Author: Philippa Holloway
Published: November 07, 2022
The Half-life of Snails has such an interesting premise, but I found the pacing and characters a little hard to deal with at times. Like a lot of character-focused books, things move at a ‘snail’s pace’ and it takes a while to reach the heart of the story. Where the character’s struggles are interesting, I didn’t really want to spend much time with any of them while the next step of the plot was developing. However, if you are interested in a character focused book that is a bit dark and covers some of the earlier stages of Ukraine and Russia’s turbulent history, this book is worth checking out.
Helen has always been suspicious of the nuclear power plants. Though many believe they provide ‘safe’ and ‘clean’ energy, she knows different. That is why she has prepared her young son, Jack, for inevitable disaster. But not everyone shares Helen’s fears; including her sister Jennifer. Jennifer and her husband Ioan work for the plant close to the farm which has provided a comfortable living for them. Their loyalty to the plant remains unshaken, even as proposals for a new facility threaten the family farm. Helen is leading the fight to stop construction and feels Chernobyl might be the key to halting the project for good. Spurred by a potential cancer diagnosis, Helen leaves Jack in Jennifer and Ioan’s care while she takes a brief trip to see the Exclusion Zone for herself. However, political tensions might make getting back harder than Helen could have ever anticipated.
This book takes place during Russia’s annexation of Crimea and is therefore quite relevant to the current Russian invasion of Ukraine. That being said, this issue is not the central focus of the book. The themes in this journey are interesting and compelling as a whole. However, there is a lot of odd pacing where the scene either does not add to the story or switches perspective too quickly to really engage with what is going on. I don’t mind a little fluff, but the pacing issues cause the story to drag.
This story definitely paints a bleak picture with very little levity to balance it. Though it didn’t really affect my feelings about it overall, some readers might find it a little oppressive. A lot of the characters are naturally stiff and closed off, but the lack of any warmth made them feel stilted and hard to connect with. Personally, I wasn’t really invested in what happens to the characters which overshadowed a lot of the good things this book has to offer.
Special thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC!
Rowan Hill 