3.63 AVERAGE

tanyarobinson's review

3.0

This was a fantastic choice for the last "Spain-prep" book to read before I leave for my trip. It's so atmospheric, providing great scenes in Madrid, Granada, and the rural areas of the Sierra Nevadas. The Snow Gypsy focuses on the Spanish Civil War and the country's shared silence in its aftermath, emphasizing how difficult it was to move on in small villages when everyone knew what shameful things their neighbors and they themselves had done. It also paints a "duende"-filled picture of flamenco dancing and gypsy culture.

Plotwise, this book was just average. Were I not about to visit Spain, I wouldn't have thought it was particularly special. Still, 3.5 stars for Ashford's latest novel.
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No

Had a lot of promise at the beginning but tended to meander throughout the rest that I just lost interest. The author seemed to try to fit too many storylines and twists into one book that I eventually lost interest and kept waiting for it to end.

This book was from the author of The Woman on the Orient Express. It was something that I liked, after reading it once and never quite having forgotten it acutely. But this book was a major departure and a somewhat moderate disappointment.

The author presents a mashed up, ready for consumption worldview of adventure in the form of gypsy culture. This, the author reinforces by showing us the superior ways in which said culture overshadows white bread culture.

Harmless and unclear though this opinion might be, it did nearly nothing to contribute to the main story, which had two threads coming together. Firstly we have subject A, a hybrid of sorts, a misfit, who wants to know with scientific certainty what happened to her brother. Thread B is one who is haunted by the loss of her family.

Dipping tentative toes in cynical waters, one might think that authors often want to show us the aftermaths of the War and the Holocaust. Every Tina, Deanna, and Harry (!) wants us to understand something so crucial and misunderstood.

What has been done very well before, before the market has been saturated with such tales, will not work with authors who in fact have nothing much to tell. This is a callous but not unfair line of thought. Faustus put it much more succinctly than I could. Something about signifying nothing. It fits.
emotional informative sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I enjoyed this story and learning about a facet of history I hadn’t known about. 

And to learn it was loosely based on a real woman was very cool. 
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I was able to read this book free thanks to Amazon Prime First Reads. There are so many interesting details and characters in this this book that certainly pulled me in because I read the book in one evening. I debated giving this book 3 or 4 stars. There story was ripe with potential but it got a little unbelievable at times. I do love that the main character is inspired by a real woman but some of the plot lines were a bit sappy, overly dramatic or resolved to simply/suddenly.

Eh.

Great Read

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. While it is not my typical type of book, I enjoyed the historical fiction. The book kept me wanting to read more as I went on, continually interested in what happens next. I also found myself learning a lot along the way. It was helpful that the book included the Spanish phrases in translational well, as not all books do. Would certainly recommend.

Ok, so I was really hesitant about reading this book. It gets mediocre reviews and just coming off some great book highs, I was afraid it would cause a slump. However, this was my book clubs January choice, so I buckled down and started it. Well, needless to say, I started it about 4:00 yesterday afternoon and finished it 15 mins ago. Did I love it? No. But I didn’t hate it either.

I didn’t feel a strong connection with any character other than Rose, the main character. She got on my nerves because I hated most of the choices she made. But I’m glad in the end, that her story was able to come to a close and she felt some peace about everything that happened to her and in her life. This was a quick, good little read.