A review by whatandreawrote
The Quincunx by Charles Palliser
5.0
I JUST FINISHED THIS AND NOW I HAVE TO GO BACK AND REREAD IT FROM THE BEGINNING LIKE EVERYONE SAID I'D HAVE TO AND I'M SO PLEASED
Give me neo-Victorian tributes to twisted Dickensian mysteries forever, please. I tore through this as quickly as I devoured all the Sarah Waters novels. I'd often read until bedtime and then spend an hour or two tossing and turning in bed, trying to sort out the dozens of new characters encountered in the last few chapters, or to try and fit John's new revelations into what he (and I) had thought was the truth.
I am such a naive, trusting reader (as trusting as John and his mother are throughout this entire work) and that makes novels with unreliable narrators so much more enjoyable and surprising for me. I am constantly getting backstabbed by people whose words I took at face value and thought could have no other motivation other than helping out our protagonist. That made this novel such a fucking whirlwind for me.
I loved all the meta-nods throughout. Everyone's names with Q's and hints at sets of 5. Pentecost and Silverlight's arguments about novel structure. Mrs. Bellflower's bedtime stories always ending with gunfights and duels.
I loved the deep dives into certain aspects of Victorian life: the sewer systems, the methods of coach travel (I imagine John spending much of his commutes clinging by his fingertips to the roof of a racing carriage), the servants' routine in an aristocratic house. The legal system!!
Most of all, I loved the overarching question of whether inheriting estates and fortunes is worth all the bloodshed and betrayal and misery. And I really enjoyed that there was no firm answer to be found.
I'm off to begin my reread. Cheerio!
Give me neo-Victorian tributes to twisted Dickensian mysteries forever, please. I tore through this as quickly as I devoured all the Sarah Waters novels. I'd often read until bedtime and then spend an hour or two tossing and turning in bed, trying to sort out the dozens of new characters encountered in the last few chapters, or to try and fit John's new revelations into what he (and I) had thought was the truth.
I am such a naive, trusting reader (as trusting as John and his mother are throughout this entire work) and that makes novels with unreliable narrators so much more enjoyable and surprising for me. I am constantly getting backstabbed by people whose words I took at face value and thought could have no other motivation other than helping out our protagonist. That made this novel such a fucking whirlwind for me.
I loved all the meta-nods throughout. Everyone's names with Q's and hints at sets of 5. Pentecost and Silverlight's arguments about novel structure. Mrs. Bellflower's bedtime stories always ending with gunfights and duels.
I loved the deep dives into certain aspects of Victorian life: the sewer systems, the methods of coach travel (I imagine John spending much of his commutes clinging by his fingertips to the roof of a racing carriage), the servants' routine in an aristocratic house. The legal system!!
Most of all, I loved the overarching question of whether inheriting estates and fortunes is worth all the bloodshed and betrayal and misery. And I really enjoyed that there was no firm answer to be found.
I'm off to begin my reread. Cheerio!