In The Great Godden, a family is on summer vacation at the beach, but when two brothers, the Goddess, come to stay with them, everything changes. The fundamental concept of the story is that almost everyone, including the main character, falls in love with Kit, the older of the two brothers' golden children. But nothing is what it seems... There are a couple of aspects of this book that I like. It goes without saying that Meg Rosoff is a sophisticated, compelling, and astute writer. I haven't read a novel with quite the same flair, and I was captivated by Meg Rosoff's method of telling the story. Even though The Great Godden, as far as I know, is set in this decade, it reads almost like a memoir or historical account. As the summer progresses, the story is delivered in slice-of-life pieces by the narrator/main character. The reader is kind of left to speculate and free to choose who the character is since the narrator's identity and gender are unknown. It's extremely fascinating that the main character has no name or gender, but I wasn't aware of this until about halfway through the novel. I had pictured the character as a female, but as the book came to a close, certain narrative developments made me realize that I could have liked the book more if I had envisioned the character as a boy. Although I could appreciate Meg Rosoff's writing style and the manner she chose to show the narrator/main character, I didn't really like this book as a plot in general. Unfortunately, I just wasn't able to connect with the characters in this book, which is terrible because characters are always such a big part of my enjoyment of a book. Sure, there were times when I found the younger Godden's brother, Alex, to be funny and when I wished I could have protected Hugo, but aside from that, I couldn't relate to the characters and as a result, I didn't like them. In my opinion, none of them had quite enough complexity. I would have loved this book a lot more if I had connected with the narrator, but my reading style just did not allow for that. Despite my admiration for the narrative technique, which I have already stated, I found the story to be lacking in depth, partly because I didn't feel like I fully knew the protagonist. Although I can't express how I feel about Kit's character without giving anything away, I didn't understand why everyone was so obsessed with him. I wasn't convinced by the romance in the novel, and I didn't get the impression that the narrator was in love with Kit. Simply said, it didn't seem that way to me. There wasn't much in the plot that kept me interested, enthusiastic or moved me to finish the book, though I didn't struggle to do so. It was very emotionless.Things simply seemed to occur in the story, such as to the narrator, and then were simply ignored as if they had never occurred. I was ultimately left with a sense of disappointment, confusion, and slight unease after finishing this book. The Great Godden definitely got me thinking, and I can see how it would be a fantastic book to study and write an essay on. But overall, I just don't like that kind of book. It does have its moments, and I do believe that it might really resonate to some readers, so I sincerely hope that other readers out there appreciate it more than I did. However, I'm just not into it.
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About This Book
"In an eccentric, turreted vacation house by the sea, our watchful narrator sees everything, including many things that shouldn't be seen, while brothers and sisters, parents and theatrical older cousins fill the hot days with wine and tennis and sailingand planning a wedding. Enter two brothers, the sons of a fading film actress; irresistibly charming, languidly sexy Kit and surly, silent Hugo. Suddenly there's a serpent in this paradise, and the consequences will be devastating."