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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
Contrary to popular opinion, I much preferred this to Fingersmith. Waters conjures a post-war London with such a distinct atmosphere, vivid and rich in detail. The character work is nuanced and measured, taking its time to develop which I really appreciated. Mrs.Wray and her daughter Frances, take in lodgers, the Barbers, a modern, garrulous young couple into their home as a source of income. Frances and Lilian Barber begin a tentative friendship which soon blossoms into a stronger attraction for one another. Without revealing anything, an accidental crime throws a wrench in their illicit relationship threatening to test its very limits. It's a slow-burn, literary, historical novel with the pulse of a noir crime, populated with morally ambiguous characters, and mislaid intentions which develop into an intriguing courtroom drama in the last third. The criticism I've heard for this is that it is quite slow to develop often meandering into smaller episodes. However, I really didn't mind that at all. I love a well-paced, slower novel that takes its time to develop. Contrary to Fingersmith which I enjoyed but I felt was much more action-packed, with a lot of twists and turns, some of which I found unrealistic, The Paying Guests is a much more measured, introspective novel. You spend a lot of time in the main character's heads, their inner conflicts, and turmoil which I found added so much richness and depth to the story. For a 600 page book, I found it very compelling and absorbing to get through. I'm eager to pick up more by Sarah Waters having had a really good experience reading this one.
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Meh. Shallowly drawn characters, long boring passages with little payoff. I was hoping for something that gave more a feeling of what it was like to be gay during that time and place.
I love Sarah Waters and this book was no exception. I will say that the last quarter of the book dragged.
Maybe more like 3 1/2 tbh...I don't know how I feel about this book. For one thing, it was not what I was expecting. Based on the desorption and the VERY misleading "praise for" quotes on the back (they were for another book) I was expecting more of a historical ghost story. But instead it was a...
20's Lesbian Murder Drama.
Which is also great! In theory. However this book took sooooo long to get anywhere, and I felt like the plot ground to a halt a few separate times. The story could have taken far fewer pages to be told, and just as compellingly if not more so. That said, it was very readable, and I enjoyed the setting and the main character. I would recommend to people who like Downton Abbey and/or "The Price of Salt," as I feel like this has a combination of the soapy intrigue and LGBT historical exploration of each, respectively.
20's Lesbian Murder Drama.
Which is also great! In theory. However this book took sooooo long to get anywhere, and I felt like the plot ground to a halt a few separate times. The story could have taken far fewer pages to be told, and just as compellingly if not more so. That said, it was very readable, and I enjoyed the setting and the main character. I would recommend to people who like Downton Abbey and/or "The Price of Salt," as I feel like this has a combination of the soapy intrigue and LGBT historical exploration of each, respectively.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Murder
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
was hoping for a happier ending so i took one star
This was ok, it dragged on a bit, but I liked the attention to historical detail. I feel like a lot of things ended unresolved.