Hannah Morgan-Lewis
I thought this book started out promisingly but ran out of steam in the second half. The mystery itself was a little bit muddled and I was not a fan of the plot twist at the end. I think I can see what he was trying to achieve but the whole idea of these post-modern Victorian novels is that they should be at least as readable as the original novels they are modelled on, that in some way the writers are attempting to improve on them and use modern writing methods to make the genre fresh. I didn't think that this book managed that.
I admired this book more than I liked it. It started off really promisingly but seemed to descend into a lot of references to a period of American culture I didn't quite ‘get' and I found some of the road stuff quite obscure and difficult to read at times. It didn't help that I was completely confused about the motivation and character of the protagonist.
Nevertheless, I can see how DeLillo influenced American fiction, there were some great quotes which still prove as relevant today as when the book was first published and whilst I can't completely appreciate this book at the moment I do want to try to read more of his work.
Wonderful descriptions of food and interesting facts but I found it quite confusing at times; the narrator seems to meander through the character's lives more focussed on the food than the plot. I got the sense that although the book was well researched, there didn't seem to be a theme to ‘hang' it on. I thought it was going to be Escoffier's relationships with women, but somehow neither romance seemed to go anywhere.
I don't think this book quite knew what genre it was trying to be, ghost story, mystery, romance or comedy. Because it was straddling genres, I found the plot a little muddled at times, particularly with the split narrative. Nevertheless, it was quite fun to read.
It was okay, but I found the portrayal of the romances to be a little superficial and the end seemed to run out of steam, as if it was supposed to be a longer novel. Not sure if the events with the nemesis was supposed to be funny; they ended up being more mortifying than amusing. The author seems to be compared to Jilly Cooper a lot, I think I prefer Jilly's humour.
I really enjoyed the first two books, but I found this one a bit hard going at times. I think that I just wasn't sufficiently engaged with either the film crew plot or the best kept village competition plot. The film crew one in particular didn't really seem to go anywhere. I do like reading about the characters however, and I hope that I enjoy the next two books in the series.
I was not sure how to review this. I think if you ignore its literary pretensions, the over-use of italics, the rambling, cheesy ending, and the poor editing and proofreading, what you are left with is quite an entertaining (if bonkers) novel. Prepare yourself for a rollercoaster ride where you will question your grip on reality as you encounter documentary evidence relating to the mysterious film director Cordova and his family. It can be eerie at times and I thought the way that Pessl blended fiction with reality was quite clever at times. I also liked the use of the mocked-up webpages and other documentary evidence. It definitely could have done with more work on the writing, however.
Can't believe I've never read these books before, think I got put off by the cheesy covers left over from the 70s series but now I am hooked. The kind of book you end up reading all night just to find out how it ends. Love the setting and the characters are great. Already on the next one.
An enjoyable, well-researched novel. I found the first-person narrative parts a bit difficult to get into at first, but once I got into it, I thought that it was quite a clever way of telling the story. The characters were interesting. I thought that it is the kind of book you would read and want to know more about both the case and some of the historical figures portrayed (Susan Vane-Tempest for example).
I didn't find this a great read, I found the writing style wasn't that engaging, it was based on some speculation and came off as rather prurient at times. Some interesting stuff but I think there are better books on the same theme out there.
A bit of an odd book, well written but a few too many humiliations heaped on what seemed to be an easy target. I didn't find it that funny but I did like the way the author portrayed the marriage of the Fatty and Betty and the ambiguity surrounding the motives of the Irish characters who managed to get away from stereotypes.
A short, sweet little seasonal romance set in 1925. The characters are endearing and I liked how the author used the below stairs characters as well as the upper class characters.
A reprint of ‘The Bad Miss Bennett' under a different title. This is a pretty poor spin-off that doesn't even attempt to write in a Regency style or even give a sense of atmosphere, despite all the travelling to different countries in Europe. The plot is meandering and ludicrous and the only thing the writer has really used from Austen is the names. I wasn't that keen on the first person perspective either. If you are willing not to be put off by this, what you have is a reasonably entertaining if forgettable book. I didn't completely hate it but I won't remember it either.
A difficult one from a modern perspective as it's dealing with a couple who would just be divorced today. Nevertheless, I think it makes an interesting point about the position of women in the period. Honorine longs to live independently and earn her own money but she is hopelessly naive, encouraged by her husband who secretly finances her because he can't let her go. The situation for both of them is pretty hopeless. The story is told delicately.
A bit choppy at times, but considering this was based on a TV series this is understandable and I thought the author did a pretty good job. The plot moves at a fair pace with a good amount of intrigue and scandals. Not particularly erotic though considering it has sexy in the byline!
The title is a little misleading, but nonetheless this is a really interesting account of pre-war Germany with a cast of colourful characters.
Moves along at such a pace with such a large cast of characters that it is difficult to form any sort of relationships. Tragic events happen and just rush by with no emotion, the families are barely affected by the War, there are family members who seem pretty pointless, I suppose they must feature more heavily in subsequent books? Not very atmospheric either, which I think is an essential element of historic fiction. I thought it would take me longer to read but I don't think this was supposed to be a doorstop of a book, if it was described as a food it's like the low fat yogurt of novels, fruity & light but not that satisfying. It's a pity, because I feel like this would've been better if she'd concentrated more on the characters. Anyway, on to the second book.
An atmospheric page turner.
I thought this was really well written. Some excellent characterisations, I particularly liked the way that the author incorporated different narrative viewpoints with their own unique voices. The historical and mythological background was really interesting and it was tightly plotted with the right amount of mysterious paranormal activity. Looking forward to starting the next book in the series.
Really enjoying this series so far.
I think the characters are both appealing and well written, Merrily and Lol in particular. I like the way that both their doubts about themselves are handled. The mysteries are good too, and whereas writing about Satanism and evil spirits could come across as being a bit over the top, he makes it quite believable. I also like the way that real places, books and historical figures are incorporated.
Another intriguing murder mystery
Love the way that Rickman writes his characters, they are really relatable. I also admire the amount of research that obviously goes into his novels, and the way he uses real settings and real local folklore. This was intricately plotted with a nice range of local villains.
A brilliantly poetic collection of short pieces.
It really made me consider things from different perspectives and made me think. The writing is beautiful, by turns satitical, tragic and always lyrical.
I felt like Dunstan promised more than he delivered. I think the main problem with his point of view was that he was not that good at depicting the relationships he had with people. Perhaps this was deliberate to depict him as being a heartlessly arrogant man who misjudged his own importance but throwaway comments about still remembering Edmund and them being mates didn't really stand up to the scenes with him. It was almost like this was supposed to be a series that got squashed into one book so we just whizzed past a parade of kings with similar names. I don't want to be too harsh as I haven't read anything else by the author, but I found it difficult not to compare it unfavourably to the Ken Follett cathedral building books. On the plus side, it seemed well-researched with good period detail. It just didn't entirely hold my attention.
Double the amount of triggers! #healedbythemagicofcock
Requiring a kind of suspension of disbelief where in two completly damaged people can go from brutalised to gaily hoping into bed with each other within a fortnight. Some elements of the plot were a bit contrived too.
A bit too far this time. I understand this is meant to be angst but when you start to play trigger bingo and are numbed to the effect of what should be an upsetting read then I think it's time to reign it in. The characters didn't have the personalities that some of Sloane's have. Levi was just guilt and suffering and Phoenix was mainly guilt. Not one of her best.