Kitsch's Calling

[dotinthesky]

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I gave The Cuckoo's Calling to my boyfriend as a birthday gift. I kept quiet about who was really behind the pseudonym Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) as I knew he wouldn't be aware of this fact: I was curious to see what he'd think of the novel.

Halfway through the book he turned to me and said: "it's strange but it feels like this novel was written by a woman." Why? I asked. "The way the main character, Cormoran Strike, describes his secretary doesn't sound like the way a man would think."

Because I knew J.K. Rowling had written it, I couldn't think of anything else but "Why did she write this?" as I read on. Why did she bother? Why did she choose such a simple style, such a middle-of-the-road approach? The novel brings absolutely nothing new to the crime genre. It reminded of something ITV would come up with, like Midsomer Murders - and in fact some plot points don't get resolved and are clearly meant to be developed over various books.

The characters felt very paper-thin and stereotypical (with perhaps the exception of Cormoran Strike himself) and the uncovering of celebrity life in London after the suspicious death of a supermodel was more superficial than a Heat magazine article. Most disappointing of all, the first remotely exciting plot development only happened on page 360!

This novel is more chick-lit than crime fic but only because J.K. Rowling chose for it to be so. But why? I ask myself again. Was she afraid of delving deeper into the crime genre? Afraid she'd be found out so she stuck with something easy to swallow, that would sit prettily by a cashier's desk at the supermarket and wouldn't reflect badly on her?

The end was somewhat satisfying and neatly concluded the main mystery - almost as if Agatha Christie had been channeled for the task (I was reminded of how Christie started her novels by writing the end first and I get the suspicion that's what Rowling did here.) I hope though that she takes some risks in the next books in the series.

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Comments

[norabird.livejournal.com]

I forget, did you read the casual vacancy? I really liked it.

[picosgemeos.livejournal.com]

Nope, haven't read it!

[naturalbornkaos.livejournal.com]

I felt like she was doing the same thing she did in the Harry Potter books, which was "world building" and that's why it was so tremendously slow. She introduced and spent a lot of time with loads of characters who apparently went nowhere and wasted pages and pages on describing bits of London. It's a shame because when she's writing about a made-up fantasy world, this kind of stuff can be interesting and necessary but, in the real world, it just made the whole book drag... :(

I think I enjoyed this more than you because I'd read The Casual Vacancy which was a terminally drudgerous five-billion-page Guardian editorial piece. I was just glad this one at least attempted a story in amongst the supermarket social commentary.

It's a shame. I really did love the Potter books but reading her non-Potter stuff is just exposing so many flaws in her writing style, I feel if I went back, I'd maybe not even like them any more. :(

[picosgemeos.livejournal.com]

Agreed!

[millionreasons.livejournal.com]

I wanted to like yr review on Goodreads, but I'm not able to - perhaps because I haven't read it? So I'm liking it here instead.

[picosgemeos.livejournal.com]

Thanks me dear.