Book Review | The Ferryman

At first glance, the isolated archipelago of Prospera seems like a utopia. Residents are free to pursue a life of luxury and the arts and are reborn as teenagers once more before old age hits them, and it's Proctor's job to help residents at the end of their current life transition into the next one. However, as he begins to unravel the island's secrets, he begins to question his role and whether the island is the paradise he once believed it to be.

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin presents readers with a literary sci-fi … or at least it tries to be one.

Don’t get me wrong. The opening prologue with Cynthia is fantastic and haunting and really hooked me in, but once we get to Proctor's first-person POV, the book quickly went downhill from there.

Proctor’s narrative voices comes off more as someone poorly imitating the style of 19th century writers. He lapses into long pseudointellectual internal monologues after banal conversations and gives page upon page of info dumps that aren't even relevant to the current scene. For, instance, no, I don't need a lesson in the island's infertility issues when the main character is casually taking a morning swim.

Overall, and if you're looking for a thought-provoking dystopian that delves into aging and the importance of memory, you'd be better off watching “San Junipero” or reading Kazuo Ishiguro's works.

Thank you, NetGalley and Ballantine Books, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Details:

Publication Date : May 2, 2023

Publisher : Ballantine Books

ISBN: 052561947X

Pages : 560

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