Review: The Year of the Ladybird - Graham Joyce

HELLO, WELCOME BACK, SO GREAT TO SEE YOU AGAIN. I am going to review my 'J' for my A-to-Z Challenge 2015, which was The Year of the Ladybird by Graham Joyce. I was lost for a J for this challenge, so I searched my local library and came across this; the premise seemed interesting, or at least, more interesting than the other Js I had come across. And hence, I took it out and read it. I took me a relatively long time considering its length. There is a reason for that, and it is because I did not like it (I gave it 2 stars on Goodreads). 

I have to be honest, I can't really tell you what this book is about. I didn't decipher a strong and clear plot from it for a number of reasons: Joyce seemed to just try to amalgamate a multitude of aspects to try and be edgy, or dramatic, or even inject some action or intrigue; and yet this failed. The supposed racial tension in the form of a political party which is basically a 1976 version of UKIP, the heatwave and the almost eponymous ladybird swarm were not developed at all. The book could have done without these aspects and still would have been good, maybe even better due to the increased clarity of the narrative. It just seems like a unnecessarily convoluted composition, which left me ultimately unsatisfied. The ending was not good enough in that it didn't tie off loose ends, at it seemed like a major cop-out, as it relied on supernatural elements just to provide some sort of answer, without really explaining half of the things that had appeared in the story which may leave the reader questioning.
I have other issues with it too. For example, the only two strong female characters in the whole novel that actually have any character development are sexualised beyond belief. As well as this, I have a strong contempt for the word 'phosphorescence' now, thanks to the stark overuse of this word in reference to the same waves and sea. It was quite a pain to read at times.

Of course, there are some good points. I felt the development of the Colin and Terri plot line was done rather well, and had me interested somewhat. This, I picked up, was the main storyline running through the narrative, but unfortunately was the only competent one too. The descriptions and writing were enjoyable to read in general, and I wasn't entirely bored to tears when I picked it up.

I'm not saying the book is good, I'm not saying it is wholly bad either. I am indifferent towards it. It is alright, not the best, not the worst. I probably wouldn't pick up another Graham Joyce book if I had the choice, however.