Review: Interference by Michelle Berry

Publisher: ECW Press
Pages: 282

Received: Received a copy from ECW Press in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: August 12, 2014
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Goodreads Synopsis:

From fall to spring, the inhabitants of Edgewood Drive in the small town of Parkville prove that the simplest lives can be intricate and complicated. The interwoven, layered narrative of Michelle Berry’s Interference moves between Senior Ladies Leisure League hockey, the unsure and awkward life of pre-teens and teens, suspected pedophilia, disfigurement, and cancer. In Interference, there is always someone watching, biding their time — and as this suspense builds the vivaciousness of a congenial neighbourhood, full of life and happiness as well as fear and sorrow, becomes at once more humorous, frightening, and real.

My Review:

This is a bit of a difficult book for me to review, in a way I was interested in the story but I also felt that there was too much going on for me to really follow the story. In my opinion this story had too many characters that made the story difficult to follow at times, and yet I enjoyed the way Michelle Berry connects everyone together even though they all have their own stories. 

This book really shows readers something about small neighbourhoods, I really liked that each of the characters lived in the same neighbourhood and knew each other in one way or another. What this story gives readers is a look into each of the houses, showing us that how things are on the outside are not always what happens behind closed doors. There are so many different emotions running through this book, each of the characters have things to be happy about, and also scared for.

My biggest issue with the book was that because there were so many characters to follow, I felt like many of the stories were left open-ended. I wanted more from some of the stories, to see where they would go, not everything was wrapped up (and I understand it represents real life, but I just wanted a bit of closure with these people). I thought it was interesting how Michelle Berry writes about different characters of all ages, but for the length of this book, there was too much happening. It would have been better if she focused on a few less people, that would have helped the story move along more.

What kept me going through this book was how in a way the neighbourhood of Edgewood Drive reminded me a little bit of where I grew up. I lived in a smaller town, and everyone on the street knew each other and kept an eye on what was going on. Thinking back sometimes I found it weird, but also safe, knowing there are people out there watching your house to see who is around. I'm very back and forth on how I feel about this book, thinking back it was difficult to keep track of who was who, but it was an interesting story about people and the difference between a public face and a private one.