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quillyreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The tea room is the focal point at the start, like a play we are introduced to Jane Adeane, a nurse, and her colleague Dr Valentine Ross who stages an awkward and unsuccessful proposal within the early pages. We also encounter Jane’s father, Sir William and as the book progresses witness the relationships of this core quarter evolve amidst their professional lives and spaces in the tea room and surgery at Bath.
Meanwhile Valentine’s brother Edmund arrives in Borneo to pursue botany and meets the immutable Sir Ralph Savage, self-appointed rajah and his beautiful but scheming lover, Leon.
I was engrossed early on by this book, with a clean writing style I found very easy to read and believably described the period, its people, and their aspirations and biases. It highlights issues and beliefs of the era, but in a way that feels mildly condemning without feeling like a modern derision. The cast is not your typical period piece, and the women especially are rich, independent characters that I find now I’ve finished I wish had more space and time within the pages.
I particularly loved Jane’s storyline with her aunt Emmeline in the art studio in London, and the lesbian love affair that blooms there, and the growing pressure to enter a conventional marriage with Valentine. The book pushes this storyline as its core plot point, however it is not the majority of the book given the various interweaving narratives. Meanwhile Valentine Ross goes through one of the most intense character arcs I have ever encountered, as I had a lot of sympathy for him in the beginning but as the story progressed felt such revulsion I actually struggled to get through his pages and it dampened the compelling Jane storyline.
While I found the book captivating and think it is the best example of parallel narrative I have ever read. I didn’t find any section a particular slog, however I wonder if the book would miss the Borneo sections if removed.
Overall, a slow but pleasant read. An engaging start but I did find the final sections a bit of a slog, except for the interlude in Ireland. Generally deft storytelling, with an interesting cast of characters.
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Colonisation
Minor: Child abuse, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Xenophobia, Outing, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
cooperthedog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and Medical content
thealienamongus's review
4.0
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Colonisation
Minor: Death of parent and Pregnancy
serenas_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
saraaaa's review
It took me a year to reach 8 hours in the the audiobook, and I really don't think it's worth the other 4.
Graphic: Infidelity, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Medical content
lil13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Medical content
Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia
josie9's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexism, Medical content, Grief, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Excrement