mnemognose's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
afox98's review against another edition
2.0
Giving up. I’m 35% of the way through and don’t love the characters, find it to be repetitive, and dread the rest of the book. Moving on.
rebbemcc's review against another edition
2.0
Skimmed here and there. Way too overwrought for my tastes. So much handwringing. Some nice dialogue. Honestly, I don't understand why this book was on so many "Best of 2014" lists.
mert64's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
gracieliza1's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
elliemcc11's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this novel, my first by Sarah Waters. I shall definitely read more of her novels.
Set in 1920s post-WW1 London, this is a tale of forbidden love (there are some not very graphic lesbian sex scenes which some readers might feel uncomfortable reading) and the extremes people go for the sake of love. Things take a nasty turn and the last third of the book is dedicated to court scenes, which I have to admit I was less enamoured with compared to the rest of the novel.
Overall it was well written and kept my attention throughout.
Set in 1920s post-WW1 London, this is a tale of forbidden love (there are some not very graphic lesbian sex scenes which some readers might feel uncomfortable reading) and the extremes people go for the sake of love. Things take a nasty turn and the last third of the book is dedicated to court scenes, which I have to admit I was less enamoured with compared to the rest of the novel.
Overall it was well written and kept my attention throughout.
keb3's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Not as good as some of the other Sarah Waters books I’ve read - probably 3 stars for plot and pace, but it gets another star for how lovely her writing is.
bookchew's review against another edition
3.0
4 stars for the first half of the novel (an engrossing new twist on the "domestic novel"), 3 stars for the second half (which devolves into a rather humdrum crime novel).
Sarah Waters is a master of making tiny, mundane moments feel palpable and sensual. Thus, the simple act of dusting a banister or rolling a cigarette is written in a way that is so pure and so absorbing, you feel, for the first half of the novel, as if you yourself are inhabiting the creaky, dusty, deteriorating house on Champion Hill. For the second half of the novel, however, this tedious attention to process moves outside of the Wray house, and into various institutions (the police station, court, taxis, etc.). Here, the gripping sensuality is lost to tedious inquests, court hearings, and a repetition of anxieties that ultimately amount to nothing.
I was at turns touched, surprised, and intrigued by this novel. However, I am left with a middling reaction; the novel is overlong by about 100 pages, and closes with a gratuitous ending that seems a bit too light-handed to adequately round off the morally complex themes that came before it. Still, this is quite unlike any novel I've read before, and was enough to convince me to add more Sarah Waters to my reading queue.
Sarah Waters is a master of making tiny, mundane moments feel palpable and sensual. Thus, the simple act of dusting a banister or rolling a cigarette is written in a way that is so pure and so absorbing, you feel, for the first half of the novel, as if you yourself are inhabiting the creaky, dusty, deteriorating house on Champion Hill. For the second half of the novel, however, this tedious attention to process moves outside of the Wray house, and into various institutions (the police station, court, taxis, etc.). Here, the gripping sensuality is lost to tedious inquests, court hearings, and a repetition of anxieties that ultimately amount to nothing.
I was at turns touched, surprised, and intrigued by this novel. However, I am left with a middling reaction; the novel is overlong by about 100 pages, and closes with a gratuitous ending that seems a bit too light-handed to adequately round off the morally complex themes that came before it. Still, this is quite unlike any novel I've read before, and was enough to convince me to add more Sarah Waters to my reading queue.
readingwitherica's review against another edition
Will try to read in another format