Hannah Morgan-Lewis
This book drove me mad, I so wanted to finish it so I wouldn't have to read the damn thing anymore. I don't even particularly know why I disliked it so, I just found the narrator TIRESOME (sic) and couldn't get the characters straight. I kind of see what Eco was trying to do here, it's a bit of a mash up of the unreliable narrator of the Don Quixote or Tristram Shandy type, going on fanciful adventures then retelling them so that he ends up the hero and comes across all sorts of strange marvels along the way, but I found it hard to care about the five heads of John the Baptist and the hairy satyr woman, probably due to Baudolino's deficiencies as a narrator. He can't carry the storyline himself as he is no good at describing his own relationships and the other characters. The parts I enjoyed were the debates about theology and Prester John. Overall, I thought it was written from quite a male centric viewpoint.
A really gripping thriller about family secrets, the author skillfully uses multiple perspectives to tell the story of a bereaved family coping with a series of strange occurrences related to their childhood. One of those novels where you don't quite know who to trust. Easy to get into, difficult to put down, and I thought it had a great ending.
The kind of book that you press into your friend's hands. I loved this so much. I thought that the idea about the companions worked really well, building a very spooky atmosphere. I liked how the author used the alternative timelines to tell the house and Elsie's stories, giving us clues about the history and Elsie's future in the asylum. I read this on Pigeonhole and couldn't wait for the next stave to be released. Really hope that the author writes more in this genre.
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.
Narrative history that sometimes misses deeper analysis of why it happened. It seems well researched, using the accounts of the period. I don't generally have an issue with footnotes, but I think the author overuses them sometimes, and many of the footnotes could be incorporated into the text or dropped entirely as they sometimes go off at a tanget. Not always a fan of her writing, it's quite wandering and tries to mix an accesible history style with more of an academic writing style. It doesn't really give the reader a great sense of the period atmosphere and concentrates very heavily on what happened at the trials. She was apparently deliberately avoiding explainations, however she attempts to explain the instigators' “hysteria” that originally prompted the accusations of witchcraft; that the symptoms occured in the parsonage, the most repressive environment. The accusations gained the “victims” attention and a respite from chores. I was surprised that there was no map of the village.
Tried to judge this on its merits as a stand-alone novel rather than a Jane Austen spin off, as it clearly doesn't work as being associated with the novel it's based on as the author has just pretty much taken the names and locations and some of the situations and pretty much forgotten the characters. Anyway, it is certainly written in the regency style, but I didn't really think it was that great as a novel. A bit patchy, rushed and the detective seemed to be one of those omnipotent ones who seem to know all sorts of facts about characters without it being properly explained how he knew. I get the feeling this was the author trying her hand at the genre, because as far as I remember, her next novel featuring the detective was better.
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.
Difficult to review on the basis of not knowing enough about India to understand the references. This is quite a challenging, dense novel, nevertheless the warmth of the author shines through in the way the characters are depicted, and the language and poetry is beautiful. It is difficult at times, however, particularly in the way that the timeline jumps around and is from multiple perspectives. I think I probably should have devoted more time to reading it, but it was a quick read at the library and had to go back. I think it may be appreciated better a second time.
Really conflicted about this book. I think it started off well and I could get on board with the premise, but ultimately it felt over-stuffed. It was way too long, I think that the author tried to do far too much and the second half just trailed off. I don't have a problem at all with long books, but this didn't really managed to sustain the storyline and it got a bit confusing. Due to the focus being on the first half of the protagonist's (plural) lives, and having to avoid making the book even longer, Archie ended up a quite insufferable child prodigy at times, and world events and cultural references ended up as large lists of books that he read, women he slept with or things that happened. I would've given it four stars but I HATED the ending, it was just too smugly clever for it's own good (much like the protagonist I suppose).
Not bad, although not exactly a popular social history type book. This is mainly an architectural survey of the period with some social history thrown in. I wouldn't say it is as accessible as some books covering the period, and as some reviewers have noted it does seem to list quite a few people at the beginning. I think it's worth persevering though, as I found it an interesting survey with some well chosen illustrations. I haven't read the Kindle version, but I would imagine it would be better to read this in the original hardcover considering the illustrations.
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.
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.
I loved this book & thought that Ursula was a brilliantly written character. It was getting five stars right up until the end parts. I had no problem with the resolution of the plot, but in contrast to the other depictions of love in the book, Lawrence did his old trick of trying to bludgeon me over the head with it. All the delicacy of Ursula's other love got lost amidst the Lawrentian preaching and I got a bit suspicious that I had become dazzled by style over substance. But this is probably why I have such a satisfyingly challenging relationship with him - he is one of the most lyrical, poetic, intimate authors I've read and his work can be incredibly erotic and sensual. Then he swoops down with another tirade about sex and all you can do is cover your head and run !
Very well researched and extremely thorough but seems to suffer from a curiously archaic writing style coupled with a great deal of conjecture about the identities of the ghosts. I particularly found the habit of including multiple lists throughout a bit odd. It is also arranged in quite a peculiar way. It made an interesting read though.
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.
Far from a badly written book, just not what you would expect from something with ‘Gothic' & ‘ghost' plastered over it, as it is more of a psychological haunting. It's a bit Gothic, but suffers from a bit of a pacing problem towards the middle where nothing mysterious seems to happen. A bit of a frustrating read at times, but I did think that the relationship between the two characters was well written.
It took a while to get into, but it didn't disappointment, especially as a classic sensation novel. Stolen jewels! Mysterious Indians! Opium fiends! Peculiar doctor's assistants with shady pasts! Love a bit of Wilkie. I thought the multiple narrative voices worked well and there were some excellent characters. Best of all, the speculation the reader can indulge in about the things that are not explained in the story, like what the hell is wrong with Ezra Jennings?
Not as Gothic as I was lead to believe from the description, Anya Seton weaves some Gothic elements such as the brooding mansion into more of a straightforward historical romance novel describing how tenant farmers rebelled against landowners as the heroine is swept off her feet by the brooding landowner. The historical parts are quite interesting and the depictions of Nicholas and Miranda seemed well handled. It reminded me a little of GWTW crossed with Rebecca. A little dated, but the plot moves along nicely and it was an enjoyable holiday read.
The plot is a bit meandering and the main characters, Julia and her husband are pretty dislikeable. In fact, Julia is quite monstrous at times. She conceives a love for a younger man out of a combination of boredom and to satisfy her ego. It could be a tragedy but her husband is so vain and self-satisfied he barely notices. It was okay but I found it a bit hard going at times.
