By: PAIGE FOSTER
Staff Writer
Ruth Ware’s debut novel “In a Dark, Dark Wood” earned a variety of accolades after its publication in 2015, and there was talk of Reese Witherspoon developing the novel into a movie for a time. That being said, I am somewhat late in reading and reviewing this popular psychological thriller. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the novel and am filled with comments on Ware’s prose and plot.
The book begins with a reclusive writer, Lenora, being invited to her estranged best friend’s bachelorette party held in a secluded house in the woods. Lenora is hesitant but decides to attend. Old feuds, new revelations, and the complex dynamics of childhood friendships hobbling into adulthood are the main features of this work.
Overall, this novel was enjoyable to read and contains a few genuinely surprising plot twists – a high compliment from a frequent reader. The complicated pasts between characters, slowly revealed, also enrich the significance of various events in the plot and the reader’s perception of each character individually. Despite Ware’s solid plot points and character development, the pacing of the novel and its monotonous mood are its biggest flaws. Ware attempts to keep things somber with dreary weather, cacophonic diction, and the protagonist’s openly professed misery. The issue is that this is never broken up or contrasted by strong positive emotions or experiences, and as a result, it is very one-note and loses effect as the novel approaches its climax. The pacing is also a problem. As in, it is horribly slow and stuttering. I found myself reading quickly not because I wanted to know what was going to happen, but because I wanted to know if anything was going to happen.
As a whole, I would rate “In a Dark, Dark Wood” three out of five stars, and recommend it to readers of crime writing or psychological thrillers. It won’t change your life, but it is worth the read.