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heather_freshparchment'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Grief, Medical trauma, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Sexual content, Suicide, and Xenophobia
lexcellent's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
ellalouisedavey's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Minor: Body horror, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Vomit, Sexual harassment, and War
kmoz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Child death, Death, Death of parent, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia
aseel_reads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Medical content, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying and Fire/Fire injury
essieruth'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicide, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, War, and Classism
It happens “offstage”, but a female character who is unable to give informed consent is taken advantage of by a man.dystopia's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Body horror, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content and Terminal illness
katievallin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Medical content, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Body shaming and Xenophobia
flashandoutbreak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Bookbinder of Jericho is a delightful novel, a companion to The Dictionary of Lost Words. The protagonist is Peggy, a young woman who has been working as an Oxford University Press bookbinder since she was 12 years old. Peggy is a fabulous character. Her love of books and reading, her thirst for learning, is so relatable and when she makes a concerted effort to achieve her dream and gain admission to Somerville College, Oxford I was rooting so hard for her to overcome the formidable odds and succeed.
Apart from Peggy and her educational ambitions there were so many other things to love about this novel.
Williams uses many different details to highlight the class system - the divide between “town” and “gown” in Oxford, the belief that family wealth signified worth and ability- which was one of the obstacles Peggy had to overcome.
The relationship between Peggy and her twin sister Maude was depicted beautifully and with a lot of nuance. Maude had autism and echolalia. Peggy felt very protective of Maude and responsible for her, especially after the death of their mother. Yet it became clear that Maude, despite needing some help, was more capable than Peggy realised, and that her overprotectiveness was holding them both back. I thought the way the author developed Maude’s echolalia, increasingly showing she used it to deliberately communicate, rather than simple mindless repetition, was very effective.
This story is set during World War I. Not only did it highlight the horrors of war, but also showed the changes it caused at home, particularly in terms of opening up opportunities across gender and class lines. Belgian and other war refugees arrived in Oxford, something I didn’t know before reading this book, and I found those storylines particularly interesting. Sadly the refugees weren’t always welcomed any more warmly than in the present day.
The love story between Peggy and Bastiaan was beautiful but I loved that Peggy didn’t sacrifice her ambitions for love.
There was a wonderful cast of richly drawn, memorable supporting characters. Tilda’s transformation from glamorous carefree actress to traumatised nurse was particularly effective.
I had a soft spot for Gwen with her larger than life, flamboyant personality, despite her upper class cluelessness and tact. And I loved the way Mrs Stoddard quietly encouraged Peggy.
The scenes of the women at work in the book bindery really came to life on the page. It was clear the author had conducted a lot of research but this knowledge was well incorporated into the story, rather than feeling like a non-fiction information dump.
So a satisfying story told well, one with great characters, a plot that was richly layered and well-researched with special appeal to book lovers. What more could I ask for? Well, as a bonus, Peggy and Maude lived on a canal boat, which happens to be a niche interest of mine.
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Xenophobia, War, and Classism