Reviews with content warning for Addiction - Booth

Booth is a piece of historical fiction focussing on the Booths, a famous theatrical family in nineteenth century America. Father Junius was a famed Shakespearean actor and three of his surviving sons followed him into the theatre. The book begins when the children were young and we witness their rather unconventional upbringing (including parents who weren’t actually married since Junius was married to another woman), and see the effects of alcoholism, depression, poor money management, and grief over the deaths of four children. It ends with the aftermath of the assassination of President Lincoln by one of the siblings, John Wilkes Booth.

I found myself slightly underwhelmed by this book. The family history was interesting, but not necessarily worthy of nearly 500 pages. The particularly interesting and unique aspects - how John Wilkes moved so far politically from the rest of the family, his radicalisation, the impact this had on the family, and the way they reckoned with their own levels of culpability (should they have taken his talk more seriously?) - were there but not the focus of the story. There are good reasons for that as stated in the author’s note but for me I’m not sure the book as a whole fully came together. As a family saga it was fine but nothing outstanding. The more political aspects were a little too diluted and underplayed to be fully effective. Possibly it will hit American readers differently since they may find issues like attempted political rebellions and the rights and responsibilities of shooter’s families are more immediate and relevant.

Content Warnings

amykwrites's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad 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

4.5

Content Warnings

jessgreads's review

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⬜

Title: Booth

Author: Karen Joy Fowler

Genre: Historical Fiction

Setting: Maryland, USA

Month Read: April 2022

Book Type: Hardcover

Publication: 2022

Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons

Pages: 470

*Book of the Month Selection

TRIGGER WARNING-

Death / Harassment / Murder / Treason / Alcoholism / Neglect

"This is a good reminder that no one in the world is a reliable source for their own story."

No Spoiler Summary:

Booth is a multi-generational tale of the Booth family, starting with Junius Brutus Booth and his family in England, and working their way to America, where Junius and his wife have several children, including the most infamous Booth, John Wilkes Booth. The book takes you through the generations, ultimately leading you up to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and a little beyond as you follow John's siblings.

Review:

I'm SO glad I listened to the amazing reviews for this and added it to my last box. I think this book was absolutely incredible, if slow at times, and I loved getting to learn about a period of history I like a lot, but from a vastly different perspective than I thought I was getting myself into. The most incredible part about this book is that it's not told from John Wilkes Booth's perspective, which I sort of assumed it would be in- but mostly his siblings in a split narration.

The amount of research that seemed to have gone into making this book must have been SO much work. I constantly felt like I was *right there* in Maryland, in California, in Panama- during each year, and in each different character's eyes. It was absolutely amazing how real it all seemed, especially for a 470 page book.

I really loved the characters, and watching them grow from small children into adults was very cool to me. Each child was so distinctive in their narrations, you never had to turn back to see who was speaking in each chapter, and I really appreciated that because you don't always get that in a book that has several different narrators that switch POV's pretty frequently.

I also loved that you sort of know the huge huge plot point, but you weren't necessarily just waiting for that one thing. There was so much else in this book to keep you occupied, it didn't really matter how long it took to get to the assassination, because you were so engrossed in the rest of the stories being told simultaneously. I don't want to give anything away, but the drama was *high* on and off the stage for most of the book. As an actor, I also really loved how accurate the stage and acting elements were in this book. I was surprised to see how famous the Booth family was for acting, because you don't really learn that anywhere else.

I would highly recommend picking this up if you're a fan of historical fiction, split POVs, or if you're into the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. It was such an interesting story, and really different from a lot of historical fiction out there lately.

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"In his speech, he warns of two possible threats to the republic. The first is found in the lawless actions of the mob, the second in the inevitable rise someday of an aspiring dictator. The greatest peril will come if the mob and the dictator unite."

Content Warnings

sjanke2's review against another edition

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dark sad tense slow-paced

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

I'm so enjoying fiction's latest focus on the families surrounding history's (in)famous men: William Shakespeare's wife in Hamnet, Johannes Kepler's mom in Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch, and now John Wilkes Booth's siblings.

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.

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