Review: The Children's Crusade

The Children's Crusade by Ann Packer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm beginning to think that The Dive From Clausen's Pier was the pinnacle of Ann Packer's work. This book was good enough, kept my interest and I was invested in the characters, but here I am about a month later with no real memory of anything outstanding about it.

The story is about a young family who has four kids in the 1960's and '70's. While by all outward appearances, the family is reasonably happy, over the years the fragile framework begins to break down. The mother estranges herself increasingly from the family, losing herself in her art. Meanwhile the youngest child, all but ignored by his mother, grows into a dysfunctional adult. The book is told in flashbacks to childhood, one section by each of the four children.

I can appreciate the complexity and detail of the book but I also found some of the character development stale, relying on familiar tropes. Not a bad read but not an exceptionally memorable one either.

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