The Husbands - Chandler Baker

 52%

24.10.21

It wasn't badly written but it was badly executed. A sympathetic, believable main character would have been a good place to start. (And a four-year-old who goes to school is not a toddler. Was that a deliberate metaphorical choice or just poor editing?)

Longbourn - Jo Baker

65%
12.03.14

I really wanted to like this. And I did, really. And yet... at times the quality of the writing is beautiful, and yet it's littered with snagging cliched phrases. The parallel with 'Pride and Prejudice' is clever, offering new perspectives on Mr Collins and Mr Bennet in particular, and yet the below-stairs story is somewhat pedestrian. The insight into servants' lives is fascinating and yet it doesn't quite ring true. So, a good read but not the great one the hype suggests.

Cassandra at the Wedding - Dorothy Baker

58%
03.08.08

This is packaged like modern chick lit but is in fact a study of American alienation frst published in 1962. As a psychological portrait of a disturbed woman, it's compelling and has not dated. However, the characters are kept at arm's length so it's difficult to be absorbed in the story.