MllePerso OP t1_iyeb1ke wrote on November 30, 2022 at 7:30 PM

Reply to comment by Samael13 in Little details that break immersion: worth it to continue the book? (Sun Down Motel) by MllePerso

My experience is antique stores and apt buildings, yes, book stores not so much for the kind of economically depressed, physically isolated small town she's describing. That being said, I'm trying to get past it, because I do like the author's style overall.

Samael13 t1_iyefeek wrote on November 30, 2022 at 7:58 PM

Could just be our different experiences coloring how we see this. I've been living in New England for most of the last two decades and, I spend a lot of time in upstate NY; I know it's supposed to be economically depressed, but I wonder if your mental picture of Fell might be smaller than the author intends?

Anyplace I've been in upstate NY big enough to have something that might qualify as a "downtown" area in the form of any kind of grid and with multiple apartment buildings, cafes, laundromats and a still functioning motel is big enough that it's almost certainly got at least one or more used bookstores.

MllePerso OP t1_iyf7y0u wrote on November 30, 2022 at 11:09 PM

I guess my mental picture of Fell was not so much smaller as poorer. Like the apt buildings made sense to me, and the laundromats, and the antique stores because the northeast US is crawling with old people looking to sell their old stuff, but for "cafes" the only mental image that worked was if I replaced "sells cute vegan baked goods, has wifi" with "sells Latin American and/or diner food, doesn't have wifi". If that makes sense.