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ablotial's review against another edition
4.0
This book started off very slowly, but got to be quite interesting once I got into it. It takes place in London, during the time when Claude Monet is there painting his bridge scenes. Actually, that was my biggest complaint about the book - the Monets (Claude and his son Michel feature in the story) are not really necessary. There are two sort of parallel plots in the novel; in one of them, the Monets are not important at all. In the other, they features only insomuch as a girl they associate with is important to the story, and he wouldn't have met them without her. But they could have been -anyone- really. Though the impressionist art does give the main character a new view of the city...
Also, the book switches point of view frequently by chapter, from Claude Monet (3rd person) to the main character, Oliver (also 3rd person), and then to someone who is unnamed until late in the plot (1st person), which turned me off at first... although I understand why Jakeman chose to do this, so as not to give anything away.
The ending with the detective and his wife made me very sad and somewhat happy simultaneously, which was a strange feeling. It makes me worry for their future, especially knowing the doctor's mental problems may be hereditary.
overall, I enjoyed the book despite the slow start. I read it in three settings - two short ones because I was having difficulty getting excited about the book, and in the third setting I finished the book over the course of about 5 hours. If you like mysteries and historical fiction, I recommend you give it a try.
Also, the book switches point of view frequently by chapter, from Claude Monet (3rd person) to the main character, Oliver (also 3rd person), and then to someone who is unnamed until late in the plot (1st person), which turned me off at first... although I understand why Jakeman chose to do this, so as not to give anything away.
The ending with the detective and his wife made me very sad and somewhat happy simultaneously, which was a strange feeling. It makes me worry for their future, especially knowing the doctor's mental problems may be hereditary.
overall, I enjoyed the book despite the slow start. I read it in three settings - two short ones because I was having difficulty getting excited about the book, and in the third setting I finished the book over the course of about 5 hours. If you like mysteries and historical fiction, I recommend you give it a try.
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