Review: Chords review
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 8, 2014
Chords is a somewhat hard book to describe. It starts with a dance that ends in a brief bout of violence, and then careens decades into the future to show the children of a few of the people involved in that incident. The book follows these families between several time periods. It begins in the 50s and jumps along to the 70s-90s. The cover is a little strange, but ties in a bit as it features several people (what might possibly be a multi-generational family) walking along a beach-like setting.As time shifts we can also compare and contrast the different social and cultural issues, and how the times have changed. One of the major issues that affects the characters is that of war, and they each have their own opinions on what's wrong and right.The writing is serviceable, but I feel like it could be so much better. Sometimes sentences are awkwardly phrased or sound clipped, and there are a good amount of grammar and spelling errors. There are often points where I feel like I'm being told rather than shown.For all the issues I have with the writing, the story itself is very layered and deep, and contains a lot of relevant themes. The characters grow and tackle tough issues, and I can see where all of them have valid points. The unique "time traveling" aspect also allows the reader to see parallels between situations. Despite the writing style, I would suggest this book to anyone interested in a deep family/social drama.