The Bricks that Built the Houses

I went in with no knowledge, no expectations. Best way to be pleasantly surprised.

I enjoyed the writing, the style (hello, beloved simile!), I liked the characters and their tensions, I wasn't too intrigued by the plot, but I did find myself thinking of purpose and home and the city. It's not just the backdrop, is it?

What bothered me, though, was the plurality of backstories. It got my head spinning and I lost track in the pool of characters. Although it all tied up in the end, I still felt as if there were a few short stories pushed into the novel that shouldn't have been there. Was Kate playing with my attention span? And also, I need closure. So that wasn't great.