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Thank you to Riverhead Books for the Galley!
I had never read anything by Sarah Waters, but all I knew was that she wrote well-regarded, historical fiction featuring lesbian characters. She continues in the same manner, but this time, the book is focused on a young woman, Frances, and her mother, who have lost everything after World War I. Frances' brothers both died in the war and her father's later death left them nearly destitute. To help make ends meet they take on a young married couple as b ...more
I had never read anything by Sarah Waters, but all I knew was that she wrote well-regarded, historical fiction featuring lesbian characters. She continues in the same manner, but this time, the book is focused on a young woman, Frances, and her mother, who have lost everything after World War I. Frances' brothers both died in the war and her father's later death left them nearly destitute. To help make ends meet they take on a young married couple as b ...more
Un gran bel libro! Molto ben strutturato nella ricostruzione storica senza perdersi in descrizioni infinite e noiose. I personaggi sono credibili ed è coinvolgente seguirne l'evoluzione psicologica nel progredire della storia. Plausibile lo sviluppo del giallo vista l'ambientazione post wwII. Narrazione fluente, intimistica. Bollente la scena di sesso! Well done
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This book made more than a few top 10 lists... But I can't quite agree. I enjoyed it immensely.I found it compelling. But, there were more than a few moments where character actions weren't quite as fully rationalized as they needed to be for me to believe what was happening. These were only small moments. But they added up. Regardless, one of the better novels of 2014. Waters tackles weighty themes in interesting ways that engage the reader. I don't wonder that it must've been difficult to be e
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Did not see THAT coming!! Writing so good, as always!
Overall, I'm not a big fan of Sarah Waters -didn't like Tipping the Velvet, didn't like Fingersmith. However, I enjoyed this book. The end seemed a little too tidy for me, even though it was surprising to most people. But the journey to the end was enjoyable and I'd rather have a too tidy ending than an ending that feels like it betrays a reader.
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Sarah Waters is such a brilliant writer, and I really enjoyed this book. My favorite line comes right in the beginning: "Her mother was at the stove, lifting the kettle from the hot-plate with the faintly harried air she always had when left alone in the kitchen; she might have been a passenger on a stricken airliner who'd just been bundled into the engine room and told to man the gauges."
I felt a connection to the main character, Frances, and she is very richly developed. I will say that the mi ...more
I felt a connection to the main character, Frances, and she is very richly developed. I will say that the mi ...more
very slow, meandering start. Halfway through, there's a twist, and it gets very dramatic, even melodramatic, and the book has real momentum. I feel real affection for SW's vision & style.
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I just could not get into it
I listened to the audiobook of this -- and definitely enjoyed the story, imagining the characters at the center of it and the lives and options they faced. I couldn't believe how long it took to get to the first kiss, and then to shift gears into a murder mystery! But actually that's what I liked the most, that it did both and did them well. It definitely got tiresome at the end - could have used about a couple hours less...
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Someone in a previous review characterized this book as woefully overlong. I agree. Unlike Affinity, Tipping the Velvet, and Fingersmith, this book lacked a spark between its leads that failed to sustain me through the density of Waters' particulars. After such lengthy, laden prose I found the conclusion very thin. This one missed the mark for me.
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Sarah waters writes books that I want to be a character in. I love the romance and history. I long for these books not to end. The characters are well drawn, the plot well threaded and predictable, but the journey through these lives is sweet and sumptuous. I refreshed my tinder account after reading this book
Sep 02, 2014
O'Rissa
marked it as to-read
Nov 03, 2014
Dov Zeller
marked it as to-read
Nov 06, 2014
Kevin
marked it as to-read
Nov 12, 2014
Danielle
marked it as to-read
Apr 11, 2016
Fr. Andrew
marked it as to-read
Jul 14, 2020
Olivia
added it
Jun 03, 2021
jojo Lazar
marked it as limbo-unfinished
Jun 23, 2024
Aimee Darling
added it
