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A review by futurememory
The Tiger in the Well by Philip Pullman
4.0
The end of the Sally Lockhart Trilogy! That only took me probably half a decade to read...
I'm trying to make this summer the summer that I finish off a lot of series I've left hanging over the years. So far I've finished the Dollaganger books (evil V.C. Andrews), the Percy Jackson series (mmmm) and now Sally Lockhart.
Sally was Philip Pullman's series before His Dark Materials. It's got an entirely different tone, and I'm pretty sure in several markets it's been publicized as adult fiction. Set in the 1800s, the trilogy is moody and atmospheric, fairly series, and full of mystery and intrigue. It's definitely not the easiest series to get into. The first 50 pages or so of every one of the Sally Lockhart books can be a bit of a slog to get through. But once the ball starts rolling, I always find them hard to put down.
The Tiger in the Well is no different. I started - and restarted - this book probably a good four times before this past attempt. I don't think I ever got past the first section. But what do you know, it's done and finished now, and I feel pretty accomplished!
It's impossible to summarize the plot without giving away events from the past two books, so if you haven't read the first two Sally Lockhart books, please don't read any further. But if you have...
Sally's been surviving since Fred :( died in that awful fire. She's got her little daughter to take care of, a prospering business to manage, and societies stigmas stacked against her. She's a single mommy, with a daughter out of wedlock, heavily involved in business. What's more, someone's out to turn her life upside down. A sinister stranger has falsified several government records, creating a plausible and complex alternate life for Sally. One where she's an awful wife to Mr. Parrish, one where it's possible to lose custody of her daughter to an absolute stranger.
Tiger in the Well links in nicely to the previous Lockhart books, and adds a bit more to the mix with a subplot about socialism and Jewishness in 1800s London. The entire thing is a fascinating, if not a bit didactic at points. Tiger in the Well at points reads very much like one of Jack London's socialist anti-factory pieces (check out The Apostate and The Iron Heel for more). Tiger in the Well has a point to prove. That's probably why I enjoyed it a bit less than the others. A bit too preachy, a bit too slow.
The suspense is there, and when those scenes kick in, boy, they're tense. And the writing is on par with the rest of the series. It just wasn't as emotional of a ride for me this time around.
There's only Tin Princess left, and it's not part of the main series of books, so we'll see if I get around to reading it. But still, yay for capping off a pretty wonderful trilogy!
I'm trying to make this summer the summer that I finish off a lot of series I've left hanging over the years. So far I've finished the Dollaganger books (evil V.C. Andrews), the Percy Jackson series (mmmm) and now Sally Lockhart.
Sally was Philip Pullman's series before His Dark Materials. It's got an entirely different tone, and I'm pretty sure in several markets it's been publicized as adult fiction. Set in the 1800s, the trilogy is moody and atmospheric, fairly series, and full of mystery and intrigue. It's definitely not the easiest series to get into. The first 50 pages or so of every one of the Sally Lockhart books can be a bit of a slog to get through. But once the ball starts rolling, I always find them hard to put down.
The Tiger in the Well is no different. I started - and restarted - this book probably a good four times before this past attempt. I don't think I ever got past the first section. But what do you know, it's done and finished now, and I feel pretty accomplished!
It's impossible to summarize the plot without giving away events from the past two books, so if you haven't read the first two Sally Lockhart books, please don't read any further. But if you have...
Sally's been surviving since Fred :( died in that awful fire. She's got her little daughter to take care of, a prospering business to manage, and societies stigmas stacked against her. She's a single mommy, with a daughter out of wedlock, heavily involved in business. What's more, someone's out to turn her life upside down. A sinister stranger has falsified several government records, creating a plausible and complex alternate life for Sally. One where she's an awful wife to Mr. Parrish, one where it's possible to lose custody of her daughter to an absolute stranger.
Tiger in the Well links in nicely to the previous Lockhart books, and adds a bit more to the mix with a subplot about socialism and Jewishness in 1800s London. The entire thing is a fascinating, if not a bit didactic at points. Tiger in the Well at points reads very much like one of Jack London's socialist anti-factory pieces (check out The Apostate and The Iron Heel for more). Tiger in the Well has a point to prove. That's probably why I enjoyed it a bit less than the others. A bit too preachy, a bit too slow.
The suspense is there, and when those scenes kick in, boy, they're tense. And the writing is on par with the rest of the series. It just wasn't as emotional of a ride for me this time around.
There's only Tin Princess left, and it's not part of the main series of books, so we'll see if I get around to reading it. But still, yay for capping off a pretty wonderful trilogy!