Reviews

Restoration by Rose Tremain

ellieohudson's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

sawyerbell's review against another edition

5.0

Meet Merivel, 17th century physician and fool, seeking love and happiness in the ‘restoration’ era of Charles II :“A year passed most profitably and pleasurably. My nature, I quickly understood, was in every particular well suited to life at Court. My fondness for gossip and laughter, my brimming appetites, my tendency to sartorial chaos and my trick of farting at will made me one of the most popular men at Whitehall.”
This is the story of a foolish yet endearing man whose vast enthusiasm for life and thirst for love become his undoing and then, after many trials, his salvation. I adored this book and was tempted to start re-reading it as soon as I'd read the last paragraph. It's story that makes you laugh at the same time as it makes you reflect on on its deeper questions on the meaning of life, love and happiness.

dixiemac's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

msjoanna's review against another edition

4.0

This was historical comedic fiction. The main character was surprisingly interesting and developed over the course of the book in a believable and lovable way from a shallow court onlooker to a more thoughtful adult. The historical setting was believable and detailed and made the book thoroughly enjoyable. Reading about the medical beliefs of the time was particularly interesting and I think the author did a fair job keeping with the beliefs appropriate for the setting (e.g., whether or not spontaneous generation was a valid theory). The reader for the audiobook tried a little too hard to create voices, which sometimes actually made the characters hard to understand or annoying to listen to rather than merely differentiated. Still, I'm glad to have read this one. It's my final audiobook of 2014!

ironsandwine's review against another edition

emotional hopeful slow-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

3.5

hankmank's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective

5.0

notgracious's review against another edition

reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

suvata's review against another edition

5.0

Restoration is set in 17th Century, London. This coming-of-age story is told by Robert Merivel in first person. Merivel is a partly educated physician/surgeon. He does not have his full education because he left school after the death of his father, who was the official glove maker of the King. Now that his father is dead, King Charles II appoints Robert a role in the palace as the main physician of the palace dogs. He falls out of favor with the king and things go downhill from there. I am a new fan of Rose Tremain and this book did not disappoint.

stuffandwhatnot's review against another edition

4.0

Absolutely delightful.

elittle's review against another edition

challenging tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0