Reviews

Das Karmesinrote Blütenblatt by Claus Varrelmann, Michel Faber

novellenovels's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ridanwise's review against another edition

3.0

2.5⭐️
Beautiful and superior writing that carries a story 250-300 pages too fat. A test of patience to read, for so long, about characters to deeply unlikable.

moominmama_11's review against another edition

3.0

First chapter or so did a rollicking job of setting the scene and drawing one in, but after that it became an overlong self indulgent book with scant plot

anklelee's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

hieronymusbotched's review against another edition

4.0

4.hay-penny

Given it's nearly 900 pages I blitzed this one in a week (a credit to Faber's silky-smooth writing). Extremely well-paced with fully formed characters, however half-baked their sense of moral decency may prove to be.

Ends like a lifetime - right in the middle of things. I loved that, as it felt 'true', but will turn the story to soot in a lot of people's mouths, I'm sure.

TL;DR

Meta-Dickens, innuendo.

agnesperdita's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

missmim's review against another edition

4.0

I'm going to round up here to 4 stars (when I really think it's more of a 3.5), because writing a novel this size and having it remain engaging until the end, beautifully written throughout, is an accomplishment I have to tip my hat to. That said, this epic tome (864 pages!) is at turns funny, heart-wrenching, disgusting, erotic, infuriating and a bit of a mess. Occasionally the plot is lost. There was a moment, 3/4s of the way through where I was like, when is this thing *ending*?!? But it was brief, and I was riveted by the turn of events at the very end, which I liked but then I'm contrarian like that. Faber takes the Victorian novel and turns it on its head, skewering its tropes while also shedding a light on daily life at that time. One of the main protagonists, Sugar, is a prostitute, and Faber does not shy away from showing the reader all that entailed in the 1870s. It's like modern-day Dickens if Dickens could write pornographically. All told, it's a very engaging novel. A bit too long, a bit of a mess, but well worth a read if you want to lose yourself in a different place and time for a few days.

louise_jayne's review against another edition

5.0

I really loved this book. It first came to my attention because of the BBC drama that aired a year or so back, and which really did an excellent job of capturing the atmosphere of the novel. So, yes, I did know what happened and how it ended but the beauty of the words and the world that Faber created was unputdownable and I stayed up very late one night just in order to finish it all. Beautifully told with excellent characters, it's now high on my list of favourite novels.

rageofachilles's review against another edition

4.0

This is in most regards a wonderful book. The prose is majestic; the characters unforgettable. I have one complaint: The novels rests at around 890 pages and still doesn't really have an ending. Faber has stated that he will never write a sequel (or any more novels at all for that matter) so I guess we must make due.

miss_blackbird's review against another edition

5.0

Just realised I was reading the perfect book for our podcast about mental health all the time...