A review by jenwool
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The use of unreliable first-person narrator is masterful. The narration builds the story in a way that draws you in and paints a raw picture of the setting of London, and out in the country where the middle portion takes place. In spite of myself I was strung along for the ride, brought to each emotion that Waters intended me to feel as I went along. In spite of myself and my first impressions of them, I fell in love with both Susan and Maud.

The twists were crafted beautifully, with enough poeticism and foreshadowing that an attentive reader could catch on, but several of them took me by surprise even still.

Spoilers in the Content Warnings but very serious Content Warnings for this book, please take heed.

CW for child abuse, animal abuse, violence against women, the treatment of mental illness in victorian england, casual racism against rromani, and the implication of sexual thoughts about young girls. There is not any actual sexual assault, but it is very creepy. All of these save for the use of g**** referring to rromani are treated as the horrible things they are by the narrative.
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