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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Flames explores the lives of women that surround a notorious Viennese artist during world war 1. Each perspective shows the love and loss these women experience as they seek selfless love from a selfish man. Each character is flawed in their own way, making them profoundly (and tragically) human.
A beautiful book with interesting themes, but not one I will return to. The writing was compelling and the structure was very unique. The subject matter just wasn't to my taste.
A beautiful book with interesting themes, but not one I will return to. The writing was compelling and the structure was very unique. The subject matter just wasn't to my taste.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
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
emotional
inspiring
relaxing
fast-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
The women in the novel were complex characters that were all unique and fascinating in their own way. Their stories made you think about the lives of models that were depicted in the art that was considered controversial at the time, rather than only that of the artist. The encompassing story with Eva and Adele was a bit cliché.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i really did not expect to be put in such a chokehold by this book! the most perfect amount of suspense, illusion and mystery - I absolutely devoured this.
Vienna in the early 20th Century, a city of contrasts, bohemian and yet conservative and at the centre of art. Into this comes Egon Schiele, a talented but poor son of a stationmaster, determined to be a worthy successor to his hero, Gustav Klimt. Then there are the women, his sister Gertrude, his wife Edith, his model Vally and his sister-in-law Adele, each has a tale to tell and the story of each is the story of Schiele.
I loved this book in the end but it took me a while to get there! I've never been a great fan of Schiele's work but can admire it, unlike Klimt who is far more accessible. The setting is really intriguing, Vienna before the First World War was the epicentre of culture and Schiele's radical art was definitely sonething different. However what makes this book work is Haydock's choice to tell the story of the artist through the four women, this adds another dimension and focuses on the idea that women were either hausfraus or whores. the least successful sections were those set in 1968, I can see that they were created to provide a structure for the book but they were not as good as the rest.
I loved this book in the end but it took me a while to get there! I've never been a great fan of Schiele's work but can admire it, unlike Klimt who is far more accessible. The setting is really intriguing, Vienna before the First World War was the epicentre of culture and Schiele's radical art was definitely sonething different. However what makes this book work is Haydock's choice to tell the story of the artist through the four women, this adds another dimension and focuses on the idea that women were either hausfraus or whores. the least successful sections were those set in 1968, I can see that they were created to provide a structure for the book but they were not as good as the rest.