saliwali's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Classism, and Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Child death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Mental illness, and Abandonment
Minor: Bullying, War, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, and Gun violence
staceyinthesticks's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: War, Infidelity, Car accident, and Death
asourceoffiction's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was my second Kate Morton, and she clearly has a knack for weaving a complex web of mysteries with a beautiful and intrinsically British location at their centre. I did find this a slower pace than The Lake House and I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it as much as a result. It also brings in a lot more story strands and at times there was a risk of overwhelming me with characters and timelines.
The story relies on some big coincidences, and connections to Birchwood that just happen to bring two disparate stories together. But Morton really seems to excel at making this sort of thing entirely believable; there is an implication throughout that the house is almost helping to bring together these seemingly random strands. And by the end, I found some of the coincidences really heartwarming.
From about half way through there were so many layers of mystery that I didn't think the book could possibly resolve every question that arose; and I wrote them all down to keep track! But it managed to do all that and more. It even ties up some of the details that I'd forgotten while not paying enough attention. While The Clockmaker's Daughter was incredibly complicated at times, it was also really evocative and so emotional. I had so much love for so many of the characters, and in the end I loved it just as much as The Lake House.
The story relies on some big coincidences, and connections to Birchwood that just happen to bring two disparate stories together. But Morton really seems to excel at making this sort of thing entirely believable; there is an implication throughout that the house is almost helping to bring together these seemingly random strands. And by the end, I found some of the coincidences really heartwarming.
From about half way through there were so many layers of mystery that I didn't think the book could possibly resolve every question that arose; and I wrote them all down to keep track! But it managed to do all that and more. It even ties up some of the details that I'd forgotten while not paying enough attention. While The Clockmaker's Daughter was incredibly complicated at times, it was also really evocative and so emotional. I had so much love for so many of the characters, and in the end I loved it just as much as The Lake House.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Child death
Moderate: Death and Abandonment
ems_rxlibrary's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Confinement
Minor: Infidelity and Sexual content
lauramcc7's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Pregnancy and War
Minor: Sexual content
narusae's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Death, Sexual content, War, and Animal death
steepz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Yes, it's a slow-paced book but it kind of works. There are around 7 povs that are so well crafted and tie into the main story conflict perfectly while having their own time to shine. I was never confused about whose head I was in and I love that part of the story is told from the perspective of a ghost. The mystery that surrounds her ties you win.
I will say that with all the build-up and mystery surrounding the time-tipping event, the actual event is kind of underwhelming. Still, it's about the journey which this book definitely is.
As always Kates's writing is so immersive and well written, my favourite example:
"The winds blew and the trees moaned, and thunder rolled down the river to take the house within it's clutches; while inside, talk turned to spirits and curses. There was a fire, crackling in the grate, and the candle flames quivered, and in the darkness, in that atmosphere of delicious fear and confession, something ill was conjured." Not a ghost, oh, no not that- the deed when done was entirely human."
chefs kiss
I will say that with all the build-up and mystery surrounding the time-tipping event, the actual event is kind of underwhelming. Still, it's about the journey which this book definitely is.
As always Kates's writing is so immersive and well written, my favourite example:
"The winds blew and the trees moaned, and thunder rolled down the river to take the house within it's clutches; while inside, talk turned to spirits and curses. There was a fire, crackling in the grate, and the candle flames quivered, and in the darkness, in that atmosphere of delicious fear and confession, something ill was conjured." Not a ghost, oh, no not that- the deed when done was entirely human."
chefs kiss
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, and Child abuse
Moderate: Child death, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual harassment
wherethewildreadsare's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Death, and Animal cruelty
mariebrunelm's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The Clockmaker's Daughter, aka one of the books that almost felt longer than the whole Lord of the Rings. First of all, I want to say that there's nothing inherently wrong about this novel. Objectively it's quite good. The main (as objective as possible) faults I found with it were that some characters felt interchangeable (or even removable), some paragraphs felt like extracts from Wikipedia, and there was a general air of elitism (being rich is good, being poor is bad).
Other than that, it's a good mystery novel steeped into Victorian culture, with a large cast of characters spread out over different time periods, from the 19th century to the present. I loved the Pre-Raphaelite atmosphere and the slow revelations. Most of the male characters were quite patronising towards female characters, but the latter were well-rounded and defied gender expectations. I particularly how Lucy, the teenage sister of a painter, learned to see people for who they were rather than how prejudice makes them look.
The main trouble I had with this book is very personal. I've realised over the past few months that with my PhD, my writing projects, the English lessons I give, etc, I don't really have the mental space for intricate plots and huge casts of characters, which this book has. I also couldn't care less about some of the character arcs and was constantly lost between the different names of one character (says the reader for whom it took 400 pages to understand that Petyr Baelish and Littlefinger were the same person). And finally the ending frustrated me deeply. Sigh.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, and Grief
Minor: Child death, Death, and Death of parent
graceolivia's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Stalking, and Violence
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