The Weekend: A Novel by Peter Cameron
Synopsis: In the woods of upstate New York, three friends gather on the anniversary of a man’s death who was related to them by blood or love. Their idyll is disturbed by the presence of two outsiders, an Italian dinner guest and a young gay man, now involved with the dead man’s lover. Thus each event is charged with the tension of trying to recapture something lost.
Review: Disappointed – enticed by an intriguing synopsis, but let down by disconnected and chopping dialogue. The dialogue almost made me forget my promise to always read whatever I had started, no matter how difficult of a read it may be. Everything about Cameron’s writing was really good until the characters would break out into a conversation. At that point, I would grit my teeth and hope the conversation was minimal. It was like super intelligent intellectuals trying to interact socially with each other, or like two robots communicating with each other. Cameron’s style of writing dialogue killed the story for me. I thought the story line was sweet, but the jerky, halt/stop dialogue and emotionally void communication was a major distraction. Sorry Mr. Cameron, but “The Weekend” was just as much of a bust for me as it was for Lyle and his friends.
2 out of 5 stars.
