69%
31.03.13
The incomparable Sarah Waters - reinventing the historical novel while referencing its ancestors (a whole load of Richardson, a bunch of Dickens, perhaps a little Gaskell). Her exploitation of the first person narrator's limitations enables fine plot twists and her rich storytelling makes you drop everything else and swallow the unlikely events and coincidences. For the first three-quarters, at least. After that the story seems to get dragged into its own detail, slowly spooling out to an inevitable conclusion that seems oddly lacklustre. But even that final quarter is more accomplished than the majority of books I've read recently.
This was my first Sarah Waters, I love the twist. For the twist alone it's worth the read. But my experience with all the Sarah Waters I've read is that the intricate weaving of the web is more enjoyable than the unravelling of the mystery. But that's fine. Bx
ReplyDelete