disreputabledog's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
snowmaiden's review against another edition
4.0
A wonderful set of interlinked stories from Andrea Barrett. The perennial theme of her writing is scientific discovery at different points of history. But don't think that means her stories are dull and factual. Much as with Alice Munro, even the most minor of her characters seem to have real lives that exist outside of the confines of the story.
It was hard for me to tease out all the links between these stories, partly because I read them over a period of time, and partly because (as I later learned) some of them are also linked to Barrett's earlier books that I haven't yet read. For anyone else having difficulty with this, I found the following reading guide by Barrett herself that makes the links explicit: http://books.wwnorton.com/books/ReadingGuidesDetail.aspx?ID=13791&CID=7321.
It was hard for me to tease out all the links between these stories, partly because I read them over a period of time, and partly because (as I later learned) some of them are also linked to Barrett's earlier books that I haven't yet read. For anyone else having difficulty with this, I found the following reading guide by Barrett herself that makes the links explicit: http://books.wwnorton.com/books/ReadingGuidesDetail.aspx?ID=13791&CID=7321.
dmahanty's review against another edition
3.0
I liked how each of the short stories wove characters together.
sawyerbell's review against another edition
3.0
I loved some of the stories while others left me cold. Will try more by this author.
thirdcoast's review against another edition
3.0
I'd heard about Andrea Barrett's short story collection Servants of the Map, years ago while living in Nebraska. It was shuffled away on my to read list, and for some reason the book rose up again on my horizon. When I began it, I had a sense of dejavu. It all seemed so familiar. I'm pretty sure I've read the title story in an anthology. It's a good story, captivating and interesting. The main character is surveying the Himalayan mountains as part of the British surveying teams in the 1800's.
The stories are imbued with science and the wonder of early science as people's notions of the fantastic were supplanted by Darwin's work and others.
However, the other stories are not as good. A few of the characters repeat, so it begins to be a little confusing trying to see which stories might link up. Barrett is a talented writer, but I'm not sure about the length of what she writes. It seems she would comfortable writing a novella, as most of her stories run pretty long.
While I enjoyed this work, it also began to drag. The setting began to feel more like a backdrop, and it annoyed me that all of the characters seemed to be taking part in this early scientific discussion. Perhaps, that is what life was like, but it felt like a theme that became a prison. Very repetitive.
My advice is to pick out the title story and give it a go, while leaving the rest of the stories for another time.
The stories are imbued with science and the wonder of early science as people's notions of the fantastic were supplanted by Darwin's work and others.
However, the other stories are not as good. A few of the characters repeat, so it begins to be a little confusing trying to see which stories might link up. Barrett is a talented writer, but I'm not sure about the length of what she writes. It seems she would comfortable writing a novella, as most of her stories run pretty long.
While I enjoyed this work, it also began to drag. The setting began to feel more like a backdrop, and it annoyed me that all of the characters seemed to be taking part in this early scientific discussion. Perhaps, that is what life was like, but it felt like a theme that became a prison. Very repetitive.
My advice is to pick out the title story and give it a go, while leaving the rest of the stories for another time.
marystephanos's review against another edition
4.0
Layered like the strata of an archaeological site, the stories of Andrea Barrett's "Servants of the Map" drift back and forth in time, the characters and plots speaking to each other across stories. In this work, Barrett comes back to many of the characters she introduced in her earlier story collection, "Ship Fever," and her novel "The Voyage of the Narwhal." The effect is delightfully dizzying but requires patience on the part of the reader, as well as a willingness to immerse oneself completely in the world(s) she has created. Especially moving, the novella-length "The Cure" returns to the life of Irish immigrant Nora Kynd and her desire to reconnect with her lost brothers. With "Servants of the Map," Barrett hits the underlying theme--namely that science can tear people apart and bring them together in much the same way that passion and desire can--more effectively than in "Ship Fever." Highly recommended, particularly for those who have read Barrett's other work.
audreyapproved's review against another edition
3.0
Six interconnecting stories centering about themes of discovery, longing, and exploration. Barrett's writing style takes some focus, and there's tons of detail. I was not drawn into all the stories, hence the 3-stars, but enjoyed a few of them. What I really liked was the interconnectedness between all the stories, frequently in ways that weren't super obvious from the start.
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