The Locals

This is a complicated review to write. I cannot, in any possible way - no matter how small, say that this is a bad book. It is written so well that at parts I had to stop and think about it. The characters feel real, fleshed out and like defined people.

It's really the type of book I'd expect from Jonathan Dee, whose list of achievements feels too long to list. I devoured this book in multiple, massive sessions. The prologue for me was boring and felt like a struggle to get through. I couldn't reconcile the nameless narrator with the descriptions of the two men on the blurb, and I certainly did not like him. While that last point turned out to be a recurring theme throughout the book, the prologue is a brief low point that with hindsight was a good opening chapter.

This is not a book about the growth of one person, or the journey people go on. It's a deep look at the ways different people can be selfish for all of the different reasons they can be selfish. In certain cases, a seemingly selfless act has selfish consequences. I enjoyed this book so much more than I thought I would and I think it was down to the outstanding portrayal of the characters. They had flaws that felt human and understandable - I even felt like I recognised characters from my own life in the novel.

I strongly recommend this book if it interests you. Even if its out of your usual reading selections (it was very far out of my usual choices).