Good and Bad things about A Separate Country

So I'm getting to the halfway point in this book.... almost halfway there really means that I need some major motivation to get through this book so I don't fall asleep while reading it. Because lets face it historical novels can get really really boring. Not essentially because the concept is bad, rather its the way it has been written. Plus, its really hard to stay awake reading about people who are already dead. I mean sure they've made an impact on our society but  lets be real kids of this generation could care less.

So I've quickly noticed that there are good and bad things to this book. Its strange though because the "good' of this book down the road becomes the "bad." Bet most of you have no clue what I mean so allow me to elaborate. The author is explicitly clear and direct on the ideas he presents in the book. Hick's representation of the era after the war is great and makes total sense which is why I initially was excited to see how the plot would unravel through the book. Everything is detailed and really stretched, torn apart, picked at, and scraped down to the bare bottom when it comes to the text of this book. The author takes a good amount of time just to describe the scene at its important moments. For example, when one of the main characters is talking about his daily routine the author writes, " I'd built a bed a bed and stuffed feed bags full of stolen and scrounged cotton. I'd bought two pairs of blue denim work trousers, two thick white double sided shirts that could be worn inside out, and two pairs of leather boots, of what animal I don't know" (Hicks 83). Okay so I understand that it is important that a author go into detail but in this book is really over done. Almost all the ideas presented are overly detailed and while it helps paint a great picture, it also makes the book drag a little.

That leads to the "bad" part of the book which is the amount of extra time it feels wasted reading those words that cause the plot to really drag. This is more present at the part I am at now so I have to say its making me lose interest in the book. Its as if the car that I was driving while reading this book has really slowed down and everything in this world is moving in slow motion. The plot is getting to the point where I am losing focus on the important parts of the book because the author is stretching out little things like describing the nervousness of Anne Marie when she goes to a ballroom party. It makes me feel like the book isn't getting anywhere and I have been stuck in the same place for a while.

Well, I'll see how the book continues to go and hopefully something will happen to get me back on track with the book so I'm not so lost like right now.