(Drivebycuriosity) - Some books come with a certain hype. The debut novel "Tangerine" by Christine Mangan belongs to them (amazon). There are a lot enthusiastic reviews and the New Yorker Magazine claims "A debut novel that delights in excess"(newyorker). The book is already in production by George Clooney, with Scarlett Johanssen as lead (npr). The noise caught my attention, but I got disappointed.
The book tells the story of Lucy & Alice, who once had been room mates. Lucy arrives suddenly & uninvited in Tangier, to visit Alice, who lives now in Morocco with her husband Tom. The story is told alternating by Lucy & Alice, a technique which is also used in the bestseller "The Girl on a Train" (driveby).
I don´t share the enthusiasm because the plot follows too many trodden paths. The author does not care much about Tangier & Morocco and focuses instead on the thinking of both lead characters. The plot is very close to a thriller from the 1990s (telling the title would be a spoiler) and uses also ideas by Sarah Waters & Patricia Highsmith. What makes the books different is that the novel immerses deeply into a sick & disturbed mind of one of the characters.
Unfortunately "Tangerine" is by far not as juicy as the name giving fruit. It becomes soon tedious to follow the reality loss and all the misconceptions and their consequences. At least 2 characters are unbelievable, they are as defenseless & gullible like toddlers. The novel is not as entertaining as the mentioned 1990s blockbuster and does not have the quality of the Sarah Waters & Patricia Highsmith novels.
Christine Mangan is an untalented writer and a plagiarist and I wonder how much the reviewers got for their enthusiasm.
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