Reviews
Fates and Traitors: A Novel of John Wilkes Booth and the Women Who Loved Him by Jennifer Chiaverini
matturay's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
amandadelbrocco's review against another edition
5.0
This book was fantastic. I only knew the basics on the life of John Wilkes Booth but telling his story with such detail from the point of view of the women in his life was an inspired idea. It was riveting even though it was as detailed as a non-fiction book, which tend to be more difficult to read.
julibug86's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars - but that is not an option, so 3
Preface my review by saying that I read this for book club so while it is not something I would pick up on my own, I do appreciate reading different types of things.
The story of John Wilkes Booth is interesting enough on its own, that I'm not sure I liked the fictionalized details. I think I would've preferred just the facts and just what is known, or, mention things that are speculation (Lucy throwing herself on his body) but state that they are speculation. Maybe this is why I don't read historical fiction. Now I'm afraid that I'll be tested on my trivia one day and blurt out something ridiculous that I think is true, but that is actually fiction, all because I'm retaining this novel as truth.
Also, this did not need to be almost 400 pages. Why is it the new trend to write 350-400 page books?
Preface my review by saying that I read this for book club so while it is not something I would pick up on my own, I do appreciate reading different types of things.
The story of John Wilkes Booth is interesting enough on its own, that I'm not sure I liked the fictionalized details. I think I would've preferred just the facts and just what is known, or, mention things that are speculation (Lucy throwing herself on his body) but state that they are speculation. Maybe this is why I don't read historical fiction. Now I'm afraid that I'll be tested on my trivia one day and blurt out something ridiculous that I think is true, but that is actually fiction, all because I'm retaining this novel as truth.
Also, this did not need to be almost 400 pages. Why is it the new trend to write 350-400 page books?
rseykora's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
historical_bookworm's review against another edition
5.0
A haunting tale of four women and their relationship with Lincoln's assassinator. Chiaverini weaves fact and fiction to bring to life a story of John Wilkes Booth and the events leading up to the assassination and the aftermath.
tanzimerritt's review against another edition
4.0
There are plenty of novelizations of the lives of those involved in the Lincoln assassination, but Chiaverini's is one of the most enjoyable. Although a small portion of the book is told from Booth's viewpoint, the rest is written from the viewpoints of the women in Booth's life - mother, sister, fiance, and co-conspirator.
Each of these women was taken by surprise by Booth's actions, despite many clues in his behavior leading up to the assassination, and that's struck me as very real. When someone does something awful it's hard for those closest to that person to imagine how they didn't know, but it's human nature to believe the best of those that we love and be taken by surprise when they do something unthinkable. Even Mary Surratt, who was hung for her participation in the conspiracy, was stunned by the assassination, believing Booth was still only planning to kidnap Lincoln. It's also a testament to the lengths mothers will go to in order to believe the best of their children or protect them, particularly in the case of Surratt, who would not have been involved if it hadn't been for her desire to stand by her son no matter how deeply he became involved in the plot. It's also interesting how different Booth's views were from those of his family and fiance, all of whom were loyal Unionists and not sympathetic to "the Cause."
It's a lengthy book but an easy read, and definitely worth the time.
Each of these women was taken by surprise by Booth's actions, despite many clues in his behavior leading up to the assassination, and that's struck me as very real. When someone does something awful it's hard for those closest to that person to imagine how they didn't know, but it's human nature to believe the best of those that we love and be taken by surprise when they do something unthinkable. Even Mary Surratt, who was hung for her participation in the conspiracy, was stunned by the assassination, believing Booth was still only planning to kidnap Lincoln. It's also a testament to the lengths mothers will go to in order to believe the best of their children or protect them, particularly in the case of Surratt, who would not have been involved if it hadn't been for her desire to stand by her son no matter how deeply he became involved in the plot. It's also interesting how different Booth's views were from those of his family and fiance, all of whom were loyal Unionists and not sympathetic to "the Cause."
It's a lengthy book but an easy read, and definitely worth the time.
rachelhmcgrath's review against another edition
The narration was strange and the story just never drew me in.
aublar's review against another edition
5.0
This book was written just for me and I loved it. I have long been fascinated by the events surrounding Lincoln’s assassination and have studied it extensively. I was thrilled to find a novel that told this story. This particular book centers on 4 women in John Wilkes Booth’s life- his mother, his sister, his sweetheart, and a supposed co-conspirator. I very much appreciated the structure of the novel. Each section about the different women was very long rather jumping back and forth between them which eliminated confusion. Then, after a chapter from Booth’s point of view it does skip around among the women but by then you’ve totally got their stories straight. This is a hefty book (the audio is 16 hours) with lots of background on each character and is rich with historical detail. Based on all my previous reading I thought that the author’s interpretation of all the events was spot on. Even though I already knew how it was going to end, it was still intense, so I imagine if you aren’t already familiar with the history the ending would be even more intense. If you’re looking to settle in and really sink your teeth into some great historical fiction then consider Fates and Traitors!
kourtneysuzanne's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting subject matter but a VERY slow read - it never takes me this long to finish a book! Enjoyed it but was bored at times.
ladykatiereads's review
4.0
I finished a book!! This is the first book I have managed to finish (for fun) while at college this semester so I'm very proud of myself! Wanna know my secret for finding time to do this? I have a life-proof case on my phone and read eBooks in the shower... I'm not at all ashamed. If you follow me on Goodreads, you'll see that my progress on books is usually a slow crawl during school months.
Fates and Traitors is a novel about the life of John Wilkes Booth, the man who murdered president Abraham Lincoln in 1865. I was super interested in this book just from the title when I saw that the digital ARC was available on Edelweiss earlier this year. (Fun fact: I read the prologue of this on a bus in Scotland in May, but I didn't come back to it until August) I thought this was a really interesting perspective on the life of a great American villain. It's told from the perspective of the five women closest to John Wilkes, and also from his perspective. What I loved most was that the ending came full circle...
My full review is up here: https://ladykatiereads.wordpress.com/2016/10/31/lets-talk-about-fate-and-traitors-by-jennifer-chiaverini-spoiler-free/
Fates and Traitors is a novel about the life of John Wilkes Booth, the man who murdered president Abraham Lincoln in 1865. I was super interested in this book just from the title when I saw that the digital ARC was available on Edelweiss earlier this year. (Fun fact: I read the prologue of this on a bus in Scotland in May, but I didn't come back to it until August) I thought this was a really interesting perspective on the life of a great American villain. It's told from the perspective of the five women closest to John Wilkes, and also from his perspective. What I loved most was that the ending came full circle...
My full review is up here: https://ladykatiereads.wordpress.com/2016/10/31/lets-talk-about-fate-and-traitors-by-jennifer-chiaverini-spoiler-free/