by Louise Welsh
First published in Great Britain in 2014.
This book has been on my 'to read' list since it was in the Metro article I've now mentioned a few times in this blog. It interested me because it seemed to be about a plague in modern times, in a similar vein to post-apocalyptic fiction. I like reading post-apocalyptic fiction because I like wondering how society would function and how I would react to the situation (I'm aware I'd probably not do well!).
A Lovely Way To Burn is the first in a trilogy called 'Plague Times' and it does end with a fairly open way into the next book, I think.
Set in present ish day (described as 'a time that could be tomorrow) London, Stevie is the main character when a virus suddenly takes hold. Soon there are more people dying than doctors can cope with and there doesn't seem to be a cure. However, Stevie has had 'the sweats' and survived. When her boyfriend dies and it looks more like murder than the virus she has to try to find out who killed him, whilst also fighting for her own life.
Stevie is a character that I kept changing my mind about; even as I write this I'm not sure if I like her. Initially I found her annoying. She was self-centred and in her own little London bubble. As the story progressed she acted in ways I could understand. As the story was set in the present day I found parts of it worryingly real, for example when Stevie sees a man die in the London Underground and the panic that ensues.
I think one reason for my going back and forth on Stevie's character was the fact that she was soon the only female surrounded by a lot of male characters, and as a female I wanted her to keep going and 'win'. On the other hand I didn't relate to her personally very much, and so I wasn't really rooting for her at all.
The writing is very straightforward. I thought Stevie was a bit over-dramatic at times but I was able to see this as a realistic reaction for her. The story is written in the third person narrative, which I think was a big factor in my not fully connecting with the characters. The narrator is limited to Stevie's feelings and emotions so she is the main character, however she wasn't one that I related to as much as characters in other books.
The medical lingo is used enough to illustrate how dangerous the virus is, without being too hard to understand, and as Stevie isn't a medical professional she asks for explanations when I needed them.
Overall, it was a decent read but I did get frustrated with Stevie and this had a big impact on my enjoyment of the book. I know I'll read the next two in the trilogy just because I can't not know what happens when I start something. I was considering not writing this review because it wasn't a brilliant read for me, but I didn't want this blog to sound enthused about everything all the time (unrealistic much?). Ofcourse I may not like everything I read in the same way, but every book has something to give. This one made me realise that I much prefer reading about the initial impact of post-apocalyptic events, for example how the virus affects people day to day, rather than the thriller aspect of Stevie trying the find her boyfriend's killer. Maybe I'm just rather morbid!
