Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
I loved the writing style in this book. The third person narrative for the time lapse part and first person for Birdie helped keep track. However, the title is very misleading. I thought there would be more of the clockmaker/clock situation. There was not. I expected more from the stories ending.
All of Kate Morton's previous books have been home runs so I was especially disappointed in this book. It was like a 1000 piece puzzle that took way to long to come together and the end result was lackluster.
There were SO MANY characters in this book that I found myself having to re-read entire chapters to discern who she was talking about. And some of the characters (cough, Elodie, cough) were so boring and added almost nothing to the book.
There were SO MANY time changes (even within chapters she'd jump decades and from one point of view to another) that, again, I'd find myself re-reading and trying to piece things together.
And the ending. The ending fell so flat.
Spoilers now:
There were SO MANY characters in this book that I found myself having to re-read entire chapters to discern who she was talking about. And some of the characters (cough, Elodie, cough) were so boring and added almost nothing to the book.
There were SO MANY time changes (even within chapters she'd jump decades and from one point of view to another) that, again, I'd find myself re-reading and trying to piece things together.
And the ending. The ending fell so flat.
Spoilers now:
Spoiler
Where did the bump on Lucy's head come from? And fine, let's say she was unsure of what she remembered about Lily and the necklace, but WHY did Lucy not tell Edward what she *thought* she remembered? She adored her brother so purposefully inflicting that pain on him seemed so out of character. How could she leave Lily in the stairs for 20 years??? And seriously, what was the point of Elodie and her superfluous wedding in this book? Just because she was the niece of the person that ended up having the Radcliffe Blue?
“The Clockmaker’s Daughter” is a beautifully told story that engrosses the reader in the myriad of characters and plots. Rich, complex, and wholly satisfying.
Beautifully written. Deeply unsatisfying ending.
This book reminded me a bit of one of Morton's other books in terms of setting and feel, though I can't quite place which. Perhaps [b:The Forgotten Garden|3407877|The Forgotten Garden|Kate Morton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1455283767s/3407877.jpg|3448086]? Something about a tower sticks out in my mind... Anyway, this one had a unique element in that one of the historical characters was somewhat haunting the modern characters, which reminded me a bit of [a:Susanna Kearsley|486812|Susanna Kearsley|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1519247269p2/486812.jpg]'s work, actually. Really, the whole feel of the novel was pretty powerful, sort of goosebump-inducing. I really loved the fact that her main (modern) character was an archivist who finds a distant connection to the historical character through her work - Morton could have done it the easy way by making Edward Radcliffe or the titular woman the subject of Elodie's archival work, but instead gave it a much more realistic feel. Definitely librarian-approved plotting in this instance and throughout the novel! I am continually impressed by Morton's ability to make her work feel both modern and Victorian Gothic all at once in both plot lines with the perfect balance. She is a Writer with a capital W for sure, and I continue to be in awe of her work!
The fine print: received ARC from NetGalley. Also, reviewed 12/12/18, hence lack of detail.
The fine print: received ARC from NetGalley. Also, reviewed 12/12/18, hence lack of detail.
Kate Morton is one of my favorite authors. When a new book comes out, I run out and buy it on the first day of publication. I actually got a copy of The Clockmaker’s daughter as a gift so I had two. TWO copies of a Kate Morton novel! I couldn’t wait. I made a cup of tea, grabbed a blanket, and snuggled in to reading. I met Elodie. I liked her. She’s smart, shy, quirky, and engaged to a wet blanket. Ok, I’m in. Suddenly, Elodie disappears from the pages. Gone. Like she never existed Morton has deleted her from the story (she shows back up 400 pages later but OMG who cares?). What follows is a disjointed, plotless mess of gorgeous sentences that say nothing. It took me months to finish and I was mad every time I sat down to read. While the characters who show up are all interesting and readable, they’re like bumper cars running into each other (or not) over hundreds of pages signifying nothing. What a slog. Not only is this my least favorite Morton novel, it’s earned a spot on my “Most Hated Reads” list. I honestly laughed when I finally finished because it was such a bad experience. Do not waste your time. Any one of her other books is worth reading. This one will be great in the burn barrel when the zombie apocalypse starts 🙄
Another fantastic read, thank you librarians at South County for the rec! I loved each character, and I liked how each person was tied in with the house. I really enjoyed spending time on each character and the defining experience they had. I think the plot layout was interesting, and it did what every mystery book wish it could do. Obvious things were realized over a hundred pages after they were introduced. I was looking for a book like this a few months ago where the modern character(s) discover the story of past characters. My only qualm is they tried too hard to make sure we knew Alastair and Elodie's romance is pitiful (don't worry, this isn't a big plot device or something, it's established on like page 7).
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Book 27 of the PopSugar Reading Challenge: A Book You Meant to Read in 2018
This is no doubt Kate Morton’s most ambitious novel yet and for the most part I think it worked. It felt very slow to start. In fact, I started reading this book earlier this year and had to stop about 1/3 of the way through because I just wasn’t connecting with it. I’m glad I gave it another try. It took me about a week to read which is a bit longer than usual for me but it was worth it to really savor this novel. Of course it centers around a house and there is a lot of going back and forth in time which can be confusing but the various narratives are well worth it. Though this was not necessarily my favorite of Morton’s books plot-wise, the prose was just phenomenal. I say this in every single review I write for Kate Morton’s books, but her writing is simply enchanting. This is a great one for a rainy day by the fire with a cup of coffee.
This is no doubt Kate Morton’s most ambitious novel yet and for the most part I think it worked. It felt very slow to start. In fact, I started reading this book earlier this year and had to stop about 1/3 of the way through because I just wasn’t connecting with it. I’m glad I gave it another try. It took me about a week to read which is a bit longer than usual for me but it was worth it to really savor this novel. Of course it centers around a house and there is a lot of going back and forth in time which can be confusing but the various narratives are well worth it. Though this was not necessarily my favorite of Morton’s books plot-wise, the prose was just phenomenal. I say this in every single review I write for Kate Morton’s books, but her writing is simply enchanting. This is a great one for a rainy day by the fire with a cup of coffee.
Kate Morton is one of my favorite authors, and I was SO excited she had a new book.
The writing is still really good.. She has such an attention to detail, and I usually love the style of jumping back and forth through different time periods.
This book had too many jumps and too many characters for me. I felt like I could not invest in any of them. It got confusing, and I wanted so much to cut out a few story lines and just stick to one or two.
And... I feel like there was no resolution to any of the story lines. I wanted more.
I still love her writing, and would read anything she puts out.
The writing is still really good.. She has such an attention to detail, and I usually love the style of jumping back and forth through different time periods.
This book had too many jumps and too many characters for me. I felt like I could not invest in any of them. It got confusing, and I wanted so much to cut out a few story lines and just stick to one or two.
And... I feel like there was no resolution to any of the story lines. I wanted more.
I still love her writing, and would read anything she puts out.