Get to the point.

So, I'm down to the last 100 or so pages of THE LONELY POLYGAMIST, and so far I really like it. Very funny book. But it has one flaw that I'm seeing a lot these days: books that are almost all foreshadowing. Hundreds of pages are spent leading up to something, and then it's resolved suddenly at the very end, with the reaction being, "Is that it?" I am nearly 500 pages into this book. There are two key "actions" that the book has been leading toward this entire time. Neither of them have happened yet,and one of them has barely even started happening. I enjoy the book, but there could be more of a progression and development of these key plot elements instead of hundreds of pages of "something is about to happen."

I also dislike the way a lot of time is spent on character development for certain characters, only to have them mainly serve as a device to accomplish something in the plot. They themselves are not all that integral to the story. Or at least that's how it seems so far. The book is around 600 pages. I wonder if a lot of things were cut out. There is a lot of backstory that is never spoken about which would seem important to know. There are other things that are alluded to only once or twice that would seem to have great significance later, but they are never mentioned again.

It seems like it would be better to have a clear beginning, middle, and end to these conflicts occurring through the book, although I think I can see what the author may be doing with some of this. As a reader though, it is somewhat of a letdown, and I see it more and more these days. Some of the books I've read, I feel like they are basically novellas or sometimes even short stories pumped full of air.

THE LONELY POLYGAMIST is still a fun book. I'm hoping something will happen in the next hundred pages that will make it all work perfectly. I will probably find out later this morning.