I quite enjoyed reading ‘Blackberry Wine’ by Joanne Harris, so I thought I’d try her latest novel ‘Gentlemen and Players’. It took me ages to read (nearly a month). I think that’s because I wasn’t picking it up very frequently because I didn’t really manage to get into it. About a quarter of the way through I had to start the book again because I was getting confused with the characters; I don’t think it was made very clear that there is more than one narrator. Nearly the whole way through the book I kept having to re-read bits; I realise now I’ve finished it that my confusion was mainly because Joanne Harris deliberately didn’t reveal things so as not to give away the final ‘twist’.
This book is written in quite a light hearted and humourous style, but it also dark – I guess that makes it a black comedy. It’s set in a boys private grammar school in the the north of England. I think anyone who likes school stories or murder mystery books would probably like ‘Gentlemen and Players’. All I can say really is it was okay – not bad, not great. The idea is there and it’s very clever, but it’s only once you get to the ‘twist’ that you realise why you’ve spent nearly the whole book thinking you’ve missed something. Some people don’t mind not understanding things totally, but I found that aspect hard-going.