You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
Group Themed Reads: Discussions
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The Rose of Sebastopol - what did you think?
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I will give this 4 stars, only because I would have liked to know what happened to some of the characters left hanging at the end of the book.I do not usually read this sort of book, but I found that I really enjoyed it. I learned that the Charge of the Light Brigade happened during the Crimean War! I didn't take history at school past the age of 14.
I liked the interaction between the major characters and the way that Mariella in particular developed from a timid "stay-at-home girl" into a "get stuck in" sort of person when she ended up in the thick of things.
Her aunt did annoy me though, I don't like these winsome females who swoon alot and take to their beds at the slightest sniffle or headache. I'm attempting Pride and Prejudice at the moment and there is more of that going on in that book too!
I enjoyed the parallels between those times and now, hospital cleanliness and objections to the war being two things I can recall.
I am now considering The Alchemist's Daughter A Novel by the same author but maybe not straight away.
What did anyone else think?
***SPOILER ALERT*** I gave 4 stars to this book. I really enjoyed it. Some was predictable like the pervy stepfather. Some of the characters were irritating like the selfobsessed mother and Thewell. Even Rosa came of as very strange until the book came together much better in the second half. I also wanted to know if they (Thewell and Rosa) really did it or was it just a fever dream of his. I do not like hanging characters either.
Cyd wrote: "***SPOILER ALERT*** I gave 4 stars to this book. I really enjoyed it. Some was predictable like the pervy stepfather. Some of the characters were irritating like the selfobsessed mother and Thewell..."I will give this book 4 stars. I enjoyed reading this book and felt the characters were a bit predictable; however, the character development of Mariella turned from being typical and one-dimensional to becoming well-rounded and formed in the end. I bet she always knew she had it in her to be disobedient; however, she was always restrained in her pursuit of disobedience.
The girls each "fed" the other so to speak. I really believe that Rosa always saw the strength and courage that lived in Mariella and used that strength to embolden herself.
Cyd, I made up my own happy ending - Mariella did not care whether Thewell and Rosa did nor did not - she and Max left the Crimean. She never stopped in Italy either - just left his sorry butt there; as he deserved. She and Max got married. And, she inherited the wealth of her father's money made in sewers.
To someone who has not read the book, I would say to please give it a try. You will find one-dimensional characters (Mariella always being "good," and Rosa always being "troublesome") in the beginning, but as you read through the book, the characters change into people you will really care about, too.
The characterization of the Crimean War in the second half of the book made me believe I was sitting right there on the hills watching the war unfold, caring for the soldiers, hearing the cannons and gunshot, too. I believe wars must have been conducted with the wives and women following after because here in the States there are several stories of women taking up their husband's rifles after he has been shot and continuing in his place during the Revolutionary War and during the Civil War. It must have been a common factor in those days.
Would I re-read this book? Yes, I would. To whom would I recommend this book - anyone who can give a love story (slightly less on the traditional romance side) with a vivid war scene thrown in a chance will be rewarded in reading this book.
Wanda, I love it that's exactly what should happen. They also clean up the mess at the estate because the older brother dies. You have a wonderful way of describing the feeling of the 2nd half. I felt the same way.
Cyd wrote: "Wanda, I love it that's exactly what should happen. They also clean up the mess at the estate because the older brother dies. You have a wonderful way of describing the feeling of the 2nd half. I f..."Thank you, Cyd.
I gave it 3 stars ...I did enjoy it, found it informative about a part of history I knew little about, and I loved the character development as mentioned above. Having said that, I didn't really LIKE the characters for most of the book - all the major players irritated me in some way (Mariella's subservience - yes I know that's how it was in those times, but show a little spirit! Rosa's selfishness, Mariella's mother's piousness, the aunt's self-absorption ...) I think Mariella's father was the only one I really liked!
I hated the ending though .... like others have said, I like the loose ends tied up! However, I would like to think that Wanda's ending is what really happened ... and I guess that is one of the beauties of leaving the end hanging like that - you can make up your own mind as to what happened.
Hmmm, thinking about it all, maybe I should give it 4 stars ........ no, I'll stick with 3 - I liked it, but I didn't love it. I'm glad I read it though, and I would recommend it to others.
I'm afraid I have given up on this book. I found the characters irritating and not really plausible. As a result I shall give the book only one star. It does not tempt me to read any more by this author.It has, however, left me with the resolve to revisit the history of the Red Cross - something I used to instruct about some twenty years ago. Sadly, my knowledge is now so rusty that this has prompted me to revisit the subject. Why? Well, the Red Cross was founded by a Swiss business man who observed the battles of the Crimea, most notably Sebastopol.
God I am soooo bored with this book! I've got about 140 pages left to read and I will finish it but have not found it as good as I thought I would. It is an easy read, but just plain old boring! Waiting for some good old fashion "bodice ripping", which will hopefully happen between Mariella and Max soon!
lol, I feel a little guilty for nominating this now! I have to agree that not a lot happened in the book ....
don't be silly, you prompted me at least to read something I wouldn't usually pick up and I quite enjoyed it.
Ha ha SuzieR, I'm over half way through and still not convinced that anything has happened yet :P
I can't say I'm not enjoying it though. It's one of those books that is keeping me entertained but if someone asked me what it was about I wouldn't be able to tell them ha ha!!
I'm really, really enjoying the book - admittedly not much 'live action' yet but does there necessarily have to be? What I'm loving is the social history - the terrible medical conditions that existed and especially how cholera wasn't linked to water etc. Don't necessarily need any 'bodice ripping!'Maximum stars so far!
I'm glad you're enjoying Jo! I agree - it was an interesting insight into that era, and makes you very grateful for the advances in medicine that we are able to take advantage of!
What I want from you guys is:
A star rating out of 5 (exactly the same as Goodreads).
and
A brief description of what you thought about the book. Good story? Interesting? Insightful? Would you read some more of the author's work? Did you learn anything from reading it. etc.
At the end of the month I will post our average rating as a group and try to sum up what we all thought.
**Please remember to give me a star rating! A few keep remembering to comment but don't give me a rating. The more ratings the better**