alexinitalics's review
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I really liked the author's writing style, the jumping forwards in time could be a little jarring but I still found I enjoyed reading it.
Like many, I am a fan of the musical and reading this book reminded me of how much I love the show, even though the two are very different tonally.
I'm not sure what I think of this book's handling of race but it's something the musical has had criticism for glossing over whereas this book gives it more focus and gravity, though the language and descriptions is written from a historical viewpoint and some moments did feel white saviour - y
Like many, I am a fan of the musical and reading this book reminded me of how much I love the show, even though the two are very different tonally.
I'm not sure what I think of this book's handling of race but it's something the musical has had criticism for glossing over whereas this book gives it more focus and gravity, though the language and descriptions is written from a historical viewpoint and some moments did feel white saviour - y
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, Slavery, War, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Gun violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Misogyny, Miscarriage, and Blood
afox98's review
4.0
Really enjoyed this historical fiction about Alexander Hamilton and his wife Eliza. Starting in their childhoods, the book alternates between their perspectives on growing up, finding each other, and loving each other against the backdrop of the birth of the United States of America. It’s pretty astonishing what all Hamilton did for this country and if you haven’t seen the incredible musical or read much about him, I encourage you to.
Some reviews have noted the book as dry or uninteresting, but I think they’re looking for the glitz of the Broadway musical and this is a more nuanced view into everyday life at that time. I’m also a huge history buff (and history major) so that might have enhanced my enjoyment of the book. I found the insights into Monroe and Jefferson and their treatment of Hamilton fascinating, as well as the bits about his childhood in St. Croix. Definitely recommended.
Some reviews have noted the book as dry or uninteresting, but I think they’re looking for the glitz of the Broadway musical and this is a more nuanced view into everyday life at that time. I’m also a huge history buff (and history major) so that might have enhanced my enjoyment of the book. I found the insights into Monroe and Jefferson and their treatment of Hamilton fascinating, as well as the bits about his childhood in St. Croix. Definitely recommended.
sagittariusreads_'s review against another edition
challenging
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
sabregirl's review
4.0
Three and a half or three and three fourths stars. I enjoyed the book I really did. But with some parts so much time was spent on useless stuff and others not enough. It seemed like the author rushed through both Phillip and Alexander’s duels and gave us shot boom dead. Not to mention not giving us anything about Elizas life after Alexander? I mean I guess the book was about them and not just her but still, all that shit she did after he died and it’s basically a summary? I digress good book.
connieaw's review
4.0
Since my 5th graders are studying the Revolutionary War this year, I've decided to read more books from that time period. I loved this story about Alexander Hamilton and his family. I'm dismayed to learn that #FakeNews has been around since the beginning of our wonderful country.
caslater83's review
4.0
At first, I thought this book was dragging because it constantly flips from Alexander's POV to Eliza's POV. Different locations, different times, so you really have to pay attention! But when they finally met, it began to pick up better. They did seem to have a genuine love for each other until the affair between Alexander and Mrs. Reynolds. It damaged the marriage and took a long time to repair.
Morals aside, I think Alexander Hamilton made some good contributions to America. A lot of people are quick to credit George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, but I think Alexander Hamilton should be remembered for his share as well!
I feel that Elizabeth Cobb did a good job sharing her knowledge of Alexander Hamilton. I can understand why this book has become rather popular.
Morals aside, I think Alexander Hamilton made some good contributions to America. A lot of people are quick to credit George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, but I think Alexander Hamilton should be remembered for his share as well!
I feel that Elizabeth Cobb did a good job sharing her knowledge of Alexander Hamilton. I can understand why this book has become rather popular.
andrearbooks's review
3.0
The Hamilton Affair by Elizabeth Cobbs was an interesting read. This is historical fiction from both Hamilton and Eliza's points of view. I have to note that it is impossible at this point for me to not read/think about Alexander Hamilton without thinking about Hamilton. As I read, I found myself making the connections to songs from the musical. I did appreciate that this book also shared additional pieces from Hamilton's story that aren't covered as wholly in the musical. I liked that this gave more voice to those stories, as well as more about Eliza. More than anything though, I found this left me with a yearning to turn on Disney+ and watch the musical yet again.
kricketa's review
I already know the basic story being told in this book, so I was hoping the writing would really make it come alive for me. Unfortunately it didn't captivate me. I read the first third and skimmed the rest.
anjumstar's review
2.0
I'm not sure who this book for. It's obviously targeted at people who like Hamilton (suckers like me, apparently), with the gold and black color story on the cover, bringing you instantly to the Hamilton playbill and CD art. It couldn't be more obvious. However, I'm not sure what that target audience could have to gain from this story.
I see a spectrum of historical retellings at play here. On one end, you have nonfiction, like the Ron Chernow biography. On the other hand, you have Hamilton, which is historical fiction with a number of deviations, plus it's highly stylized, so in a lot of ways, it's about as far from the source material as you can go while still seeing the resemblance to the source material. The Hamilton Affair is right in the middle, so it struggles to offer anything new that the audience on either side could really desire.
What it offers is a different style from either Hamilton or nonfiction. Where nonfiction tells you what happens, it won't give you any more voice in the time period than those of letters and quotes. This book has the heightened, stilted language of the time, and that is the unique style it offers different from our two ends of the spectrum. If someone is a big fan of historical fiction, then they might like this book because of that style. However, that's not the group that this book is marketing itself to.
I read the Chernow biography a number of years ago. And as someone who does not love historical fiction (I know, definitely my bad for reading this book, lol, but I'm always trying to expand my genres!) the different style wasn't enough to win my affection for this story. It didn't have real tension, since anyone who reads this book will know that Hamilton has the affair--if it's not given away by the show, I suppose it is by the title--so we're just kind of waiting a really long time to see how long it'll take to get there. The book was slow and left me lost. I'll definitely be reading some positive reviews to see what it offered to other people, because I'm just not sure.
Also, while the writing was decent in this book, definitely had good moments, its use of epithets absolutely astonished me. I never see unnecessary epithet usage in published books--where I see it alllll the time is in *fanfiction*. And don't get me wrong, I love fanfic, but hate its use of epithets. But it's quite interesting because this book, in a very real way, *is* fanfiction. And so i wonder about Cobbs' background. Perhaps she's one of us.
I see a spectrum of historical retellings at play here. On one end, you have nonfiction, like the Ron Chernow biography. On the other hand, you have Hamilton, which is historical fiction with a number of deviations, plus it's highly stylized, so in a lot of ways, it's about as far from the source material as you can go while still seeing the resemblance to the source material. The Hamilton Affair is right in the middle, so it struggles to offer anything new that the audience on either side could really desire.
What it offers is a different style from either Hamilton or nonfiction. Where nonfiction tells you what happens, it won't give you any more voice in the time period than those of letters and quotes. This book has the heightened, stilted language of the time, and that is the unique style it offers different from our two ends of the spectrum. If someone is a big fan of historical fiction, then they might like this book because of that style. However, that's not the group that this book is marketing itself to.
I read the Chernow biography a number of years ago. And as someone who does not love historical fiction (I know, definitely my bad for reading this book, lol, but I'm always trying to expand my genres!) the different style wasn't enough to win my affection for this story. It didn't have real tension, since anyone who reads this book will know that Hamilton has the affair--if it's not given away by the show, I suppose it is by the title--so we're just kind of waiting a really long time to see how long it'll take to get there. The book was slow and left me lost. I'll definitely be reading some positive reviews to see what it offered to other people, because I'm just not sure.
Also, while the writing was decent in this book, definitely had good moments, its use of epithets absolutely astonished me. I never see unnecessary epithet usage in published books--where I see it alllll the time is in *fanfiction*. And don't get me wrong, I love fanfic, but hate its use of epithets. But it's quite interesting because this book, in a very real way, *is* fanfiction. And so i wonder about Cobbs' background. Perhaps she's one of us.