To DNF or not to DNF... that is the question?

To anyone that doesn’t know DNF stands for Did not finish. My entire life I have had a rule to never DNF unless it is physically impossible for me to finish. Up until recently this was working for me. Then I came across two books that I was highly anticipatimg reading. Wideacre by Philippa Gregory (which is actually a trilogy) and Wormwood by G.P Taylor. On both accounts I was really excited to read these books because I had heard nothing but good things from friends and read some really intriguing reviews on both amazon and goodreads. I’ll take you through both in the same way I would a normal review and then explain my reasons for the DNF. So be prepared for a long post friends!

Wormwood

Synopsis

In 1756 London, Agetta Lamian fears the end of the world is near. She's the housemaid of Dr. Sabian Blake, who recently acquired a legendary book said to unlock the secrets of the universe, and overhears his prediction that a comet called Wormwood is headed toward London.

Review

I’m not usually a person to give up on anything, let alone a book. I really enjoyed Shadowmancer and so was really looking forward to diving into this story. The synopsis was interesting and sounded just right for the kinds of read that I’ve been craving. You can imagine my disappointment when I found myself struggling to turn the pages. I acknowledge that it is a Christian book and that this can sometimes be hard to digest, but for me that was never an issue. I found myself completely disconnected, from the plot, the characters and the author. In my opinion the author always has something to say when writing, a message to give but I could not for the want of trying figure out what it was Taylor wanted to say. The end of the world is a subject that can be greatly elaborated on it has endless possibilities with regard to what you might want to happen. There is no right or wrong way in which to portray this as we as readers have nothing to compare it too, It gives scope to challenge a reader because it can be as complex a plot as you want. It felt to me as if there was very little passion or relatability in any of the creative aspects. There was very little that seemed recognisable even in the characters which is what generates the connection. If you choose to end the world, make it the world that people want to live in. I think there was very little to push the reader forward with the book, no real incentive to continue when things began to drag because there was no sense of it ever regaining any momentum. I can’t tell you how unhappy it makes me to say that I am this disappointed in a story, especially when it was written by an author with whom I have enjoyed previous work.

To DNF is not a decision I take lightly but in this case I really felt as if I had no choice. In turn having decided not to finish I had to then decide how to make a record of my having at least tried to read this book. You may notice that it is in fact marked as read on my goodreads page, but in addition to that it is also included on my DNF shelf. I could not add it to said shelf without first either marking it as read or TBR (to be read).

Wideacre

Synopsis

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory comes the stunning first novel of a thrilling trilogy about the Lacey family, and the captivating woman at the heart of a power-hungry estate willing to go to any means to protect her family name.

Beatrice Lacey, as strong-minded as she is beautiful, refuses to conform to the social customs of her time. Destined to lose her heritage and beloved Wideacre estate once she is wed, Beatrice will use any means necessary to protect her ancestral name. Seduction, betrayal, even murder--Beatrice's passion is without apology or conscience. "She is a Lacey of Wideacre," her father warns, "and whatever she does, however she behaves, will always be fitting." Yet even as Beatrice's scheming seems about to yield her dream, she is haunted by the one living person who knows the extent of her plans...and her capacity for evil.

Sumptuously set in Georgian England from the "queen of royal fiction" (USA TODAY), Wideacre is intensely gripping, rich in texture, and full of color and authenticity. It is a saga as irresistible in its singular magic as its heroine.

Review

Everything about this book, and this trilogy as a matter of fact sounded like something I could really sink my teeth into.

I was so excited to read something with multi-genres, especially by an author that I had always considered to be a favourite of mine. To read the above synopsis my expectations were already very high in anticipation of what was in store for me. A story that is billed as being “rich in texture, full of colour and authenticity“ you would expect or at (least I did) to deliver on those points of reference or be exactly that but for me it fulfills none of those criteria. In the first few pages I found myself reminiscing of the classics such as Mansfield Park or Jane Eyre, unable to stop myself turning the pages learning about this wonderful young girl who loved nay adored her father and was immensely proud of her family home. I began to feel as at home as she did. As the decisions she made began to take a turn for the more sinister I felt the entire pace and momentum drop to a crawl. I not only began to disagree with the plot choices but began to resent them. Beatrice was such a beautiful, kind hearted sor of girl whom I could not help but picture with the same innocence as Fanny Price or Jane Eyre, and to have her character and personality do such a 180 degree turn was an I’m afraid to say complete and utter failure. I felt myself loosing empathy with her and distrusting her. In my opinion once faith and trust are lost in a character, particularly the main character, it is extremely difficult to regain if not nigh on impossible a began to feel angry at her, surely a lady of her quality would be able to find a better way to secure herself. I closed the book one night and decided never to open it again. I am bitterly disappointed in myself for being unable to finish this even though i disliked it, in the past I have read stories that I completely despise but forced myself to complete but no matter how hard I tried I could find no inkling within myself to endure the rest of the content of its pages. I would never go so far as to say it has put me off Gregory’s work in its entirety but I will certainly enter into any future stories with trepidation and very little expectation.

So do you or have you DNF any books? There does seem to be something quite freeing and satisfying about saying “no I cannot nor do I want to finish this book” I promise faithfully that I will never intentionally set out to DNF but having now shone a light on my decisions I no longer feel the same shame and disloyalty to the name of book lover as I once did. Reading is about the entertainment of what is within the pages of what you pick up and I know appreciate that my ideas of what entertainment means are different to everyone else’s and that is a good thing.

Please do comment with any books that you have or are considering to DNF. I would be interested to know how our perimeters and criteria's differ.

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