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A review by meliemelo
Fellow Travelers by Thomas Mallon
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Reading this novel after watching the series, I can see how it made a fine blueprint for it. I'm not sure I like all the changes, but the widened perspective was definitely an improvement.
On the book itself, it relies heavily on the "historical" part of "historical fiction", with a lot of it being dialogues about 50s politics followed by lengthy explanations of said politics. Not an easy read by far, as the prose there is quite dense.
As for the romance side of it, it definitely isn't meant to be uplifting.
There are some beautiful lines here and there (most of which made it into the show, if not all of them), and I did enjoy having more of Mary's perspective. All in all, I wouldn't recommend it, unless you are extremely interested in late 50s politics.
On the book itself, it relies heavily on the "historical" part of "historical fiction", with a lot of it being dialogues about 50s politics followed by lengthy explanations of said politics. Not an easy read by far, as the prose there is quite dense.
As for the romance side of it, it definitely isn't meant to be uplifting.
There are some beautiful lines here and there (most of which made it into the show, if not all of them), and I did enjoy having more of Mary's perspective. All in all, I wouldn't recommend it, unless you are extremely interested in late 50s politics.