The Hour When the Ship Comes in

I read The Hour When the Ship Comes in this week. This story revolved around Yancy, a man who committed a crime. The story portrayed his life from the time the crime was committed onward. The story moved very quickly and focused on one main character. By only having one character, it is easier to get involved with the character. One can grow to become more engaged in the character. Guardian Angel was a long, drawn out story. Rather than one main character, the novel incorporated a vast number of different characters, all with varying degrees of importance. I found this reading to be much more cumbersome than the short story. The Hour When the Ship Comes In had one main plot; whereas, the Guardian Angel had a multitude of different plots. I tended to have some difficulty keeping up with all the different plots, especially at the end when I had to figure out how they all were connected in some strange way. On the other hand, I found myself to be bored with a single plot such as Yancy. The length of each story accurately goes with the depth and multitude of characters and plots.

I felt that Guardian Angel challenged me much more than The Hour When the Ship Comes In. The short story was much more predictable and easier reading than the novel. I tend to gravitate towards the shorter stories, but can be disappointed by the abrupt end when I am enjoying the story. I did not enjoy reading the Guardian Angel. Contrary to the ending in The Hour When the Ship Comes In, I ended the story with several unanswered questions.