subdue_provide75's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
This was a hard book for me to get through, page to page. Maybe due to a certain dense writing style? There were certainly some beautiful passages of life and love. And it was interesting to go to the barricades with these characters. But I see the book's flaws in its plot and pacing.
kristinana's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, this was fantastic. Why isn't anyone reading this author?
I picked this book up at Harvard Bookstore's warehouse sale last year. It first caught my eye because of the photo on the cover, by one of my favorite Victorian artists, Lady Clementina Hawarden. Then I noticed a quotation by Sarah Waters, one of my favorite novelists, who said this was one of her favorite novels. Well! Then I realized I had already read a STW novel before, the delightful Lolly Willowes, so I decided to try it out.
I'm so glad I did! This was really an amazing novel about the sexual, social, and political awakening of a (wealthy, conservative) heroine. The writing is just beautiful; it reminds me in some ways of Charlotte Bronte. Oddly enough, I found the first part of the novel, which starts at Sophia's ancestral home, to be the most compelling part, followed by her first encounter with her soon-to-be lover. But even though the political/revolutionary parts in Paris are actually a little more drawn out, STW's ability to convey Sophia's transformation from a relative conservative to a full-fledged radical -- which is so delicately done as to be almost imperceptible as you're reading -- is in my mind the mark of a great novelist.
I truly don't understand why she isn't more widely read... but at the same time, I'm a bit glad, since she feels like my little secret.
I picked this book up at Harvard Bookstore's warehouse sale last year. It first caught my eye because of the photo on the cover, by one of my favorite Victorian artists, Lady Clementina Hawarden. Then I noticed a quotation by Sarah Waters, one of my favorite novelists, who said this was one of her favorite novels. Well! Then I realized I had already read a STW novel before, the delightful Lolly Willowes, so I decided to try it out.
I'm so glad I did! This was really an amazing novel about the sexual, social, and political awakening of a (wealthy, conservative) heroine. The writing is just beautiful; it reminds me in some ways of Charlotte Bronte. Oddly enough, I found the first part of the novel, which starts at Sophia's ancestral home, to be the most compelling part, followed by her first encounter with her soon-to-be lover. But even though the political/revolutionary parts in Paris are actually a little more drawn out, STW's ability to convey Sophia's transformation from a relative conservative to a full-fledged radical -- which is so delicately done as to be almost imperceptible as you're reading -- is in my mind the mark of a great novelist.
I truly don't understand why she isn't more widely read... but at the same time, I'm a bit glad, since she feels like my little secret.
honeyedantique's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
wigglybones's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-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? No
3.0
andforgotten's review against another edition
3.0
The beginning was fairly slow but it picked up speed and pulled me in somewhere in Part II. It's an interesting character study, and interesting to read about the love between two women though I wish there had been more of that and less revolution to be perfectly honest.
mercymourn's review against another edition
5.0
Subtly didactic (Sophia reads the communist manifesto)
lyg004's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
3.0
veeeery densely written, and i’m not sure that i actually understood much of what i was reading, but glad i finished it anyway!
erint's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.5
Spoiler
Sophia and Minna's love story was beautiful. I appreciated that they weren't made perfect by their love and that it wasn't treated as flawless and unwaning. It felt very real. Sophia's character, and the way that she seemed to make a decision and then drift along with the consequences as though she had no agency, was a fascinating and very effective choice for a book set in a revolution. I was disappointed by how the character of Caspar was handled and his appearance during the revolution. The serendipity of him reappearing at the baracade felt strange. I think more could have been done with his character and the racism he faced and his character's position in the story felt like it could have been handled a bit better. I loved the ending, with the bit of hope that Minna could still be alive and Sophie having to live on, utterly changed from the person who she was in England. </Spoiler>
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, War, and Racism