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A review by surelyinthefountain
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It's good! The prose is lush and descriptive. There's this moody, claustrophobic feeling that the writing does so well -- you really get the sense that everyone's got a predestined role to play with little real agency as they rattle on towards their ultimate fates. Fortune feels like a character, and that's pretty neat.
There's a lot of content in here that's uh...pretty triggering, to say the least. Thematically, the book is in no small part about trauma -- its effects, its consequences, etc. -- so it kind of needed to be so. I don't think Waters ever goes gratuitous with it, either. But yeah, the forced institutionalization stuff in here is no joke.
There's a lot of content in here that's uh...pretty triggering, to say the least. Thematically, the book is in no small part about trauma -- its effects, its consequences, etc. -- so it kind of needed to be so. I don't think Waters ever goes gratuitous with it, either. But yeah, the forced institutionalization stuff in here is no joke.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Pedophilia