Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Essex Serpent

Things I enjoyed about this book: the lush prose, the moody atmosphere, the historical scientific explorations, the mystery of the serpent, the potential of some of these unique characters.

Things that got in the way for me: The book relied heavily on character development, but most of the characters still felt under-developed and one-dimensional. They were so one-dimensional that they couldn’t seem to predict the rather obvious behaviors of their fellow characters. The ending of the book was a less revelatory experience as the reader than it was for the characters themselves.

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nicoleisalwaysreading's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I read this one in obsessive fits - almost breathlessly in two days, through the night and past dawn. My favorite part was reading it as the night shifted into morning and a thunder storm shook my apartment and rain hit the paved walkway just outside my window (isn’t that just the best thing you’ve ever heard? the drama!)

This is the best book I’ve read in a very long time. There are so many layers, things seething under the surface, no obvious metaphors, only complexity. It feels masterful and it’s unsettling and absolutely beautiful and when I finished I actually gasped and that turned into a cough (again, the DRAMA)

I already can’t wait to re-read this. Thank you Goodreads for a copy of this one; I was truly overjoyed when I saw I had won a giveaway for a book I had been wanting to read for a long time.

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innerweststreetlibrarian's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

This feels less like a novel and more like an observation of the intersecting lives of the characters over a period of time. The presence and fear of the serpent is pervasive, it changes people’s behaviour and impacts the way they live their lives. The writing is excellent, the narrative interesting enough to be unpredictable and it held my attention, but not engrossing enough to read it fast. I could have happily read a chapter a month and kept pace with the passage of time.

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