Fingersmith
by Sarah Waters
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 2311)
Read in June, 2008
Wow! LOVED this!!! Read 600 pages in about 2 days. When I started the book I had no idea what it was really about. I saw it as a recomendation from another reader who has similar taste as I do. I am glad that I didn't read a synopsis of this book beforhand as I probably would not have read it...especially if I had read amazon.com's review.
Here is a great review from Eric Anderson:
Sarah Waters' third novel begins simply enough. Sue Trinder is a teenage orphan who lives amongst a group o...more
Here is a great review from Eric Anderson:
Sarah Waters' third novel begins simply enough. Sue Trinder is a teenage orphan who lives amongst a group o...more
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Read in April, 2008
Character is a fascinating thing, and not many authors can top Waters' ability to create character through dialogue. She also zooms in on details: the sound of a man rubbing his fingers along his unshaved chin, the pop from a fireplace that comes at just the appropriate moment--Waters can do it all. She's able to take point-of-view to a new level-- look over here, now here, now here. It's amazing.
Almost everything about this book is perfection. I love the zipper effect of the first two...more
Almost everything about this book is perfection. I love the zipper effect of the first two...more
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Read in March, 2007
Profuse with Pickpockets, Plots, Pretenders, and Perversions!
Ms. Water's FINGERSMITH, opens with the orphaned young teen, Sue Trinder avowing, "I was Mrs. Sucksby's child, if I was anyone's." When we discover that Mrs. Sucksby (such an apt name!) is, among other seedy things, a 'baby-farmer', a 'missus' who takes in pregnant women that have no other options and cares for them in exchange for their babies. Babies, that when we learn are sold (farmed) illegally in the underground of...more
Ms. Water's FINGERSMITH, opens with the orphaned young teen, Sue Trinder avowing, "I was Mrs. Sucksby's child, if I was anyone's." When we discover that Mrs. Sucksby (such an apt name!) is, among other seedy things, a 'baby-farmer', a 'missus' who takes in pregnant women that have no other options and cares for them in exchange for their babies. Babies, that when we learn are sold (farmed) illegally in the underground of...more
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Read in December, 2006
recommends it for:
People Who Enjoy Historical Fiction/ the Victorian Period/ an Exciting, Plot-Twisting Story
I adore this book. From the very start, Miss Waters swept me off my feet with her beautiful writing, her well-researched setting and characters, and a plotline so intricate and twisting it could very easily be mistaken for a story written by Charles Dickens or Wilkie Collins.
It starts off nicely enough. A London thief known as Gentleman plots to steal the fortune of the innocent, isolated Maud, who lives alone with her wealthy uncle Mr. Lilly. To do this, Gentleman enlists the help of Sue, ...more
It starts off nicely enough. A London thief known as Gentleman plots to steal the fortune of the innocent, isolated Maud, who lives alone with her wealthy uncle Mr. Lilly. To do this, Gentleman enlists the help of Sue, ...more
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Read in October, 2007
A friend knocked on my door one evening and I answered, looking disheveled and I think a bit frightened. She asked me what was wrong, if she had interrupted something. I said no, that I had just been reading Fingersmith and I was really stressed out because now I had to leave the house and didn't know what was going to happen next. And that is basically how this book took over my life (in a good way).
Sue is an orphan who lives in London in a house of petty thieves. A con man known as Gentlem...more
Sue is an orphan who lives in London in a house of petty thieves. A con man known as Gentlem...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
Melisa
I just want to say that this book is SO GOOD so far! I FINALLY finished my damn course work, so I am thrilled that I will have the time now to finish this as fast as I can. It is very well written and very twisted and very intriguing. I love it.
Okay, I finished it today. Shortly after writing the above, I found myself to be less enthusiastic. However, I still think it was worth the read. I feel like it slowed down for me a bit because part 1 and 2 follow the same plot line but are told ...more
Okay, I finished it today. Shortly after writing the above, I found myself to be less enthusiastic. However, I still think it was worth the read. I feel like it slowed down for me a bit because part 1 and 2 follow the same plot line but are told ...more
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Read in January, 2005
What a great book! I hate to say this, but I put off reading Waters for a really long time because, let's face it, most lesbian literature sucks. I mean, I read a lot of it anyway, but I don't expect it to be good. This was good.
A synopsis:
Set in the 1840s, Fingersmith tells the story of Maud, a lady in fancy country house, with an eccentric uncle who makes her act as his secretary. He is at work on some mysterious lengthy academic project. She grew up in an asylum, where her mother gave b...more
A synopsis:
Set in the 1840s, Fingersmith tells the story of Maud, a lady in fancy country house, with an eccentric uncle who makes her act as his secretary. He is at work on some mysterious lengthy academic project. She grew up in an asylum, where her mother gave b...more
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WOW! It's been a long time since I literally haven't been able to put a book down. It only took me 3 days to read this one. This is by Sarah Waters the author of 'The Night Watch' which I just read. 'Night Watch' is her most recent novel and her first departure from the Victorian era.
I see a lot of reviews comparing this book to Dickens and of course I see the connection with orphans, villans, mad houses, bizarre plot twists, etc. However, I would compare this more to the work of Wilk...more
I see a lot of reviews comparing this book to Dickens and of course I see the connection with orphans, villans, mad houses, bizarre plot twists, etc. However, I would compare this more to the work of Wilk...more
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Read in December, 2007
This book is about plots and deceptions and lies and twists and turns of fate, and switched babies and marriage for money and collections of pornography in the 18th century, pickpockets, justice and all kinds of things. You think it's about one thing and then it's really about another thing. It's divided into three parts, each telling a different point of view. I really got into the two main characters and could see how and why they thought and acted as they did. But there is a little bit of l...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommended to Chrisiant by:
Max
Good Lord. This is one of the most circuitous plots I've ever read. Every time you think you've figured it out a brand new, completely out-of-the-blue, 90 degree plot veer sends you reeling. The only thing I guessed was that Part 1 wasn't all there was to it, since the plot was wrapping up too quickly for another 300 pages to be left.
I didn't really expect to like this book - the Dickensian setting is not my favorite, but Waters makes it tolerable. Her characters are great, really vivid,...more
I didn't really expect to like this book - the Dickensian setting is not my favorite, but Waters makes it tolerable. Her characters are great, really vivid,...more
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Read in January, 2007
WOW! This book is so damn good! It is one of those great books that I couldn't put down, because I wanted to know what was going to happen next, but I found myself stopping to admire the writing as well. It has a rich Dickensian style, both in language and plot. The big difference being that this is a Dickensian tale of Victorian London, through the modern eyes of a feminist and lesbian. It deconstructs the darker aspects of literary England in that period, and tells the tale of two young wome...more
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Read in December, 2007
I want to have not read this book so I can read it again and not know what's going to happen.
For me, this book takes me back to my teenage years in a way - it's been that long since I've read much in the way of historical fiction - bored myself of the stuff with endless weekends at my granny's, reading bodice-ripper after bodice-ripper.
In another way though, it takes the bodice-ripper and rips it to shreds. Strong characterisation, plot that does just enough to fill the pages without ...more
For me, this book takes me back to my teenage years in a way - it's been that long since I've read much in the way of historical fiction - bored myself of the stuff with endless weekends at my granny's, reading bodice-ripper after bodice-ripper.
In another way though, it takes the bodice-ripper and rips it to shreds. Strong characterisation, plot that does just enough to fill the pages without ...more
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Read in May, 2008
After first fourth or third of book, read straight through except to pause for sleep. Not as much masturbation material in this as in other Sarah Waters books, but she doesn't disappoint in delivering a massively entertaining book. I imagine her aspiring to write something she would love to read, and delivering this (which I'll bet is a hundred times better than any single book that inspired her). She takes recognizable elements from books and stories we love (Jane Eyre, Oliver Twist, etc.), the...more
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Read in May, 2006
recommends it for:
19th C-lit lovers who've read all of Dickens
This is one of my favorite novels of all time. Yes, Sarah Waters writes bestsellers, and I admit to being a snob about that sometimes, but I love Tipping the Velvet and Affinity, too. She perfectly captures the atmosphere of a Dickens or (perhaps more accurately) Wilkie Collins novel, but is able to say what those novelists could obviously only allude to. While still retaining some of the restraint that seems accurate for the period, the plot is very fast-paced and chock-full of all of the wonde...more
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recommended to Tatiana by:
emily
I walked into my kitchen and my roommate was sitting there reading this book looking like she was going to tear her hair out. i asked about it, she said it was fantastic, but completely disturbing and that she was going to make me read it as soon as she was done with it. i asked her if it was rebecca brown disturbing and she said no, a different kind of disturbing. i read the book, and i think the word she was looking for (cuz i should really be correcting a poet/english teacher) is stressful...more
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I generally dislike 'straight' fiction, so when an author of same catches my attention it's worth noting.
I glanced at the first page of this one, as I do with many of the books that cross the counter here in the store, and was immediately drawn in. I'd finished the first chapter by the time I came up for air.
This is a novel which entirely earns the descriptor 'Dickensian', possibly the only one in captivity (oh no wait, I forgot about Peter Carey's Jack Maggs...although that one border...more
I glanced at the first page of this one, as I do with many of the books that cross the counter here in the store, and was immediately drawn in. I'd finished the first chapter by the time I came up for air.
This is a novel which entirely earns the descriptor 'Dickensian', possibly the only one in captivity (oh no wait, I forgot about Peter Carey's Jack Maggs...although that one border...more
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While not as sexy as Tipping the Velvet, this book is a gripping read. I envy any reader their first trip through the story, because you will never guess what's going on or what's going to happen next. Perfectly plotted, brilliantly realized. Unfortunately, Sarah Waters' most recent book is rather a snore, and in her next book she's promised to abandon writing about lesbian characters all together ('cause the world of heterosexuality isn't yet well-documented. Sorry to be so bitter, but it ma...more
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I worship the ground Sarah Waters walks on. She is a storyteller like none other. I would put her in the ranks of authors like Dickens, Poe, John Fowles or Henry Fielding except that for me she is much more thrilling than these authors. She's a woman writing about lesbians in history and telling stories with personal relevance to me! I love love love the UK film adaptation of this book--I've seen it four times now. I think it says something that Sarah Waters books translate so easily into film-...more
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An amazing book, written entirely in Victorian-style prose. I didn't detect a single stylistic anachronism, and I've read a lot of Victorian prose. The best thing of this kind I've read since Byatt's Possession. It's a shocking mystery, full of plot twists and carefully hidden clues. Also (I guess primarily) a love story between two women. A beautiful work with a very satisfying ending. I can also highly recommend the DVD--very faithful to the book (although it had to be simplified a little)....more
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Read in July, 2006
This book is excellent. The layers of complexity keep going down, and as soon as you think you're about to have it figured out, the author throws another twist at you. A very dark story, but with enough humor and bright spots to suffice. The love story part seemed a bit too understated to me, but it is lovely when it does show up, and if it were a bigger part then it would get in the way of the rest of the book, and we can't have that...
This is no beach book; read it when you have a larg...more
This is no beach book; read it when you have a larg...more
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 4.04 (1821 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 4.05 (1684 ratings) number of reviews: 273popular shelves
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"We have a name for your disease. We call it a hyper-aesthetic one. You have been encouraged to over-indulge yourself in literature; and have inflamed your organs of fancy."
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