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A review by fablemoss2424
The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
A thoroughly enjoyable meander through time, Kate Morton's 'The Clockmaker's Daughter' weaves an intricate story about a house, a lost diamond, and a missing woman, and how these three things connect multiple people over a span of about 150 years. Evocative, descriptive, and pleasantly informative, "The Clockmaker's Daughter" explores the themes of love, loss, grief, and, of course, how art and places can reach through time and connect people who otherwise never really meet.
The start was quite slow, particularly for the first-person POV that weaves throughout the book. It was a good book, but it wasn't a 'wow' book for me like Homecoming was. The novel has an incredibly strong second-half with fantastic POV characters, but at times I found myself wanting to read more about their stories than the actual murder mystery plotline. Also, I found some of the answers at the end of the book...fell flat? There had been some good tension and build-up, but the final delivery felt a bit rushed and unsatisfying, as did the end of the book itself. I feel like if the beginning had been shortened, the ending could have had more room to breathe, if that makes sense?
The use of multiple POVs to give the reader bits and pieces of the overarching plot was really well done, even if the pay-off wasn't what I expected. Morton has a way of being able to bring the characters to life with very limited page counts. Some POV characters we only meet for perhaps a chapter or two, but they were instantly alive; almost real people whose stories were rich and whom you can't help but fall in love with. The characters and their stories really drove the plot forward as opposed to the other way around, in my opinion, so I'd keep that in mind if you prefer plot-driven books.
There are quite a few different narrators in this novel, particularly in the large "Part Two/Three" middle section, so be prepared for that going in. They all had really distinct voices and were all written beautifully -- a particular strength of Morton -- but as much as I loved the glimpses into their lives, it sometimes caused the pace of the story to drag and some of the character POVs perhaps weren't necessary to the advancement of the plot.
*LITTLE BIT SPOILERY BEGINS*
The overarching themes of grief, loss (be that of a lover, a parent, a sibling), and love were woven beautifully with motifs musing on art and time, houses and places and rivers and how they forge connections between people. The power of art and stories being passed down from person to person really drives this home. Also, I'm pretty sure some element of time, rivers, and houses were in each POV, which was really cool to notice as I was reading.
Birchwood Manor and it's nearby river, in particular, felt like actual characters and I fell as deeply in love with the manor as everyone who stepped foot inside it did. Morton's descriptive writing made me feel like I was actually there, in the manor; or in Elodie's flat; or in Bombay; or in the English countryside. She has a knack for bringing places to life that I really, really love. It made up for the weakness in the ending/plot wrap-up.
I also love that there was a bit of a ghost story element to this one; a bit of magic and the supernatural, if one chooses to interpret it that way. As well, some of the POVs in the middle of the book explored the notion of a person being haunted, which was quite compelling and, at times, heartbreaking. I definitely teared up a little bit at various points in the back half of the book - and I am /so glad/ we found out what really happened at the river that day during the 1899 part of the book, because I was TENSE about what had happened to the POV character, and especially to Bili the cat.
*SPOILERY BIT ENDS*
Two books in, and I think Morton also has a talent for bittersweet endings. Again, we the reader know what really happened, but the characters don't. They never have all the pieces like we do. It's implied that the truth is finally found and told to the world; it's flat out stated that our main narrator is happy where they are, but I did find it a bit sad that the lovers weren't reunited in the end. This is where I feel the ending could have been a bit longer to wrap things up in a more satisfying way. Still, an great book and a really fun read!
The start was quite slow, particularly for the first-person POV that weaves throughout the book. It was a good book, but it wasn't a 'wow' book for me like Homecoming was. The novel has an incredibly strong second-half with fantastic POV characters, but at times I found myself wanting to read more about their stories than the actual murder mystery plotline. Also, I found some of the answers at the end of the book...fell flat? There had been some good tension and build-up, but the final delivery felt a bit rushed and unsatisfying, as did the end of the book itself. I feel like if the beginning had been shortened, the ending could have had more room to breathe, if that makes sense?
The use of multiple POVs to give the reader bits and pieces of the overarching plot was really well done, even if the pay-off wasn't what I expected. Morton has a way of being able to bring the characters to life with very limited page counts. Some POV characters we only meet for perhaps a chapter or two, but they were instantly alive; almost real people whose stories were rich and whom you can't help but fall in love with. The characters and their stories really drove the plot forward as opposed to the other way around, in my opinion, so I'd keep that in mind if you prefer plot-driven books.
There are quite a few different narrators in this novel, particularly in the large "Part Two/Three" middle section, so be prepared for that going in. They all had really distinct voices and were all written beautifully -- a particular strength of Morton -- but as much as I loved the glimpses into their lives, it sometimes caused the pace of the story to drag and some of the character POVs perhaps weren't necessary to the advancement of the plot.
*LITTLE BIT SPOILERY BEGINS*
The overarching themes of grief, loss (be that of a lover, a parent, a sibling), and love were woven beautifully with motifs musing on art and time, houses and places and rivers and how they forge connections between people. The power of art and stories being passed down from person to person really drives this home. Also, I'm pretty sure some element of time, rivers, and houses were in each POV, which was really cool to notice as I was reading.
Birchwood Manor and it's nearby river, in particular, felt like actual characters and I fell as deeply in love with the manor as everyone who stepped foot inside it did. Morton's descriptive writing made me feel like I was actually there, in the manor; or in Elodie's flat; or in Bombay; or in the English countryside. She has a knack for bringing places to life that I really, really love. It made up for the weakness in the ending/plot wrap-up.
I also love that there was a bit of a ghost story element to this one; a bit of magic and the supernatural, if one chooses to interpret it that way. As well, some of the POVs in the middle of the book explored the notion of a person being haunted, which was quite compelling and, at times, heartbreaking. I definitely teared up a little bit at various points in the back half of the book - and I am /so glad/ we found out what really happened at the river that day during the 1899 part of the book, because I was TENSE about what had happened to the POV character, and especially to Bili the cat.
*SPOILERY BIT ENDS*
Two books in, and I think Morton also has a talent for bittersweet endings. Again, we the reader know what really happened, but the characters don't. They never have all the pieces like we do. It's implied that the truth is finally found and told to the world; it's flat out stated that our main narrator is happy where they are, but I did find it a bit sad that the lovers weren't reunited in the end. This is where I feel the ending could have been a bit longer to wrap things up in a more satisfying way. Still, an great book and a really fun read!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Car accident, and Murder