Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
Enjoying so far, not a happy book, at least not so far and it doesn't look likely to become so. But I am enjoying it, and continuing my streak of reading popular books while they are still popular instead of waiting 5 years.
I'm actually not sure what I can even write about this book without it being a massive spoiler. At first it seemed like a pretty typical post WWI character study, but then it took a turn for the unexpectedly sexy (in a good way!) and then it just went completely off the rails. While I found all the hand-wringing a little tedious at one point, the end made up for everything and really, it wasn't unreasonable worry over nothing, but perfectly excusable temporary insanity. I feel like I'm not making any sense so I will just say that I liked the book. I think I would have gone 3 stars but the last page nudged it up to 4 for me.
library, audio
I'm actually not sure what I can even write about this book without it being a massive spoiler. At first it seemed like a pretty typical post WWI character study, but then it took a turn for the unexpectedly sexy (in a good way!) and then it just went completely off the rails. While I found all the hand-wringing a little tedious at one point, the end made up for everything and really, it wasn't unreasonable worry over nothing, but perfectly excusable temporary insanity. I feel like I'm not making any sense so I will just say that I liked the book. I think I would have gone 3 stars but the last page nudged it up to 4 for me.
library, audio
I think I'm in the minority on this one. I was intrigued for the first half, then the second seemed to drag on and became repetitive and boring. Meh.
Love the idea behind the story. for the size of the book, I thought the characters lacked depth. Sex scenes were two graphic but without feeling in them.
Because of Sarah Waters' excellent reputation, I went to this book with anticipation but was so disappointed. The plot has been summed up often enough in other reviews not to repeat, but there are some good ideas and the time in history gives fertile ground. But that is largely wasted because the author seems so enamoured by pointing out the issues of the day, the pace is mired by so much repetition of thought, of action and of consequence. It's like a bad episode of Downton Abbey when the only note that is hit is about how the times are changing and isn't that good but hard for women, the upper class, lower-class etc... The author seems not to trust that her readers will get the points she's making.
There are countless scenes and passages that are just variations on what happened in previous chapters or passages. The characters are complicated (oh so busy with their worries) without being complex (they are fairly flat), and the protagonist is given space to have seemingly endless space to cultivate her worrisome (and yes, repetitive) thoughts on her situation. When the characters do interact, the dialogue is stilted and there is a shocking overuse of the exclamation mark, which helps steer this book firmly into melodrama territory, if melodrama is defined as dramatic emotion that is simply not earned.
Far from a page turner, I found this book extremely predictable, right up until the uncommitted ending.
There are countless scenes and passages that are just variations on what happened in previous chapters or passages. The characters are complicated (oh so busy with their worries) without being complex (they are fairly flat), and the protagonist is given space to have seemingly endless space to cultivate her worrisome (and yes, repetitive) thoughts on her situation. When the characters do interact, the dialogue is stilted and there is a shocking overuse of the exclamation mark, which helps steer this book firmly into melodrama territory, if melodrama is defined as dramatic emotion that is simply not earned.
Far from a page turner, I found this book extremely predictable, right up until the uncommitted ending.
This book was ok mostly. The high tension portion after the crisis seemed to last far too long and could have been resolved in fewer pages and been more interesting for this reader. As it was, I was too irritated by the elaborate descriptions of the scenes and the long, drawn out crisis/drama that I found it difficult to stay connected to the story -- it seemed that Ms Waters use 55 words where 10 might have been more appropriate. The characters were moderately interesting in the first half and then became tired clichès by the end. I did like the ending and was surprised by it. I don't think I'd recommend this book but I might be willing to try another by this author before abandoning her.
My first Sarah Waters and WOW. I was so hooked with this story. I definitely feel that the first half was stronger, but I'm still sticking with a 5 star rating as her characters and settings are so perfectly portrayed. I could picture everything so vividly, and felt such a connection to every character. I know this is one of her least liked books, so I cannot wait to get to her others if I loved this one so much!
This book moved like a stoned snail through molasses. Could be a great read if not for the torturous repetition.
I want to start by saying I have loved all of Sarah Waters’s previous novels and consider myself a big fan. She is one of the few contemporary novelists whose new novels I actively anticipate, and I was fortunate enough to get to see her in person when this book was released in Boston.
That said, I did not love The Paying Guests. Is it I who have changed, or is it Sarah Waters? I honestly do not know. Is this novel just engaging in a genre I don’t care for and that’s the problem? Perhaps.
This novel seemed slight to me, unlike her other novels, which are so rich in detail, character, and plot. I was interested in both Frances and Lilian as characters, but in some ways I feel I never got to know them fully. For Frances, it is as if the “real” story of her life has already passed by the time we meet her character. Every time we hear about Frances throwing a shoe at a police officer or having escapades with Chris, I think, why couldn’t we have had this story instead? I feel like a novel about Frances before and during the war would have been so much more interesting. I realize the problems with this; after all, this novel is explicitly about what happens when that part of yourself you thought was dead is reawakened. But for one reason or another, the love story was never terribly convincing to me, and the setting seemed somehow staged for the purpose of the love story rather than something that made it inevitable.
Another problem for me was the use of close third person POV. At first I enjoyed it, and in some ways it is necessary, since as readers we should probably be unsure about Lilian’s emotions and motives. But ultimately the problem was that it often seemed to make Frances into a spectator in her own life. There were so many passages where Frances is just observing and describing what other people do rather than doing anything herself. This is an annoyance of mine about many novels; if the character is just going to observe most of what happens in the story, why have everything filtered through her POV?
Still, with all this, I did like certain aspects of the novel: the wonderful opening, the historical detail (of course), the importance of the house and the way Frances and her mother are annoyed by having lodgers upstairs (as a quiet person who lives in a first-floor apartment, I can relate to the annoyance of hearing footsteps upstairs!), the slow build, the introduction of a whole new storyline late in the novel that made things a little more interesting. But something about the novel overall felt very forced, and the ending really seemed like a cop-out. I still love Sarah Waters despite everything.
That said, I did not love The Paying Guests. Is it I who have changed, or is it Sarah Waters? I honestly do not know. Is this novel just engaging in a genre I don’t care for and that’s the problem? Perhaps.
This novel seemed slight to me, unlike her other novels, which are so rich in detail, character, and plot. I was interested in both Frances and Lilian as characters, but in some ways I feel I never got to know them fully. For Frances, it is as if the “real” story of her life has already passed by the time we meet her character. Every time we hear about Frances throwing a shoe at a police officer or having escapades with Chris, I think, why couldn’t we have had this story instead? I feel like a novel about Frances before and during the war would have been so much more interesting. I realize the problems with this; after all, this novel is explicitly about what happens when that part of yourself you thought was dead is reawakened. But for one reason or another, the love story was never terribly convincing to me, and the setting seemed somehow staged for the purpose of the love story rather than something that made it inevitable.
Another problem for me was the use of close third person POV. At first I enjoyed it, and in some ways it is necessary, since as readers we should probably be unsure about Lilian’s emotions and motives. But ultimately the problem was that it often seemed to make Frances into a spectator in her own life. There were so many passages where Frances is just observing and describing what other people do rather than doing anything herself. This is an annoyance of mine about many novels; if the character is just going to observe most of what happens in the story, why have everything filtered through her POV?
Still, with all this, I did like certain aspects of the novel: the wonderful opening, the historical detail (of course), the importance of the house and the way Frances and her mother are annoyed by having lodgers upstairs (as a quiet person who lives in a first-floor apartment, I can relate to the annoyance of hearing footsteps upstairs!), the slow build, the introduction of a whole new storyline late in the novel that made things a little more interesting. But something about the novel overall felt very forced, and the ending really seemed like a cop-out. I still love Sarah Waters despite everything.
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No