Review: Bluebottle

Bluebottle by Belinda Castles
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was one of those books where I kind of enjoyed it but also kind of had no idea what the point was?

We've got alternating viewpoints between 'Boxing Day' and 'Afterwards' to keep things interesting, and it centres on the Bright family and their rather strange father, Charlie. A girl has gone missing, and Charlie's behaviour seems rather odd, which gives the two teenage children, Louisa and Jack, some concerns. In the present day, they family all have their own lives, but are still close both physically an emotionally. Only one of them didn't make it to the 'Afterwards'. *dramatic gasp*

Story:
Totally fell flat for me. There wasn't really any drama, and the issue of the missing girl isn't a big factor. This story is more about fancy words and saying things in a convoluted way. It's probably more about Charlie, and how his 'oddness' is dealt with by his family. Not really a solid storyline to work with.

Characters:
Charlie is definitely odd. Clearly he has a mental illness - probably some form of autism, as he doesn't quite understand social cues and he focuses on things to the detriment of everything else. He behaves strangely and criticises his children and wife. I felt a little sorry for him towards the end as we got to know him a little better, but mostly he was an unlikable character. Tricia, his wife, was a bit of a non-entity, though I did find her transformation quite entertaining. Lou was probably the favourite - she's a bit more ballsy and says what she thinks, and it's hard to remember that she's just a 15yr old girl. Jack was intriguing but nothing special, and Phoebe was a lot of fun. Basically, the girls wear the pants in this one. They're all pretty well established, but it does take time - at the start I was easily getting everyone confused, particularly as the parents are Charlie and Tricia, as opposed to Mum and Dad. Not too much empathy for anyone here, though, to be honest.

Writing:
The worst part for me. It was so random and vague and was working so hard to set the scene that it stumbled over the story. It jumped around erratically and needs you to assume things for yourself, which I don't mind normally but this was too much for me. It does paint a really pretty picture of life by the sea, but I was so confused by the geography because there are pools and stairs and rooms that were just never detailed enough for me to follow what the setup was. The 'dangerous' moments meant nothing to me because I didn't even realise there was the potential for danger. It was seriously confusing.

Overall: I enjoyed it, but it was a bit of a nothing kinda story. Lots of fancy, flowery language and interesting characters, but I think I would have had more respect for this story if instead of floating around the edges of Charlie's illness it just came at it head on. There is an intriguing story there, with lots of moral questions, but here it's kind of lost in the vague writing and the effort of telling every other story but Charlie's.

This will be one for the readers who love clever words and phrases, fancy language, and reading between the lines. It'll score bonus points for lovers of Aussie fiction, particularly if the reader knows the NSW coast. If you're interested for the mystery, this will probably disappoint. If you're in it for the character study, you'll likely be more impressed.

With thanks to the publisher for my uncorrected proof ARC

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