A review by annekap
Booth by Karen Joy Fowler
3.0
John Wilkes Booth is an infamous killer, who I actually know very little about. In this novel about the Booth family, Karen Joy Fowler writes about "Johnny" and his siblings - their births, their struggling early childhood, their individual successes as actors, wives, and society people. Rosalie, the eldest, struggles with scoliosis and loneliness, and raises many of the younger children herself. Edwin, who watched his father die from drinking, becomes a successful, secretly alcoholic, actor. Asia, the naughtiest, chooses a life of comfort and is John's closest confidante as he develops his angry hatred of President Lincoln.
I was really hoping to love this, and maybe went in with my expectations too high. I adored Karen Joy Fowler's first book, and I love historical fiction. I don't know much about the Lincoln story so was keen to learn something about the context of the times. Initially I was very invested in the Booth family, but as the book went on I felt like the author was trying to pack huge amounts of information into the (pretty long!) story. I feel this could have done with some ruthless editing - not all of the Booth children were that interesting.
I did appreciate the subtle parallels to current America, and the slow evolution of a sweet spoilt boy into an angry, cynical shooter. It's a great concept, to write about and characterise the whole family to the point where it almost comes as a surprise to the reader that one of the children could be a terrorist. Unfortunately for me, it was just far too long and convoluted of a read, and it took me a long time to get through the second half in particular.
I was really hoping to love this, and maybe went in with my expectations too high. I adored Karen Joy Fowler's first book, and I love historical fiction. I don't know much about the Lincoln story so was keen to learn something about the context of the times. Initially I was very invested in the Booth family, but as the book went on I felt like the author was trying to pack huge amounts of information into the (pretty long!) story. I feel this could have done with some ruthless editing - not all of the Booth children were that interesting.
I did appreciate the subtle parallels to current America, and the slow evolution of a sweet spoilt boy into an angry, cynical shooter. It's a great concept, to write about and characterise the whole family to the point where it almost comes as a surprise to the reader that one of the children could be a terrorist. Unfortunately for me, it was just far too long and convoluted of a read, and it took me a long time to get through the second half in particular.