There was much about this book that I found very evocative, on occasion lyrical. Also, what a great backdrop for a story - the wilder parts of Essex, not to mention ancient folklore! As an Essex-born gal myself (and a sucker for anything mythical / legendary), this was music to my ears.

To be honest, I felt ever so slightly disappointed by the book as a whole, though... though I suspect this might be a case of 'it's me, not you'. I found it tricky to get into, and didn't really engage much with any of the characters. There were moments of absolute brilliance (the 'beast' washed up on the shore was so wonderfully depicted, as was the laughing scene in the school), but these were mired in content that I found a little distancing.

I don't want to be harsh at all, because I think it's clear that Perry is a master writer, and judging by all the other glowing reviews, this clearly is just me not 'getting' the book. Perhaps I'll pull it off the shelf at a later date and give it another go, it may well be that I just wasn't in the right frame of mind at present.