Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy | Book Review | Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2024

[@ReadingNymph]

I think this is one I will recommend to my sister, I think she would like it. Great review Christina

[@christinacampbellbooks]

Thanks Kirsten! I hope she enjoys it. I'd love to know what she thinks of it if she decides to give it a read ☺

[@lindastormonth4764]

Good review but I DNFed this one. Soldier appears to have post partum depression and is an unreliable narrator. Because of this I felt it was a skewed view of early motherhood, and were I an expectant mum, I would be seriously reconsidering my choices. It was so gender critical “all men are useless fathers” trope. Her husband was a cardboard cutout I thought. But nothing, because of the style of the book, is explained. The narrator is at her limits but spouts beautiful prose which I find discombobulating. Yes, the author writes really good sentences but I found the narrator whiny and self-indulgent. I have seen plenty gushing reviews for the book so plaudits to Kilroy. I freely accept I am not one of the target audience so there’s that. In a word…..overwrought.