Mediocre Novels

Mediocre Novels: 

And the Trouble of Reading Them...

Recently I finished History of Wolves by: Emily Fridlund, which I was not thrilled or in awe of, yet I did not have particularly negative feelings towards either. That review will be up on Wednesday October 11th. After finishing this book I was left in a bit of an odd feeling. That feeling being that I was neither satisfied with the novel, nor was I angry with the novel; I was middle of the road. My reasoning for feeling this way was due to a confusingly constructed plot, and some characters that are frustratingly hard to understand. Mediocre books for me lay directly at the three star mark, being the dead center rating any book can get on the five star scale, not good, not bad. The feeling that a mediocre book evokes is one of the most infuriating situations I feel that any reader can have... 

Some of my thoughts after reading a mediocre book: 

"Why did I finish that?"

"What was the author being praised so highly for accomplishing, and why did I not understand it?"

"It was neither here, nor there, so why should anyone read it; but again why shouldn't anyone read it?"

"How did this get on a literary prize shortlist, any mildly qualified writer could produce a plot like this..."

This feeling of conflicted unrest is most annoying to me for the fact that I did not hate it and cannot rant about it to you all, but I did not love it so I cannot gush about it. For that the review ends up being very bland and wishy washy which I try to avoid doing intentionally. I think every novel has its right to be read and each author has the right to be heard on all platforms, however some novel simply fail to engage, captivate or deliver the complete message in a new and fun manner. Not that every novel must be completely new in every sense of the word, style and structure can remain the same, but writing is always a variable. Writing can elevate a bad book into the realm of mediocrity just as swiftly as poor writing can drag down excellent themes and characters.

There are seldom mediocre books that I read, though when I do read one it is more frustrating than being banished from ever reading again. So many stories to read, so many stories to review, so many books to see, not a second to dally with mediocrity. 

Mediocrity in novels is something that utterly annoys me, if you are going to be bad, then do it wholeheartedly. But if you are going to be good, you better be spellbinding and encourage amazing discussions with those who read your book. There is no time to waste on awkward middle ground books. That is not to say that I will DNF (Do Not Finish) books, this is something that I find wasteful of time, money and effort so I will always complete a book; however if it is mediocre I am left feeling melancholy. 

Though reading what I consider to be a mediocre three star read does not mean that you will have the same experience. I acknowledge that we all bring different views and ambitions to the reading table, so please never take what I say as the whole truth. If I rate a book in the mediocrity range it may be best if you tried to read it from the library at first to gauge your enjoyment.

Happy Reading, 

Always remember to take a review with a grain of salt.