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romyschnaiberg's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
mallard_duck's review against another edition
2.0
The premise is interesting; intriguing, even. A story of a lady detective making waves in Victorian London would be enough to hook me in, but throw in a pinch of magical realism, ghosts, and merrows? What's not to love?
The best way I can describe this book is flat. Which is kind of ironic, considering the flowery language. But it's the only word I can think of that accurately describes my perception of Things in Jars. There were characters. There was a plot. Myths were brought up, and at some point, there even was some action. Yet all of this is blurry in my memory, and I only finished this book about an hour ago.
Let's start with the writing style. Based on the reviews, it seems to be a bit of a love it or hate it thing. For me it was neither, much to my surprise. I usually love flowery language, even some of what others might consider purple prose; Kidd's writing, though, reminded me at times of someone who had just discovered a Thesaurus and was hell-bent on reveling in the joy of synonyms, new words, old-timey Victorian-era terms... Ironically enough, instead of coming off as poetic, quite a few passages seemed more like lists of things to me. Whatever the book was supposed to be about tended to get lost in them.
The pacing I found mediocre. For most of the book, nothing really happens (yet the plot progresses!), and then right toward the end we get a bit of a scuffle and a chase scene that is so devoid of, well, action that it might as well not have been there.
But, Mal, were the characters, at the very least, entertaining? You may ask.
And I'll answer: eh, sort of? But also not really? But also maybe?
On paper, Bridie, the protagonist, is a character I should love. A fierce redhead defying gender norms in Victorian society is exactly my cup of tea. She was indeed the most fleshed out of all characters in the book, and I didn't dislike her, per se. I didn't love her either. I'm not sure why. She has gumption, she's smart, her motivations are mostly clear and understandable. Her backstory is extensive and written in a way that's actually entertaining. Guess she just didn't scratch that itch for me, for whatever reason.
As for the others, I just... feel like Kidd could have done so, so much more with them. The thing is, somehow, they are barely present, despite the book being 400+ pages long, quite a few of which are dedicated to people who aren't Bridie. Cora? We get her tragic backstory, but she doesn't really exist outside of her (few) conversations with Bridie. When she's not talking to the main character, she disappears completely - and when she is, it's only to (barely) move the plot along. Ruby Doyle exists even less; he's mostly there to trace after Bridie. He's said to disappear regularly, to go to other places... except we never hear what he does when he's not following after Mrs. Devine. Which is also, in my opinion, a real loss plot-wise - I mean, come on! You have a character who's literally a ghost who can walk through walls and follow people unseen; and you're not using that to progress the story? There wasn't a single conversation in which he told Bridie what he may have seen or heard in the city - I would think being able to learn some gossip this way would be invaluable when you're searching for a kidnapped child... or solving any other mystery crime, really.
On the plus side, I want to say that I thought Gideon was a good villain, exactly because in this book about ghosts and merrows written in too-flowery language his evil was purely, mundanely human. He's a rich, privileged, and most of all sociopathic and cruel man to whom consequences, true consequences, that is, never quite applied. There was absolutely nothing magical about him. There have been and still are (far too many) people just like him in the real world, and that's what makes him, as a character, terrifying.
Lastly, I found the addition of romance rather unnecessary in this book. It's not even me being a cold-hearted bitch and not understanding why Ruby (or, I suppose, Ronan) would still be wildly in love with a girl he knew twenty or so years ago, back when they were both about 8 years old. I mean, the man's dead; let him pine. Bridie, though? I just didn't buy her being smitten with some dude she'd only known for a few days, whom she claimed not to remember (truth be told, I'm still not sure if that one scene about drowning meant that she realized that he was her long-lost friend), and who was, well, a ghost. Why? What was even the point? Nothing would've been lost if they had just been friends (mostly because their interactions barely even painted them as that), or if it had been one-sided pining.
Overall, it's a book I'd take to a beach or on a long train ride, something to kill time but not really return to.
The best way I can describe this book is flat. Which is kind of ironic, considering the flowery language. But it's the only word I can think of that accurately describes my perception of Things in Jars. There were characters. There was a plot. Myths were brought up, and at some point, there even was some action. Yet all of this is blurry in my memory, and I only finished this book about an hour ago.
Let's start with the writing style. Based on the reviews, it seems to be a bit of a love it or hate it thing. For me it was neither, much to my surprise. I usually love flowery language, even some of what others might consider purple prose; Kidd's writing, though, reminded me at times of someone who had just discovered a Thesaurus and was hell-bent on reveling in the joy of synonyms, new words, old-timey Victorian-era terms... Ironically enough, instead of coming off as poetic, quite a few passages seemed more like lists of things to me. Whatever the book was supposed to be about tended to get lost in them.
The pacing I found mediocre. For most of the book, nothing really happens (yet the plot progresses!), and then right toward the end we get a bit of a scuffle and a chase scene that is so devoid of, well, action that it might as well not have been there.
But, Mal, were the characters, at the very least, entertaining? You may ask.
And I'll answer: eh, sort of? But also not really? But also maybe?
On paper, Bridie, the protagonist, is a character I should love. A fierce redhead defying gender norms in Victorian society is exactly my cup of tea. She was indeed the most fleshed out of all characters in the book, and I didn't dislike her, per se. I didn't love her either. I'm not sure why. She has gumption, she's smart, her motivations are mostly clear and understandable. Her backstory is extensive and written in a way that's actually entertaining. Guess she just didn't scratch that itch for me, for whatever reason.
As for the others, I just... feel like Kidd could have done so, so much more with them. The thing is, somehow, they are barely present, despite the book being 400+ pages long, quite a few of which are dedicated to people who aren't Bridie. Cora? We get her tragic backstory, but she doesn't really exist outside of her (few) conversations with Bridie. When she's not talking to the main character, she disappears completely - and when she is, it's only to (barely) move the plot along. Ruby Doyle exists even less; he's mostly there to trace after Bridie. He's said to disappear regularly, to go to other places... except we never hear what he does when he's not following after Mrs. Devine. Which is also, in my opinion, a real loss plot-wise - I mean, come on! You have a character who's literally a ghost who can walk through walls and follow people unseen; and you're not using that to progress the story? There wasn't a single conversation in which he told Bridie what he may have seen or heard in the city - I would think being able to learn some gossip this way would be invaluable when you're searching for a kidnapped child... or solving any other mystery crime, really.
On the plus side, I want to say that I thought Gideon was a good villain, exactly because in this book about ghosts and merrows written in too-flowery language his evil was purely, mundanely human. He's a rich, privileged, and most of all sociopathic and cruel man to whom consequences, true consequences, that is, never quite applied. There was absolutely nothing magical about him. There have been and still are (far too many) people just like him in the real world, and that's what makes him, as a character, terrifying.
Lastly, I found the addition of romance rather unnecessary in this book. It's not even me being a cold-hearted bitch and not understanding why Ruby (or, I suppose, Ronan) would still be wildly in love with a girl he knew twenty or so years ago, back when they were both about 8 years old. I mean, the man's dead; let him pine. Bridie, though? I just didn't buy her being smitten with some dude she'd only known for a few days, whom she claimed not to remember (truth be told, I'm still not sure if that one scene about drowning meant that she realized that he was her long-lost friend), and who was, well, a ghost. Why? What was even the point? Nothing would've been lost if they had just been friends (mostly because their interactions barely even painted them as that), or if it had been one-sided pining.
Overall, it's a book I'd take to a beach or on a long train ride, something to kill time but not really return to.
winemakerssister's review against another edition
4.0
A dark Gothic tale of medical exploration and oddities, a courtly ghost of an Irish boxer, a gentle seven-foot-tall housemaid with mutton-chop whiskers, and our heroine Bridie, a pipe-smoking anatomist and detective.
The characters are the best part of this book - they're all wonderful and dark and quirky.
CW: pretty much every atrocity you can imagine in Victorian times. Not for the faint of heart. A similar feeling to Sweeney Todd.
Bridie lives on Denmark Street - a nod to Cormoran Strike who works as a detective on that street 150 years later?
Cover: Nice. Not expected, however, based on the story.
Narrator: Really good, although her Cockney was a bit strange.
Hogwarts Sorting Hat: Bridie is a Ravenclaw with Gryffindor tendencies
Themes: London, memories, anatomists/doctors, body selling, water-based oddities, Thames
The characters are the best part of this book - they're all wonderful and dark and quirky.
CW: pretty much every atrocity you can imagine in Victorian times. Not for the faint of heart. A similar feeling to Sweeney Todd.
Bridie lives on Denmark Street - a nod to Cormoran Strike who works as a detective on that street 150 years later?
Cover: Nice. Not expected, however, based on the story.
Narrator: Really good, although her Cockney was a bit strange.
Hogwarts Sorting Hat: Bridie is a Ravenclaw with Gryffindor tendencies
Themes: London, memories, anatomists/doctors, body selling, water-based oddities, Thames
cassie_reader's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
The characters, setting, and magical elements of this story were all interesting and gave a spooky undertone to the whole thing that I can appreciate.
However, the writing in this was truly hard to understand. I think the combination of being overly descriptive and using such odd vocabulary really kept me from ever feeling 100% invested in the book.
I spent much of my time reading this just re-reading paragraphs at a time trying to decipher what was happening.
However, the writing in this was truly hard to understand. I think the combination of being overly descriptive and using such odd vocabulary really kept me from ever feeling 100% invested in the book.
I spent much of my time reading this just re-reading paragraphs at a time trying to decipher what was happening.
dsheffield206's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
lizard_sarah_96's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
lilylanie's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fantastic book, both literally and figuratively. It's funny that while I was reading it, I felt like it was not at all what I expected; however, after I finished and went back and read the description, it was indeed completely accurate. It just struck me in a way I wasn't prepared for, both in good ways and bad. The bad being that it was gritty in an uncomfortable way at times, and desperately sad at others, but overall I was quite satisfied with the narrative and the resolution. I would definitely read more by this author.
dkpalmer13's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
3.0