From the Bookshelf of Our Shared Shelf…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
No group discussions for this book yet.
What Members Thought
It's been years since I read "Fingersmith" and "Tipping the Velvet," so it was great to dig into another Sarah Waters novel.
This has a clear sense of place, 1922 London. Lots of grim post-war people and household chores. Our dear spinster Frances is consumed with dusting and scrubbing and caring for her mother. I grew weary of discussions of cleaning, but later after the terrible thing happens, cleaning becomes important.
I loved the character of Lillian. As is par for Waters, the sex scenes were ...more
This has a clear sense of place, 1922 London. Lots of grim post-war people and household chores. Our dear spinster Frances is consumed with dusting and scrubbing and caring for her mother. I grew weary of discussions of cleaning, but later after the terrible thing happens, cleaning becomes important.
I loved the character of Lillian. As is par for Waters, the sex scenes were ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Halfway through, I was thinking that this one wasn't one of her best, but damned if it didn't just pull me achingly through to the end. And now I think it was painful because the characters are so realized that I kept inserting myself: what if this had happened to me? What if I made these choices? It was like reading Harry's fifth year: so painfully frustrating because it was so real, even in the midst of the fantastic.
...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This book had all the makings of something I would normally be really into: period drama, fancy Londoners, clandestine affair(s), MURDER! But alas, I disliked all of the characters, and the descriptions of thoughts, feelings, motes of dust, food, you name it, went on for-ev-errrrr. I forced myself to finish this book, which is exceedingly long, and also managed to be disappointed by the ending.
Some of the minor bright spots were in observations about class and the relationship between the older ...more
Some of the minor bright spots were in observations about class and the relationship between the older ...more
I simply could not get into this book! This saddens me for several reasons, but mostly because Sarah Waters is one of my favorite authors. I so thoroughly enjoyed her first three novels, that I couldn't wait to devour this one. Unfortunately, I found the first two hundred pages dragging, and I did not find any if the characters interesting in the least. On the shelf it goes :(
...more
Sep 08, 2014
Erin
marked it as to-read
Sep 25, 2014
Sarah
marked it as to-read
Oct 28, 2014
Kate
marked it as to-read
Nov 22, 2014
Kristen
marked it as to-read
Nov 28, 2014
Anna
marked it as to-read
Dec 02, 2014
Lindi
marked it as to-read
Jan 03, 2015
Nicole
marked it as to-read
Jan 22, 2015
Elucette
marked it as to-read
Jul 29, 2015
Jeanne Bufkin
marked it as to-read
Nov 15, 2015
Meg
marked it as to-read
Dec 06, 2015
Amy
marked it as to-read
Feb 01, 2016
Melissa
marked it as to-read
Aug 27, 2016
Margaret Pinard
marked it as to-read
Apr 29, 2018
Artemis
marked it as to-read
