Tuesday, March 31, 2015

The World Before Us



Hunter, Aislinn. The World Before Us. New York: Crown Publishing, 2015.

This is a story of 3 time periods. In the present, Jane Standen is an archivist working at a struggling museum. About 20 years previously, a girl in her care became lost in the woods, never to be found. About a hundred years earlier, the same land was home to an asylum where another girl went missing. There is connection between the parts, and I'm certain there are persons who will appreciate this book far more than I did. I found parts of the narrative to read more like non-fiction than the fictional account that they were. It simply did not flow well for the type of book that it was. The other problem with the book is the lack of resolution. It leaves the reader conflicted. There are readers who appreciate books that capture the fact that not everything in life is going to be settled. This is a book for that type of reader. This review is based on an advance review e-galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a review.