deedireads's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
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
3.5
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
Booth is part historical fiction, part family saga focusing on the family of John Wilkes Booth. I felt pretty neutral about it, but definitely recommend audio over print if you read it.
For you if: You like a deep, historical character study of a large cast.
FULL REVIEW:
Booth was my final read from the 2022 Booker Prize longlist. I went in knowing that it was everyone else’s least favorite by far, so I was determined to find some good in it. And while I definitely didn’t love it, I did find that good!
You may be wondering, “Does the world really need a book about John Wilkes Booth?” — and you’d be right to. Karen Joy Fowler felt the same way but was fascinated by the rest of the Booth family (who were not on the side of the Confederacy, politically), so she set out to write a book about them.
My enjoyment here was entirely thanks to one piece of advice that I now pass on to you: Listen to this book on audio instead of reading it in print. The audio moved along at a pace that was perfect for multitasking (cleaning, driving, etc), whereas if I had tried to sit down to read these 500+ pages, they definitely would have been a slog.
I was most drawn to the POV chapters belonging to the two sisters. One, perhaps my favorite, was nearly 100% constructed from scratch — KJF oculdn’t find much about her, except that everyone called her “poor Rosalie” and it listed scoliosis on her death certificate. I actually wish this book had had a slightly tighter focus on the women of the Booth family rather than trying to encompass everyone; I think that would have been more impactful.
All in all, I feel pretty neutral about this one. Definitely worth reading to finish out the 2022 Booker list!
TL;DR REVIEW:
Booth is part historical fiction, part family saga focusing on the family of John Wilkes Booth. I felt pretty neutral about it, but definitely recommend audio over print if you read it.
For you if: You like a deep, historical character study of a large cast.
FULL REVIEW:
Booth was my final read from the 2022 Booker Prize longlist. I went in knowing that it was everyone else’s least favorite by far, so I was determined to find some good in it. And while I definitely didn’t love it, I did find that good!
You may be wondering, “Does the world really need a book about John Wilkes Booth?” — and you’d be right to. Karen Joy Fowler felt the same way but was fascinated by the rest of the Booth family (who were not on the side of the Confederacy, politically), so she set out to write a book about them.
My enjoyment here was entirely thanks to one piece of advice that I now pass on to you: Listen to this book on audio instead of reading it in print. The audio moved along at a pace that was perfect for multitasking (cleaning, driving, etc), whereas if I had tried to sit down to read these 500+ pages, they definitely would have been a slog.
I was most drawn to the POV chapters belonging to the two sisters. One, perhaps my favorite, was nearly 100% constructed from scratch — KJF oculdn’t find much about her, except that everyone called her “poor Rosalie” and it listed scoliosis on her death certificate. I actually wish this book had had a slightly tighter focus on the women of the Booth family rather than trying to encompass everyone; I think that would have been more impactful.
All in all, I feel pretty neutral about this one. Definitely worth reading to finish out the 2022 Booker list!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Alcoholism
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Racism
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Beautiful writing as always from Fowler! It could be slow at times and I had to really pay attention otherwise I’d get confused about what was happening. The first and last thirds were the best parts of the novel, the middle slumped a little making it difficult to pick up again. But as I said, Fowler’s gorgeous writing has a way of pulling me back in (and marking plenty of passages along the way).
The characters are complex and well written! I didn’t always like them but that’s what made them more interesting at the same time.
The characters are complex and well written! I didn’t always like them but that’s what made them more interesting at the same time.
The story is told in alternating chapters between three of the Booth children-Rosalie, Edwin, and Asia-plus chapters about Lincoln’s rise to power and other historical tidbits to add context to the story. Overall an enjoyable story about a family that despite having an infamous member also isn’t very well known.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Slavery, War, Grief, and Racism
Moderate: Infidelity, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Child death, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, and Animal death
lcg527's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Well written and researched. This was very informative on the Booth family and it really captures the home life and upbringing of John Wilkes Booth. I just couldn’t stay interested at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Alcoholism
Moderate: Racism
betsyhokamp's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Child death, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Slavery, and War
Minor: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Animal death, Death, Slavery, War, Violence, Mental illness, and Child death
mysterymom46's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Murder, Pregnancy, and Mental illness
Moderate: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Child death, Death, Infertility, Slavery, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Death of parent, Infidelity, Medical content, and War
Minor: Ableism and Sexual violence
Spoiler
several mentions of mobs and rioting; bigamyserendipitysbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
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.
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
Graphic: Addiction, Murder, Alcoholism, and Child death
Moderate: Slavery
wrestleacademic's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, War, Alcoholism, and Infidelity
rishel's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Alcoholism
amykwrites's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Grief
Moderate: Misogyny, Murder, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Child death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Mental illness
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Classism, and Blood
rachel_from_avid_bookshop's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The present-day gun violence we are witnessing in the USA motivated Karen Joy Fowler to write the extraordinary book Booth. She cleverly focuses on the entire Booth family instead of just John Wilkes Booth, as they were a huge part of American society due to their theater appearances in the 19th century. The Booths are a distraught family with a legacy of depression and alcoholism mixing with opposing loyalties regarding the Civil War. This results in dysfunction and ultimately the assassination of Lincoln. This is a captivating historical fiction that has modern-day implications if one chooses to see the connections.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Child death
Moderate: Mental illness