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martamae77's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Lesbophobia
friends2lovers's review against another edition
1.0
It seems to me that the only reason Lucy never contacts Oléron is
Quotes
It was printed and put up for sale. [...] the title was embossed in silver on rich blue leather: The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics, with the author listed as L. Muchelney. Lucy had agonized over this initial, before ultimately deciding that she would use her full name when she published her own unique work, and initials when she wanted the focus to be on the work she was translating.
Note: Um, she’s listed as the “author” and not the “translator” or "editor"? How does that keep the focus on the work she’s translating? The extent of Lucy’s edits and additions is not clear, but an “author” credit seems disingenuous to me. Oléron is the author, Lucy is not. It would be more appropriate to say “translated, edited, and annotated by L. Muchelney." Also, Lucy agonizes over whether to use her initial or full name, but doesn't agonize over the fact that she still hasn't contacted the original author about their work getting translated, published, and sold for profit???
Fury was an anchor in the swirling storm: she turned it on him in spite of her better instincts. “I shouldn’t have to perform like a dancing bear. My work should be proof enough on its own.”
“Your work,” he said, “is not entirely yours.”
Lucy stopped short.
Mr. Frampton continued, inexorable. “It would be one thing if you’d translated the Méchanique céleste for the benefit of your fellow scholars. The more we share, the faster we all advance. But it was a commercial success, far beyond any expectation.” His mouth was a flat line by now, his displeasure plain. “The more popular it got, the more uneasy I became with the notion that the original author had no idea your translation existed.”
“So you sent it to him,” Lucy whispered.
“I did.”
Note: Mr. Frampton is the ONLY character in this stupid book who seems to be "displeased" with Lucy about this. But still, even he brushes it off later in this conversation. I don't get why this is not a bigger conflict!
“I believed I was the first woman to really try and advance the progress of astronomy—I fancied myself a brave pioneer, an explorer like you once were. A shining beacon to girls and women of the future. It was a great comfort, whenever people like Mr. Hawley and Mr. Wilby offered insults and dismissals. All I had to do to claim victory was to prove them wrong—and don’t men of science value proof more than anything? Once people saw what I did, really saw it and acknowledged it, they’d believe other women were capable of thinking, of learning, of discovering the world in the same way that men are. But tonight I learned that there were other women before me. So very, very many of them. They were here all along: spotting comets, naming stars, pointing telescopes at the sky alongside their fathers and brothers and sons. And still the men they worked with scorned them. Scoffed at them. Gave the credit and the glory to the men who stole their work—or borrowed it or expanded it. Rarely cited it directly. And then those men did their best to forget where the work came from. Women’s ideas are treated as though they sprung from nowhere, to be claimed by the first man who comes along. Every generation had women stand up and ask to be counted—and every generation of brilliant, insightful, educated men has raised a hand and wiped those women’s names from the greater historical record.”
Note: (Bolding emphasis is my own.) Isn't Lucy getting all the credit and glory for work she stole/borrowed and expanded? Does she really not see that her actions are akin to what she's condemning here, and therefore antithetical to her own professed ideals? The hypocrisy is infuriating!
Oléron was a woman! A dark-skinned woman! As soon as the first shock had passed, she was flooded with chagrin at one simple, telling fact: the possibility of Oléron being anything other than a white-skinned man had quite simply not occurred to her. What a mortifying realization for someone who prided herself on being keenly observant. Well, astronomers did spend most of their time being wrong. What mattered was what they did when they realized the truth.
Note: I don't even know what to say about this contrived, predictable plot twist or Lucy's reaction to it. I'm not surprised that Lucy didn't see this as a possibility.
Moderate: Sexism and Sexual content
Minor: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse
nat_montego's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Domestic abuse, Outing, and Toxic relationship
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Alcohol and Homophobia
ginadapooh's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Racism
quasinaut's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Death of parent, Grief, and Homophobia
qraveline's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexism and Misogyny
Minor: Emotional abuse and Domestic abuse
syntaxofthings's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Racism and Sexism
erikawynn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Death of parent
loxeletters's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
There is a lot of talk about both astronomy and embroidery/fashion (though it never gets too technical in either topic). If that doesn't interest you, this book might bore you at some point.
The characters were more or less well-developed, though most of the supporting characters fell a little flat. Catherine and Lucy both had their own hopes and dreams as well as their fear and weaknesses, Catherine even more so than Lucy in this regard.
There are two main points I took issue with:
a) the romance. It wasn't unhealthy or forced or anything but, boy oh boy, was it rushed. Insta-love at its finest. Lucy arrives at the mansion and is basically immediately in love with Catherine, even though she was just heartbroken by her prior lover's sudden marriage. Similarly for Catherine. The attraction seemed to rely entirely on physical attractiveness, as well. This, of course, ceased to be a relevant issue after the first few chapters – other than my second issue, which was constant throughout the book:
b) the handling of sexuality and past abuse. It's not that it was handled badly: in fact, the opposite. But at some point, suspense of disbelief just couldn't cover the insanely modern conceptions of sexuality and abuse that many of the main characters held. This is set in the 19th century, yet the characters, especially Lucy, felt like they'd been plucked from a modern-time feminist demonstration and transported into Victorian England. What's more, there simply was an astounding amount of homosexual people in this novel, reminiscent of some fanfictions where the author simply turns the entire cast into some LGBTQ variations.
I can appreciate what the author was trying to do here – show the diversity that of course existed even in those times – but in a book that revolves around only two characters the vast majority of the time, making seven characters LGB (just off of the top of my head) is an insane stretch.
Regarding (past) abuse: the author probably wanted to handle this topic carefully and discuss it in the way it deserves to be discussed. However, in my opinion, this again was difficult to reconcile with the time period the book takes place in. Also, I felt that the consequences of Catherine's trauma and her road to recovery could have been explored way more.
This is not to say that I didn't enjoy the book, however. What I found especially interesting were the discussions about art and science: the difference between them, what counts as art/science, and what part misogyny plays in such a definition. Another very insightful discussion was about legal marriage in contrast to "informal" relationships: the benefits and disadvantages of either, and the way the two solved this issue for themselves in the end.
Finally, I do need to mention that I saw the twist at the end coming from quite a bit earlier. This did not detract from my enjoyment of seeing entitled men suffer, though. :)
Overall, I wouldn't consider this book a literary masterpiece. However, it touches on very important subjects in an interesting and delightfully fresh way. The plot and characterisations are solid. The way the author incorporated LGB representation and the handling of abuse, though I disagree with it, are understandable. This is a quick, entertaining, and quite satisfying read.
Graphic: Sexual content, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Racism, Grief, Homophobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Alcohol, and Colonisation