Review: Golden Boys

Golden Boys by Sonya Hartnett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What the frickerfrack was that!!

Literary fiction, man. It does my head in.

So this review is probably gonna be short because here we have another book that was just not my jam.

Aussie suburban kids, summer. Kids doing silly things and making dumb assumptions about adults. Adults being ridiculous and a-typical. DRAMA. At first I thought this was about the over-dramatisation of kids but then I progressed to thinking it was about how observant kids can be and honestly, after finishing, I'm still not clear on which it was.

Colt is a perfect kid who hates his perfect dad. Freya is a silly little girl who hates her dad but loves Colt's. Freya's dad is a jerk who hates everyone, Colt's dad is a mystery who seems to love everyone but possibly doesn't? or does too much? I don't know. I was so confused. I'm still so confused.

I'm starting to realise I kind of hate literary fiction a little bit. Because it spends so much time telling you pointless details (for example half this book is a list of toys and typical Aussie foods) that it almost forgets to include the story, and then when it finally decides to tell you a bit more of the story it assumes you already know it so it's vague and frustrating. I have no idea what this story was about, other than 90s kids and some terrible parenting.

Read this if: you love stories that dance around the plot with vague dialogue and dull details; you love indulging in nostalgia; you enjoy scratching your head wondering what just happened or nodding in appreciation because you're one of the rare people who enjoys untangling all the hidden meanings

Avoid like the plague if you: like action, hate boring details and repetition, didn't grow up in Australia in the 80s or 90s, prefer clear and concise stories.

Didn't hate it, can appreciate it will be enjoyed by many, but not my thing.

Also, that ending. I don't get it.

View all my reviews