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riverborn's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- 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
4.25
This book took me a while to finish and I'm still not sure if it was worth it.
First things first, it seems that a lot of readers have a problem with the main protagonist - Mariella but in all honesty she was absolutely not as annoying as the internet would have you believe (or whoever wrote the summary of it on the background of the book).
Mariella does not know war, to her war is news papers and sewing bandages that will be sent to soldiers to the front.
Mariella also is focused on manners, appearance and decor. Or rather, Mariella is a product of her own time. But the reality is, how many people in this day and age follow atrocities only as news on their local news channel and if we're so better than the Victorians why is that we're all not volunteering to nurse the sick or even show up at our local anti - climate change protest. Facts is, most of us don't so I didn't find it right to judge a character based on a lofty deed most of the people throughout history never achieve. One thing that I really enjoyed is her sewing, though i found the rather CONDESCENDING tone towards it jarring.
*getsoon the soapbox *
Oh you know Mariella only sews IMAGINE WHAT SHE might have done if she put that energy into something else.
Hold up, is that necessary? The idea that women's skills were CRAFTS instead of as Bernadette Banner would say "a practical, technical skill" is just ridiculous.
Mariella's skills with the needle go on to help an entire camp to save their rather poor reserves of clothes, sheets, uniforms and bandages. On top of it, she teaches a handful of soldier wives to sew so they could "make a living upon returning to England". If sewing helps make a living why is it treated as a flimsy hobby? Why does she need to put her mind to "other things". Would it have been such a tragedy if Mariella went back and opened her own sewing school or owned a boutique? I for once don't bloody think so. *gets off the soapbox *
The thing it seems modern readers want is someone who is not this. Enter - Rosa. Rosa is free spirited and outspoken, courageous and valiant and manipulative.. But wait?? Is she not the main character as well.. Well yes.
The problem I had with Rosa is that she is aware of the game, she knows how the rules work she knows the kind of teaching Mariella has had and she exploited it. Shamelessly. To the point where she uses tears and flat out emotional blackmail to dump her awful mother into Mariella's care. Then she goes off to nurse only to pursue the goal to "be the savior of all", hating rules and frankly being just flat out stupid. I've disliked her more and more as the novel progressed and found it hard to be invested in her fate.
Back to Mariella. I admit her behavior irked me until I stopped expecting for her to act as a 21 century woman and gave her the benefit of her own time. In the shadow of Rosa's grand show, Mariella grew, slowly and silently, understanding herself, the world around her and finding that there is more to her than she thought. I was quite satisfied with her development.
The ending could have been better, more closed, that and the slow pace coupled with the times Rosa irritated me kicked the grade down a notch.
First things first, it seems that a lot of readers have a problem with the main protagonist - Mariella but in all honesty she was absolutely not as annoying as the internet would have you believe (or whoever wrote the summary of it on the background of the book).
Mariella does not know war, to her war is news papers and sewing bandages that will be sent to soldiers to the front.
Mariella also is focused on manners, appearance and decor. Or rather, Mariella is a product of her own time. But the reality is, how many people in this day and age follow atrocities only as news on their local news channel and if we're so better than the Victorians why is that we're all not volunteering to nurse the sick or even show up at our local anti - climate change protest. Facts is, most of us don't so I didn't find it right to judge a character based on a lofty deed most of the people throughout history never achieve. One thing that I really enjoyed is her sewing, though i found the rather CONDESCENDING tone towards it jarring.
*getsoon the soapbox *
Oh you know Mariella only sews IMAGINE WHAT SHE might have done if she put that energy into something else.
Hold up, is that necessary? The idea that women's skills were CRAFTS instead of as Bernadette Banner would say "a practical, technical skill" is just ridiculous.
Mariella's skills with the needle go on to help an entire camp to save their rather poor reserves of clothes, sheets, uniforms and bandages. On top of it, she teaches a handful of soldier wives to sew so they could "make a living upon returning to England". If sewing helps make a living why is it treated as a flimsy hobby? Why does she need to put her mind to "other things". Would it have been such a tragedy if Mariella went back and opened her own sewing school or owned a boutique? I for once don't bloody think so. *gets off the soapbox *
The thing it seems modern readers want is someone who is not this. Enter - Rosa. Rosa is free spirited and outspoken, courageous and valiant and manipulative.. But wait?? Is she not the main character as well.. Well yes.
The problem I had with Rosa is that she is aware of the game, she knows how the rules work she knows the kind of teaching Mariella has had and she exploited it. Shamelessly. To the point where she uses tears and flat out emotional blackmail to dump her awful mother into Mariella's care. Then she goes off to nurse only to pursue the goal to "be the savior of all", hating rules and frankly being just flat out stupid. I've disliked her more and more as the novel progressed and found it hard to be invested in her fate.
Back to Mariella. I admit her behavior irked me until I stopped expecting for her to act as a 21 century woman and gave her the benefit of her own time. In the shadow of Rosa's grand show, Mariella grew, slowly and silently, understanding herself, the world around her and finding that there is more to her than she thought. I was quite satisfied with her development.
The ending could have been better, more closed, that and the slow pace coupled with the times Rosa irritated me kicked the grade down a notch.
caitsidhe's review against another edition
3.0
Hmmm.
I mostly liked this, but I had some problems with it.
Firstly the ending was almost completely unsatisfying for me. I didn't wade my way through this book just for Rosa to be dead.
Secondly, Rosa's sexuality. Does it really need to be danced around like that? It becomes pretty clear that Rosa is in love with Mariella, but it's never actually explicitly confirmed. I like to have my non-straight characters actively confirmed rather than hinted at. Oh, and of COURSE the woman with same-sex attraction dies, because they always fucking do.
But the writing was excellent and the story compelling. I'm just a little disappointed, because I loved Rosa, and thought she could be treated a little better by the narrative.
I mostly liked this, but I had some problems with it.
Firstly the ending was almost completely unsatisfying for me. I didn't wade my way through this book just for Rosa to be dead.
Secondly, Rosa's sexuality. Does it really need to be danced around like that? It becomes pretty clear that Rosa is in love with Mariella, but it's never actually explicitly confirmed. I like to have my non-straight characters actively confirmed rather than hinted at. Oh, and of COURSE the woman with same-sex attraction dies, because they always fucking do.
But the writing was excellent and the story compelling. I'm just a little disappointed, because I loved Rosa, and thought she could be treated a little better by the narrative.
caitlin_pdx's review against another edition
3.0
The read was a bit light overall. Wasn't too sure about the main character through most of the book, but I wound up being quite satisfied with the novel in the end.
therangajess94's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
alexandramilne's review against another edition
4.0
Read my other book reviews at booksibled.wordpress.com
I had some very mixed feelings on this book. It was really well written. Just like The Undertaking it focuses on the horror of war and the way it effects both those on the front line and those left behind but it also has an element of mystery.
The basic idea is simple. Two cousins grow up in rather different circumstances. Rosa loses her father at an early age and her mother remarries a lord with two sons. Marriella lives a comfortable middle class life with her parents and her second cousin, Henry, who has become her adopted brother.
The story flits between the girls past, living for a short few months at Rosa’s step father’s mansion and the present, which for this book is the run up to the Crimean war. However, unlike Bone Clocks Katherine McMahon manages to use this time hop to move the story along. Honestly I felt like not much had happened right up until about half way through. And then it happened.
Suddenly I realised that all that information I had slowly been taking in was actually very important. I began to piece together hints that I had thought were just literary fancy. This book really is incredibly clever.
The characters are compelling. Mariella is your typical Victorian girl. She’s demure and obedient, takes embroidery very seriously, and has an over-blown sense of her own importance when it comes to servants and foreigners. This makes her a slightly frustrating and unreliable narrator. Her view of the world is very narrow and revolves around her dream to marry Henry and settle down in his respectable house. The very best part of her narration is when she finally stands up to her aunt, Rosa’s mother (think Mrs Bennett in Pride & Prejudice) and tells her that no one is going to wait on her imagined illness anymore. There’s nothing really wrong with all of this as Mariella grows, her time in the Crimean hospitals and countryside really helps to make Mariella more likable.
Rosa is the counterpart character. She is the opposite of Marriella, wild and wide eyed to the world. She wants to see everything and speak to everyone. She makes friends with Pre-Raphaelites and sneaks into surgical lecture theatres to watch real surgeries. She refuses to wear corsets and fights Henry on his views of women in Medicine. Then she defies everyone to travel to the Crimea in order to become a nurse. But Rosa is also impulsive and rash. Her decisions have effects that she often ignores or doesn’t notice until it’s too late. She is very wrapped up in her own problems and dreams. She too grows, the Crimea gives her a selflessness, her rashness is transformed into a will to treat every patient she finds, even the enemy. Also we realise that she is so fiercely loyal that she stands up to a situation that she knows will break Marriella’s heart.
However I did have a huge issue with this book. The end was a total failure to me. I feel like if you start a story you should end it. You don’t need to tie up every thread into the most perfect tapestry in the world, but if you leave every end free to fray then you will inevitably end up with a spoiled picture. None of my questions were answered. The questions that were answered were questions I didn’t even have until the last third of the book and everything else was left on a cliff-hanger. It was lazy and unprofessional to end it like it did. The adult version of, “They woke up, and it was all a dream. Or was it?” I think it really spoilt my reading experience after such a fantastically clever book. It’s just a pity.
But I want to end on a good note because a lot of this book was fantastic and Rosa and Marriella’s friendship was such a strong force in this book. That’s what the book is about really. The strength of a female friendship between two people who may seem incredibly different. It really is much more feminist than I originally thought it would be.
I had some very mixed feelings on this book. It was really well written. Just like The Undertaking it focuses on the horror of war and the way it effects both those on the front line and those left behind but it also has an element of mystery.
The basic idea is simple. Two cousins grow up in rather different circumstances. Rosa loses her father at an early age and her mother remarries a lord with two sons. Marriella lives a comfortable middle class life with her parents and her second cousin, Henry, who has become her adopted brother.
The story flits between the girls past, living for a short few months at Rosa’s step father’s mansion and the present, which for this book is the run up to the Crimean war. However, unlike Bone Clocks Katherine McMahon manages to use this time hop to move the story along. Honestly I felt like not much had happened right up until about half way through. And then it happened.
Suddenly I realised that all that information I had slowly been taking in was actually very important. I began to piece together hints that I had thought were just literary fancy. This book really is incredibly clever.
The characters are compelling. Mariella is your typical Victorian girl. She’s demure and obedient, takes embroidery very seriously, and has an over-blown sense of her own importance when it comes to servants and foreigners. This makes her a slightly frustrating and unreliable narrator. Her view of the world is very narrow and revolves around her dream to marry Henry and settle down in his respectable house. The very best part of her narration is when she finally stands up to her aunt, Rosa’s mother (think Mrs Bennett in Pride & Prejudice) and tells her that no one is going to wait on her imagined illness anymore. There’s nothing really wrong with all of this as Mariella grows, her time in the Crimean hospitals and countryside really helps to make Mariella more likable.
Rosa is the counterpart character. She is the opposite of Marriella, wild and wide eyed to the world. She wants to see everything and speak to everyone. She makes friends with Pre-Raphaelites and sneaks into surgical lecture theatres to watch real surgeries. She refuses to wear corsets and fights Henry on his views of women in Medicine. Then she defies everyone to travel to the Crimea in order to become a nurse. But Rosa is also impulsive and rash. Her decisions have effects that she often ignores or doesn’t notice until it’s too late. She is very wrapped up in her own problems and dreams. She too grows, the Crimea gives her a selflessness, her rashness is transformed into a will to treat every patient she finds, even the enemy. Also we realise that she is so fiercely loyal that she stands up to a situation that she knows will break Marriella’s heart.
However I did have a huge issue with this book. The end was a total failure to me. I feel like if you start a story you should end it. You don’t need to tie up every thread into the most perfect tapestry in the world, but if you leave every end free to fray then you will inevitably end up with a spoiled picture. None of my questions were answered. The questions that were answered were questions I didn’t even have until the last third of the book and everything else was left on a cliff-hanger. It was lazy and unprofessional to end it like it did. The adult version of, “They woke up, and it was all a dream. Or was it?” I think it really spoilt my reading experience after such a fantastically clever book. It’s just a pity.
But I want to end on a good note because a lot of this book was fantastic and Rosa and Marriella’s friendship was such a strong force in this book. That’s what the book is about really. The strength of a female friendship between two people who may seem incredibly different. It really is much more feminist than I originally thought it would be.
lnatal's review against another edition
3.0
The story behind the plot is quite interesting but the author lost her track trying to introduce some romance flavor into it. The end is quite disappointing.
gwynsvan's review against another edition
2.0
This one was disappointing after The Alchemist's Daughter. It was well-written, with good attention to detail, but altogether a much more conventional historical romance, and not nearly as compelling.
jenk2020's review against another edition
3.0
Now I wasn't expecting to like this book. I like historical fiction but not lovie dovie love stories and the cover put me off straight away. But once I started reading I quickly couldn't stop. McMahon's style is very easy to read and even though in the first half of the book nothing seemed to happen she gave little tasters as to what the future had in store and that was enough to keep me going.
The love triangle/square was actually very endearing and I really did want to know the outcome (blushes). Good choice by the way Mariella :)
This was set in a time that I am not familiar with and although the book itself didn't enlighten me all that much it has left me wanting to know more, so if anyone can recommend books from this time that are a little more factual and perhaps not focussed on a love story that would be great.
This was an easy read and once I got going it didn't take me very long to get through. The reason for my 3 stars is due to the first half of the book and the ending. The book is wrapped up very quickly and leaves a lot of loose ends. I wanted to know more and I wanted my happy cliche ending!
The love triangle/square was actually very endearing and I really did want to know the outcome (blushes). Good choice by the way Mariella :)
This was set in a time that I am not familiar with and although the book itself didn't enlighten me all that much it has left me wanting to know more, so if anyone can recommend books from this time that are a little more factual and perhaps not focussed on a love story that would be great.
This was an easy read and once I got going it didn't take me very long to get through. The reason for my 3 stars is due to the first half of the book and the ending. The book is wrapped up very quickly and leaves a lot of loose ends. I wanted to know more and I wanted my happy cliche ending!
beckybooks's review against another edition
5.0
Read this in snatched moments, sheltering from sudden storms while backpacking through Ukraine, unable to enter Crimea due to continued instability. As a nurse and a sewist I don't think I could have been more lucky with a book!!! It is excellently written, transporting the reader to another time and place, the experience of personal growth, love and personal sacrifice. It did make me sad that we could not visit Sebastopol itself this time. Highly recommend!
majesdane's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not sure what to say about this book, other than that I just loved reading it. Like, a lot. First of all, I'd never read anything about the Crimean War before, so reading this made me want to go find out more about it. And then there were the relationships, specifically the Mariella/Rosa relationship, which is really the central plot of the book -- a friendship with more than a few overtones of romance (unrequited love, from Rosa's side; unrealized love, from Mariella's). McMahon writes beautifully and I loved how all of the individuals were allowed to grow and change naturally, even if it was for the worse. The ending was horribly bittersweet.