Ghosts and prisons

Affinity by Sarah Waters

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The best thing about this novel is its setting: Millbank Prison in London. The descriptions of the cells, the offices, the grounds, and especially the architecture, are exquisite. Combine this with the protagonist's wanderings into the occult world of Victorian England and you have the makings of a suspense thriller combined with a touching love story. The quality of writing is what I have come to expect from Sarah Waters.

I'm not going to launch into a long-winded description here. I will only add that Affinity has the same kind of grab-your-throat surprise as Fingersmith, but without, I think, the overall satisfaction. It does not add nor detract from my current opinion that Waters is one of our greatest living writers--a relative youngster still who already has at least one masterpiece and two near-masterpieces to her credit. Give this one a solid 4.



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