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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hmmmm. I'm having some trouble writing this review.
I liked this book and I would recommend it. It's a perfectly pleasant historical fiction book about Andrew Carnegie and his (fictional) forbidden love interest, Clara, his mother's maid. I knew going in that the romance was fictional, that the entire book's premise about Clara influencing Carnegie's tremendous philanthropy was entirely made up. It's a lovely idea though, and it allowed the author to juxtapose Clara's immigrant experience (financially supporting her family back home) with the Carnegie's wealth and power. The book moved along at a nice pace, drama-free but held my interest and kept the pages turning.
One reason I am so drawn to historical fiction as a genre is that I learn so much about a period of history. In this case, I actually don't know a lot about Carnegie's philanthropic support of education, especially public libraries, and I would have liked to have learned more. I think my expectations were off.The fictional relationship with Clara got in the way, and Carnegie's philanthropy felt jammed in to the epilogue.
And in the end, this book was somewhat unsatisfying to me. The dialogue felt quite forced with a lot of heavy-handed foreshadowing -- for example, the Academy of Music was filled with snooty New York socialites who were not welcoming to the the Pittsburgh-based Carnegies, and there is a bit of conversation about "Someday, by golly, we'll just show them all and build an even greater music venue." And that, dear readers, became Carnegie Hall. (Okay, so that's not at all a direct quote, but it's the impression I was left with.)
Of course I appreciate that Clara the immigrant maid is intelligent, but her conversations with Andrew and brilliant business epiphanies felt rather far-fetched and long-winded. No one actually talks like that.
That seems like a somewhat unfavorable review, but I'll stick with my original three stars, because I really did enjoy this book in spite of my criticisms.
I liked this book and I would recommend it. It's a perfectly pleasant historical fiction book about Andrew Carnegie and his (fictional) forbidden love interest, Clara, his mother's maid. I knew going in that the romance was fictional, that the entire book's premise about Clara influencing Carnegie's tremendous philanthropy was entirely made up. It's a lovely idea though, and it allowed the author to juxtapose Clara's immigrant experience (financially supporting her family back home) with the Carnegie's wealth and power. The book moved along at a nice pace, drama-free but held my interest and kept the pages turning.
One reason I am so drawn to historical fiction as a genre is that I learn so much about a period of history. In this case, I actually don't know a lot about Carnegie's philanthropic support of education, especially public libraries, and I would have liked to have learned more. I think my expectations were off.The fictional relationship with Clara got in the way, and Carnegie's philanthropy felt jammed in to the epilogue.
And in the end, this book was somewhat unsatisfying to me. The dialogue felt quite forced with a lot of heavy-handed foreshadowing -- for example, the Academy of Music was filled with snooty New York socialites who were not welcoming to the the Pittsburgh-based Carnegies, and there is a bit of conversation about "Someday, by golly, we'll just show them all and build an even greater music venue." And that, dear readers, became Carnegie Hall. (Okay, so that's not at all a direct quote, but it's the impression I was left with.)
Of course I appreciate that Clara the immigrant maid is intelligent, but her conversations with Andrew and brilliant business epiphanies felt rather far-fetched and long-winded. No one actually talks like that.
That seems like a somewhat unfavorable review, but I'll stick with my original three stars, because I really did enjoy this book in spite of my criticisms.
An entertaining story, but a little slow-paced until the very end, which seemed abrupt. I would have liked this to be based more on fact, but Clara Kelley was entirely fictional.
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes