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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
DNF - got about 250 pages in. Made myself keep picking it up to finish. Finally decided, why make myself read something I was really not enjoying.
adventurous
medium-paced
A wonderful piece of historical fiction, this book explores pieces of Jewish history with which I was previously unfamiliar.
The book twists back and forth through 500 years of time to tell the story of three people- one groundbreaking woman of plague ridden London, and the two modern day historians that uncover her story.
The book twists back and forth through 500 years of time to tell the story of three people- one groundbreaking woman of plague ridden London, and the two modern day historians that uncover her story.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book felt long and arduous for the first 300 pages. I couldn't tell if I liked it, felt no personal connection to or fondness for the characters, and was overwhelmed with the excessively flowery language and details.
But by the halfway point I was definitely hooked and started to engage and care about how it would all pan out. Ultimately a satisfying and compelling read! And great vocab words to boot.
That being said, I couldn't stand the way romance between men and women was depicted - yuck. So male gazey, cliche, overly romanticized as to be totally unbelievable. It did not touch my heart.
Anywho. Learned a lot about Jewish history in a way I had never been able to picture it before. And always love a feisty stubborn lady protagonist.
In some ways this book reminded me of The Dictionary of Lost Words (which I wanted to love on principle, but it was insanely boring.)
But by the halfway point I was definitely hooked and started to engage and care about how it would all pan out. Ultimately a satisfying and compelling read! And great vocab words to boot.
That being said, I couldn't stand the way romance between men and women was depicted - yuck. So male gazey, cliche, overly romanticized as to be totally unbelievable. It did not touch my heart.
Anywho. Learned a lot about Jewish history in a way I had never been able to picture it before. And always love a feisty stubborn lady protagonist.
In some ways this book reminded me of The Dictionary of Lost Words (which I wanted to love on principle, but it was insanely boring.)
Couldn’t get into this book so I abandoned it after reading about 10% and realizing that it was going to be a slog to get through
I think I would have liked this more if I knew more about the Jewish culture during the time period this book is set. My ignorance of the subject made it difficult to understand one of the main conflicts, that of Spinoza and the Rabbi Hacoen Mendes. The book is well written and tells an engaging story, although it moves a bit slowly. Ester is an interesting protagonist, although I didn't connect to her and frankly felt she was somewhat unlikable. I did not understand her motivations or how her background led her to make some of the choices she made. On the whole, I think this book is one that the reader would discover new details and deeper layers of meaning upon re-reading.