Reviews

The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams

bookwormmelissa's review against another edition

3.0

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication. I have not read The Dictionary of Lost Words yet, and I discovered while reading this that the novels are connected. This is a WW1 era story of the women who continued to run the Oxford University Press during the war, and specifically about twin sisters Maude and Peggy, who live on a narrowboat nearby. Peggy dreams to attending the local college, but she is tasked with caring for Maude, who has some cognitive disabilities. The writing is beautiful, and the book focuses more on the stories of Peggy, Maude, and their peers instead of a moving plot. I thought the story was compelling, especially around themes of whose stories get told and who gets to access those stories. However, I wished the book was tightened up a bit more - I was ready to be done! I do have her previous book on my stack for August, so I look forward to revisiting the people in this community. 3.5 stars.

leeyahsids's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

bookishreadsandme's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

3.0

irishbelle10's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad

4.0

hellywelly64's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

moonychu's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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? No

5.0

ellemcclintock's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

raeoflight17's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

jan55's review against another edition

hopeful medium-paced

3.75

lyndseylibros's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.75

This was a slog. Kind of bummed because I liked the Dictionary of Lost Words so much. This was so slow paced and the characters were one dimensional. 

Maude is slow, mostly non-verbal, and cannot be left alone, but

she hooks up with Jack when he gets back from the war and they’re dating?

This book was about 100 pages too long. It was 424 pages and I felt a lot of it was filler, almost like the author was paid per word.