deedireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
TL;DR REVIEW:
Booth is part historical fiction, part family saga focusing on the family of John Wilkes Booth. I felt pretty neutral about it, but definitely recommend audio over print if you read it.
For you if: You like a deep, historical character study of a large cast.
FULL REVIEW:
Booth was my final read from the 2022 Booker Prize longlist. I went in knowing that it was everyone else’s least favorite by far, so I was determined to find some good in it. And while I definitely didn’t love it, I did find that good!
You may be wondering, “Does the world really need a book about John Wilkes Booth?” — and you’d be right to. Karen Joy Fowler felt the same way but was fascinated by the rest of the Booth family (who were not on the side of the Confederacy, politically), so she set out to write a book about them.
My enjoyment here was entirely thanks to one piece of advice that I now pass on to you: Listen to this book on audio instead of reading it in print. The audio moved along at a pace that was perfect for multitasking (cleaning, driving, etc), whereas if I had tried to sit down to read these 500+ pages, they definitely would have been a slog.
I was most drawn to the POV chapters belonging to the two sisters. One, perhaps my favorite, was nearly 100% constructed from scratch — KJF oculdn’t find much about her, except that everyone called her “poor Rosalie” and it listed scoliosis on her death certificate. I actually wish this book had had a slightly tighter focus on the women of the Booth family rather than trying to encompass everyone; I think that would have been more impactful.
All in all, I feel pretty neutral about this one. Definitely worth reading to finish out the 2022 Booker list!
Graphic: Child death and Alcoholism
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Racism
mysterymom46's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Racism, Murder, Pregnancy, and Mental illness
Moderate: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Child death, Death, Infertility, Slavery, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Death of parent, Infidelity, Medical content, and War
Minor: Ableism and Sexual violence
Spoiler
several mentions of mobs and rioting; bigamyamykwrites's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Grief
Moderate: Misogyny, Murder, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Child death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Mental illness
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Classism, and Blood
oceanwriter'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
5.0
I'm a sucker for slower-paced, character-driven historical fiction like this. The story mostly centers on Rosalie, Edwin, and Asia. They all have distinct personalities and perspectives that make the story rich from start to finish. The writing is lovely and sad rolled into one. I liked Rosalie the best with Edwin not too far behind. Lincoln is also inserted throughout the story, though it is usually brief. It adds a good build-up to his fate.
I do wish that authors would refrain from inserting modern-day politics at the end of books — especially in fiction which this book ultimately is. I've complained about this in too many book reviews these past two years and I'm weary of it. I'm sure I'm not only speaking for myself when I say that I read to escape current events. Nothing spoils a book I so thoroughly enjoy quicker than a politically charged author's note whether I agree with what's being said or not. I will not deduct a star from this as at least the story itself remained intact, but I can only wish that authors would consider the type of alienation these messages bring on. In my experience, it almost always ends up being hypocritical to the content.
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Child death, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Murder, Animal death, Infidelity, Slavery, and Racism
Minor: Chronic illness and Animal cruelty
jessgreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
See more reviews at: https://jessgreads.wixsite.com/website
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Racism, Slavery, Murder, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Sexism, and Infidelity
Minor: Ableism, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Classism, Abandonment, Animal death, Child abuse, and Chronic illness
tiasreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Death of parent, Slavery, and Alcoholism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, and Suicide attempt
sjanke2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Between my fondness for this literary structure and my obsession with Abe Lincoln (we share a bday), I should have loved this book. My high expectations for this novel dwindled over its ~500 pages as I read repeatedly about the Booth brothers' theatrical success, their drinking, and their silly life-threatening travels. I had to remind myself that this is not a novel about John Wilkes Booth; it's about his family. But his family was melodramatic and frankly put me to sleep on many occasions.
Minor: Colonisation, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Infidelity, Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, and War