Scan barcode
charish's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.5
hsterz's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
xtremeteenbible's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Slower and less whimsical than the rest of Eva Ibbotson's work, but very enjoyable once I sorted out the usual cast of fascinating characters in my head. Madensky Square takes a more complicated look at our everyday human morality, with a protagonist who (sometimes) actively turns away from what she feels is Good, as opposed to other Ibbotson heroines who are Good by virtue of always doing the right thing because it is in their nature. It is, as usual, a rich tapestry of threads that are all pulled together at the perfect time to complete the picture, but coming from a slightly more mature and cynical place, to interesting effect.
cgreenstein's review
4.0
Not a fan of the whole mistress thing (Ibbotson's always been pretty liberal about how she treats sex, though, so I wasn't surprised that she never addressed the problems attendant with breaking marriage vows), but other than that this was a beautiful story. Warm, tightly woven without being obvious about the foreshadowed connections, kind and varied characters, beautiful friendships. If she could only have cut out the mistress element (which she couldn't, it's central to the plot, unfortunately), I would absolutely have given this five stars.
awall14's review against another edition
4.0
This book started off slow -- I found it hard to get invested in the story, and I was worried that this would be a hard book to get through. And then suddenly, about a third of the way through it took a remarkable turn. Suddenly, I couldn't put it down. I was 100% invested in the drama of Madensky Square. This book is labelled as romance, but this is entirely misleading. Although romance does play a role, this book is more about various relationships and how they evolve, how people heal after tragedy, and how we can all create beautiful places for ourselves among those who love us best - our friends.
In another way this novel reminded me a bit of Jane Austen's books: people falling in love with the wrong people, matchmaking, complicated relationships almost spoiled by poor communication, and in the end some very convenient solutions to fix all the issues of our characters. It was a fun read that had a wonderful air of nostalgia about it.
There were a few things I didn't love about this book: The fact that no one seems to be happily married, and the emphasis throughout the book that you have to be beautiful to be happy. It sometimes made for some uncomfortable reading, and I think contributed to the bad start I had with this novel.
In another way this novel reminded me a bit of Jane Austen's books: people falling in love with the wrong people, matchmaking, complicated relationships almost spoiled by poor communication, and in the end some very convenient solutions to fix all the issues of our characters. It was a fun read that had a wonderful air of nostalgia about it.
There were a few things I didn't love about this book: The fact that no one seems to be happily married, and the emphasis throughout the book that you have to be beautiful to be happy. It sometimes made for some uncomfortable reading, and I think contributed to the bad start I had with this novel.
paragraph's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
drjmt's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
june1832's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
litdrivengirl's review against another edition
4.0
Eva Ibbotson's love for Vienna is undeniable in most of her works. Madensky Square is no acception. Lovely descriptions of this far off place, make me long to visit. The authors ability to paint a picture of the clothing was beautiful. My only dislike of the book was the presence of mistresses in the story, otherwise wonderful as always!
sadie_slater's review against another edition
1.0
My first DNF of 2018 was Eva Ibbotson's Madensky Square, which I think I bought years ago when I was going to Vienna on holiday but never got round to reading. I was in the mood for something fluffy and comforting after the grimness of The Power, and thought I'd give it a go as I'm fairly sure someone recommended Ibbotson when I was asking for comfort read recommendations a while ago.
Unfortunately, while I loved the pre-World-War-1 Viennese setting and liked the variety of characters populating the eponymous square, there were too many things I didn't like. The central character, Susanna, is utterly contemptuous of plain women and I found her sympathy for the poor men they have obviously trapped into marriage very hard to take, and almost gave up after reading a scene where she persuades a vegetarian to eat a meaty, offal-heavy Linzer speciality. The final straw, as so often with romances or books close to the romance genre*, was Susanna's lover's high-handed behaviour - demanding she undress for him, "allowing" her to sit up and drink a glass of wine after an afternoon in bed together, and finally choosing a piece of fruit for her to eat instead of letting her choose it herself - and her total acceptance, even enjoyment of this behaviour rather than slapping him and telling him to stop being such a patronising arse. So I stopped reading about 40% of the way through.
*and also such universally-acknowledged classics as Jane Eyre, though I'm not convinced that Charlotte Brontë actually intended readers to think Rochester was really all that and a bag of chips, except possibly by comparison to St John Rivers who does make pretty much anyone else seem like a good prospect.
Unfortunately, while I loved the pre-World-War-1 Viennese setting and liked the variety of characters populating the eponymous square, there were too many things I didn't like. The central character, Susanna, is utterly contemptuous of plain women and I found her sympathy for the poor men they have obviously trapped into marriage very hard to take, and almost gave up after reading a scene where she persuades a vegetarian to eat a meaty, offal-heavy Linzer speciality. The final straw, as so often with romances or books close to the romance genre*, was Susanna's lover's high-handed behaviour - demanding she undress for him, "allowing" her to sit up and drink a glass of wine after an afternoon in bed together, and finally choosing a piece of fruit for her to eat instead of letting her choose it herself - and her total acceptance, even enjoyment of this behaviour rather than slapping him and telling him to stop being such a patronising arse. So I stopped reading about 40% of the way through.
*and also such universally-acknowledged classics as Jane Eyre, though I'm not convinced that Charlotte Brontë actually intended readers to think Rochester was really all that and a bag of chips, except possibly by comparison to St John Rivers who does make pretty much anyone else seem like a good prospect.