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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
This was an okay read for me. There were a lot of storylines and left some unanswered questions for me. Usually, I can figure out most of the suspense ahead of time and then, she gives the reader a big reveal at the end. I didn’t really get that from this story. I really like Kate Morton’s books, but this was my least favorite of hers that I’ve read, as it was just okay.
"... I feel myself being drawn inexorably towards the nexus of my story. It all happens so quickly from here." (p. 350)
This is a lie. Not only does nothing go quickly, it drags on for another 135 pages (plus the bonus chapter in the Costco edition - like this book needed yet another chapter).
That being said, I enjoy stories that move back and forth in time, where life is a circular rather than linear and we're all connected. I thought the many incarnations of Birchwood Manor and the people who lived there was interesting so I kept reading but I'm still not sure it was worth the irritation I felt.
Setting and atmosphere are important in a novel like this but enough already. Kate Morton feels the need to describe every street, every plant and tree on every street, every house on every street, every room in every house on every street, everything hanging on every wall in every room in every house on every street, every person in every room in every house on every street - what they're wearing, the color of their hair, where they're sitting, where they're looking, where their hands are. On page 446 she even described the cops and what they were wearing. I truly wanted to scream.
I was only able to read until the end because, after I realized that the promise of a quick nexus was a ruse, I only read the first sentence of every paragraph - enough to ascertain if the paragraph was germane to the plot or more wisteria and lilacs and wooded arbors. Might have enjoyed this a lot more if it was 200 pages shorter. I won't get fooled again!
This is a lie. Not only does nothing go quickly, it drags on for another 135 pages (plus the bonus chapter in the Costco edition - like this book needed yet another chapter).
That being said, I enjoy stories that move back and forth in time, where life is a circular rather than linear and we're all connected. I thought the many incarnations of Birchwood Manor and the people who lived there was interesting so I kept reading but I'm still not sure it was worth the irritation I felt.
Setting and atmosphere are important in a novel like this but enough already. Kate Morton feels the need to describe every street, every plant and tree on every street, every house on every street, every room in every house on every street, everything hanging on every wall in every room in every house on every street, every person in every room in every house on every street - what they're wearing, the color of their hair, where they're sitting, where they're looking, where their hands are. On page 446 she even described the cops and what they were wearing. I truly wanted to scream.
I was only able to read until the end because, after I realized that the promise of a quick nexus was a ruse, I only read the first sentence of every paragraph - enough to ascertain if the paragraph was germane to the plot or more wisteria and lilacs and wooded arbors. Might have enjoyed this a lot more if it was 200 pages shorter. I won't get fooled again!
So good. And this was a great discussion book for a bookclub.
I agree with most everything in the previous 2 and 3 star reviews of this book. I am also a big Kate Morton fan, eagerly awaited the release of this one, started it as soon as it was available, then settled in for what I hoped would be a good, long, engrossing read. But came away very disappointed for many of the same reasons that were so well said by others.
But I will add am additional view on what was wrong with this book. It felt more like a collection of short stories than a cohesive thread where the different time lines and characters are eventually sewn together. The device Morton uses, of the house as the common factor, is just too weak and tenuous. By the end, the characters are shown to have some sort of connection but this too is very weak and minor and it's hard to remember how they were connected. Morton could have done a much better job of showing the connections between characters from different eras, as she did in previous books, particularly the Secret Keeper and the Forgotten Garden.
Too many characters, too little tension, slow moving, not that interesting and I really didn't like the ghost element at all. Finally, the change from first person narration to third person just didn't work. I don't normally mind this, it can be done quite skilfully and to good effect but it didn't work for me here.
But I will add am additional view on what was wrong with this book. It felt more like a collection of short stories than a cohesive thread where the different time lines and characters are eventually sewn together. The device Morton uses, of the house as the common factor, is just too weak and tenuous. By the end, the characters are shown to have some sort of connection but this too is very weak and minor and it's hard to remember how they were connected. Morton could have done a much better job of showing the connections between characters from different eras, as she did in previous books, particularly the Secret Keeper and the Forgotten Garden.
Too many characters, too little tension, slow moving, not that interesting and I really didn't like the ghost element at all. Finally, the change from first person narration to third person just didn't work. I don't normally mind this, it can be done quite skilfully and to good effect but it didn't work for me here.
3.5 stars. I enjoy Kate Morton's writing and her characters and plot.
Such a darling book. I always enjoy Kate Morton, she writes such evocative historical mysteries! This one is one of my favorites!
She ambitiously weaves together several different characters spread through different time periods into one narrative and it works really well. If you like art, Dickensian-plots, Victorians and the English countryside, this is a good choice for you.
She ambitiously weaves together several different characters spread through different time periods into one narrative and it works really well. If you like art, Dickensian-plots, Victorians and the English countryside, this is a good choice for you.
mysterious
3.5 stars
Kate Morton comes across as a mature and well-established writer. You can tell that she's either very talented or has practiced a lot in order to reach this level of emancipation. Her books have a realistic and accurate feel and she has a passion for offering very detailed descriptions and background information. As far as "The Clockmaker's Daughter" is concerned, I was engaged for the first 300 pages, but then the storyline became too convoluted and it felt like the author opened more and more loops, delving deeper and deeper into the story, seemingly abandoning previous story lines or at least postponing them to a later time. The whole Elodie Winslow and Lauren story felt like a cover-up for "the real story" about Lily Millington and Edward Radcliffe. But I get that without Elodie we wouldn't have had Tip and without Tip lots of things wouldn't have made sense. Anyway, I think I like books that keep me more engaged throughout the entire plot and this was hardly the case with this book. I loved the charming descriptions and the emotion-filled dialogue though :)
Kate Morton comes across as a mature and well-established writer. You can tell that she's either very talented or has practiced a lot in order to reach this level of emancipation. Her books have a realistic and accurate feel and she has a passion for offering very detailed descriptions and background information. As far as "The Clockmaker's Daughter" is concerned, I was engaged for the first 300 pages, but then the storyline became too convoluted and it felt like the author opened more and more loops, delving deeper and deeper into the story, seemingly abandoning previous story lines or at least postponing them to a later time. The whole Elodie Winslow and Lauren story felt like a cover-up for "the real story" about Lily Millington and Edward Radcliffe. But I get that without Elodie we wouldn't have had Tip and without Tip lots of things wouldn't have made sense. Anyway, I think I like books that keep me more engaged throughout the entire plot and this was hardly the case with this book. I loved the charming descriptions and the emotion-filled dialogue though :)
More of 3.5 stars. There were so many story lines that it was difficult to keep everything straight and remember some details that were revealed in the beginning of the book when they became important later on. But I did really enjoy the writing style.
I solidly enjoyed this read. It was quite long but I don't feel that any parts were unnecessary. There were so many different storylines that were intricately woven together and while I loved them all, sometimes it was a bit hard to keep track of everything, especially if I put the book down for a while.