Reviews

Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan

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hath's review against another edition

3.0

This book was surreal and whimsical. But like any of its kind the switching of characters perspectives and stories meant that super interesting ones were often interrupted by drastically more boring ones which threw me out of the world a lot.

readra's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

jmatkinson1's review against another edition

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4.0

The Devil's daughter arrives at 10 Luckenbooth Close to bear a child for the owner, Mr Udnam. Jessie is truly her father's child and as her child grows, she becomes lover to Mr Udnam's fiancee until tragedy unfurls. 10 Luckenbooth Close is now haunted by these events which affect the subsequent residents.
This is a highly ambitious book which follows the effects of a 'haunted' tenement building on its residents over the years. Steeped in historic Edinburgh lore there is a love of the city weaving through it all. Some of the narrators were more successful than others, each has story to tell about life, love and changing times. I did feel there was little too much focus on same-sex relationships and the book is very explicit at times. However there is magical quality in certain places that transcends the negatives.

lizziebirch's review against another edition

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I love Edinburgh. I lived there for years and was excited to read a book set there, but it just didn’t … interest me. Can’t quite put my finger on it. Too many characters and a lot of hint-wink-nudge followed by a sledgehammer. Not for me.