A disappointing, repetative read with a central character that's too weak to sympathise with.
It’s difficult to sympathise with a one-note character, which is the downfall of what should have been a good read with a strong setup. Instead, A Life of Her Own is a repetitive read with a central character that’s too weak and frustrating to care about.
It’s important to note that McCallum presents a realistic sense of oppression in the protagonist, Alice Hamilton, whose passive-aggressive boyfriend manipulates her regularly by chipping away at her self-esteem. Add an aggressive, manipulative boss at work, and poor Alice struggles to find her own self-worth.
It’s a setup that offers a lot of potential but instead, Alice becomes perhaps the most unlucky woman in the world, moving from one manipulative influence to the next on a cycle that doesn’t show enough variation to be interesting.
Jennifer Vuletic does a nice job in the narration of the audiobook. She has a real sense of character, particularly in showing the wide expanse of personalities, ranging from weak to strong, and making something of some one-dimensional personas. Fans of McCallum’s writing may prefer the audiobook version to breathe life into this disappointing tale.
As an introduction to McCallum’s writing, this story doesn’t make me want to explore her further as an author, despite her popularity as “Australia’s master storyteller” (according to the Harper Collins website). It’s meant to be an inspirational story, but only inspired me to want to sleep.
Reviewed by Rod Lewis
Twitter: @StrtegicRetweet
Book Distributed by: Harper Collins Australia
Audiobook available through Audible Australia
Released: March 2019
RRP: $32.99
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