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carliekw's review against another edition
4.0
Listened to the audiobook, it was slow to get into but then I really enjoyed it. Good narrator. Very visual descriptions, took me back to England.
mostlyfated's review against another edition
3.0
Overall it is a good book. However, I find the character of Elise/Alice near the end rather disappointing.
ansl's review against another edition
5.0
Oh, I loved it!
Uitgelezen februari 2012
Herlezen december 2013. Ik wil het nog altijd hebben, ik vind het nog altijd een heel mooi boek.
Herbegonnen december 2015. Dit wordt mijn 2 jaarlijks december-leesboek denk ik :p.
Uitgelezen op nieuwjaarsdag 2016. Oh, zo mooi, maar zo triest.
December 2018: Oké, tot nu toe gaat dit effectief mijn tweejaarlijks-december-leesboek zijn :D. Ik hou van dit boek, ik hou van de personages, ik hou van Tyneford, ik wil ook naar het Zuiden van Engeland van voor WO2!
December 2022: nu wat langer dan 2 jaar, maar kom. Blijft een triest boek.
Uitgelezen februari 2012
Herlezen december 2013. Ik wil het nog altijd hebben, ik vind het nog altijd een heel mooi boek.
Herbegonnen december 2015. Dit wordt mijn 2 jaarlijks december-leesboek denk ik :p.
Uitgelezen op nieuwjaarsdag 2016. Oh, zo mooi, maar zo triest.
December 2018: Oké, tot nu toe gaat dit effectief mijn tweejaarlijks-december-leesboek zijn :D. Ik hou van dit boek, ik hou van de personages, ik hou van Tyneford, ik wil ook naar het Zuiden van Engeland van voor WO2!
December 2022: nu wat langer dan 2 jaar, maar kom. Blijft een triest boek.
jgintrovertedreader's review against another edition
4.0
Elise Landau is a Jew living in Vienna before World War II. Her parents realize the danger they are facing and make plans for the family to leave the country. They must all go separate ways and Elise ends up working as a housemaid on an estate in England.
Being from an artistic family in the upper middle class, Elise finds it hard to adapt to life as a housemaid. It doesn't help that she desperately misses her family and barely speaks English. But things start to change when the master's son, Kit, comes home from college and starts tutoring her.
3.5 Stars
The book was charming and delightful but there were some things that just weren't perfect for me.
I felt that there was a bit too much of an influence from Rebecca and Jane Eyre. I love both books, but I don't want new books to feel like them; the new books will only suffer in the comparison. "When I close my eyes I see Tyneford House." Compare that to, "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." It wasn't just language, it was faint echoes in the scenes as well. It's hard to explain but it's there.
I also saw exactly where the book was going from very early on. I had moments where I thought I might be wrong but I wasn't. I wish it had been more of a surprise.
Otherwise, I did like this story of a house in World War II. I enjoyed seeing Elise go from an immature nineteen-year-old to a formidable woman. Her growth felt very natural. As she grew into her potential, I liked her more and more. Tyneford is loosely based on a real village called Tyneham. The things that happen to Tyneford closely shadow events at Tyneham. I had never heard of this place but it's a sad story. I never knew what life was like on the coast for British people during WWII either. Watching German planes and the RAF fighting air battles, sending out fishing boats to evacuate soldiers from France--life must have felt chaotic but it seems that the British people faced it with grace.
Having discovered Downton Abbey in the past six months or so, I was delighted to read about life among the servants. Inevitably, Wrexham the butler looked and sounded like Mr. Carson and Mrs. Ellsworth was Mrs. Hughes. It just added to the draw of the book for me.
I do recommend this book. It's a bittersweet romance with some very serious undertones. Fans of Downton Abbey should enjoy it as well.
Being from an artistic family in the upper middle class, Elise finds it hard to adapt to life as a housemaid. It doesn't help that she desperately misses her family and barely speaks English. But things start to change when the master's son, Kit, comes home from college and starts tutoring her.
3.5 Stars
The book was charming and delightful but there were some things that just weren't perfect for me.
I felt that there was a bit too much of an influence from Rebecca and Jane Eyre. I love both books, but I don't want new books to feel like them; the new books will only suffer in the comparison. "When I close my eyes I see Tyneford House." Compare that to, "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." It wasn't just language, it was faint echoes in the scenes as well. It's hard to explain but it's there.
I also saw exactly where the book was going from very early on. I had moments where I thought I might be wrong but I wasn't. I wish it had been more of a surprise.
Otherwise, I did like this story of a house in World War II. I enjoyed seeing Elise go from an immature nineteen-year-old to a formidable woman. Her growth felt very natural. As she grew into her potential, I liked her more and more. Tyneford is loosely based on a real village called Tyneham. The things that happen to Tyneford closely shadow events at Tyneham. I had never heard of this place but it's a sad story. I never knew what life was like on the coast for British people during WWII either. Watching German planes and the RAF fighting air battles, sending out fishing boats to evacuate soldiers from France--life must have felt chaotic but it seems that the British people faced it with grace.
Having discovered Downton Abbey in the past six months or so, I was delighted to read about life among the servants. Inevitably, Wrexham the butler looked and sounded like Mr. Carson and Mrs. Ellsworth was Mrs. Hughes. It just added to the draw of the book for me.
I do recommend this book. It's a bittersweet romance with some very serious undertones. Fans of Downton Abbey should enjoy it as well.
lauriestein's review against another edition
2.0
This book did not draw me in, at all. In fact, I was so little engaged that I did something that I almost never do, to wit, I skimmed the last couple hundred pages just to see how it turned out. Without certain redeeming qualities in the plot (The Hunger Games, e.g.), I have little patience for first-person female narrators with only the flaws that one would cop to in a job interview.
The comparisons to Downton Abbey are shallow at best. None of the supporting characters are given any depth, as Julian Fellowes does well; they never become more than caricatures. Really none of the principals, either, save Mr. Rivers, had enough depth for me to care two straws about them, which is something I regret to say about a World War II novel that should really be very touching.
I would read (and not skim) this book were it written from the perspective of Mr. Rivers, though, if only because he must (must!) have a more nuanced worldview than Elise. She seriously bugged.
The comparisons to Downton Abbey are shallow at best. None of the supporting characters are given any depth, as Julian Fellowes does well; they never become more than caricatures. Really none of the principals, either, save Mr. Rivers, had enough depth for me to care two straws about them, which is something I regret to say about a World War II novel that should really be very touching.
I would read (and not skim) this book were it written from the perspective of Mr. Rivers, though, if only because he must (must!) have a more nuanced worldview than Elise. She seriously bugged.
cris451's review against another edition
3.0
I appreciated the history shared in this story. The ending was a bit abrupt. For people who like this genera, they will most likely find this book appealing.
kyledog's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
marylong's review against another edition
2.0
there are so many things wrong with this books that i don’t even know where to begin. first of all, the first 80 pages are SO slow. like, i wanted to just give up after taking two hours to read that far. but, alas, i pushed through and it was worth it… for about 120 more pages. then it was downhill from there. it went from being too slow to feeling way too rushed, like the author didn’t know how to best get to the ending she wanted, so she just kind of threw it all together at once. i mean, let’s be honest, everything good about this book came from kit and elise so WHY did he have to die??? and, much more importantly, WHY DID SHE HAVE TO END UP WITH HIS FATHER????? i simply wanted to throw the book across the room when i read the line “daniel is the second man i have ever kissed” LIKE yeah girl and the first was HIS SON. why it feels so viscerally wrong to be idk but it def ruined the book for me. so yeah, there goes 24 hours i will never get back!
tangerine7199's review against another edition
3.0