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zivan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is classic Clair North, in the vain of The Fist 15 Lives of Harry August and Touch. Taking place in our world but with one magical twist. Exploring the repercussions of that twist in depth. This time she takes on the ills of the gilded age.
Perhaps I was not in the right mood, but this time I had hard time getting into the novel and paused reading a number of times. Instead of exiting if felt tedious.
Perhaps I was not in the right mood, but this time I had hard time getting into the novel and paused reading a number of times. Instead of exiting if felt tedious.
kalkn's review
1.0
It's hard to think of something that I liked about this book. So, nothing for that category this time around.
What I didn't like
The story - the premise was interesting. A man is cursed with death following him around. But, the way the story was executed was awful. William is cursed, not because he did anything wrong, he just didn't do the right thing at the right time. The ultimate case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The entire story is just snippets of him telling the sister of being on the run. There's only so many ways you can tell the same story over and over and over and over and over. The author blows past this limit and continues to tell it over and over. The story starts bad and just gets worse with each turned page.
The length - this easily could've been a novella or short story. The book, as is, is about 400 pages too long. Like I mention above, it's the story of a man on the run. You can only read about the same thing before it gets repetitive. The chase gets old after hearing about it only a couple of times. Unfortunately, there's still 400 pages to go.
The language - there's swearing throughout the book for swearing sake. It takes the reader out of the story. It's like the author had a quota she had to fill of f-words and just throws them in the story to meet that quota. Really distracting.
Lack of punctuation - the only thing I can think of is the "." on the author's keyboard must be broken. I get why she did what she did, trying to portray the unstructured madness of hearing everyone's truth. But, there reaches a point where it's interrupting the story, making it hard to follow along and keep up. When you spend more time out of the story, trying to make heads or tales of it, you know you have a problem. It's an even bigger problem when you still have 400 pages to go.
The magic system - the magic system makes absolutely no sense and leaves the reader scratching their head trying to understand it. Everyone can curse except the American's and Western Europeans. The curse is stuck with you until the story needs it to move to other people. Not only that, but it can be transferred repeatedly. No explanation. How it happens or how it can be removed, no answer. If this is something the majority of the world can do, the magic system would have a larger influence on society, instead, most people don't know about it or care about until their character needs to. Some characters says the curse is a blessing, but no examples are giving. Those who call it a blessing are left looking like they are delusional.
What I didn't like
The story - the premise was interesting. A man is cursed with death following him around. But, the way the story was executed was awful. William is cursed, not because he did anything wrong, he just didn't do the right thing at the right time. The ultimate case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The entire story is just snippets of him telling the sister of being on the run. There's only so many ways you can tell the same story over and over and over and over and over. The author blows past this limit and continues to tell it over and over. The story starts bad and just gets worse with each turned page.
The length - this easily could've been a novella or short story. The book, as is, is about 400 pages too long. Like I mention above, it's the story of a man on the run. You can only read about the same thing before it gets repetitive. The chase gets old after hearing about it only a couple of times. Unfortunately, there's still 400 pages to go.
The language - there's swearing throughout the book for swearing sake. It takes the reader out of the story. It's like the author had a quota she had to fill of f-words and just throws them in the story to meet that quota. Really distracting.
Lack of punctuation - the only thing I can think of is the "." on the author's keyboard must be broken. I get why she did what she did, trying to portray the unstructured madness of hearing everyone's truth. But, there reaches a point where it's interrupting the story, making it hard to follow along and keep up. When you spend more time out of the story, trying to make heads or tales of it, you know you have a problem. It's an even bigger problem when you still have 400 pages to go.
The magic system - the magic system makes absolutely no sense and leaves the reader scratching their head trying to understand it. Everyone can curse except the American's and Western Europeans. The curse is stuck with you until the story needs it to move to other people. Not only that, but it can be transferred repeatedly. No explanation. How it happens or how it can be removed, no answer. If this is something the majority of the world can do, the magic system would have a larger influence on society, instead, most people don't know about it or care about until their character needs to. Some characters says the curse is a blessing, but no examples are giving. Those who call it a blessing are left looking like they are delusional.
rhodas's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
crimsoncor's review
5.0
As always, incredible stuff from North. The detailed mise-en-scene that she lays out makes the entire novel so vibrant. The story itself, with an unreliable narrator then forced to become reliable peels back in layers. I would have liked a little more resolution in the ending, but such is the way of the world.
zmull's review
4.0
William Abbey is an English doctor who witnesses a lynching of black boy while in South Africa. He is cursed by the boy's mother to have the murdered boy's shadow follow Abbey for the rest of his life. As Langa, the shadow gets closer Abbey is possessed by a power to see the "truth" of the people around him. He sees the things they love, they care about, the things they truly believe. If Langa ever reaches him, someone Abbey loves will die. The novel quickly becomes a Victorian-era international spy thriller and the potency of the colonial metaphor fades. But, it's fast-paced and full of great ideas.
historybooksandtea's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
calturner's review against another edition
5.0
The Pursuit of William Abbey is yet another fantastic and thought provoking read by Claire North. Opening in 1917, France, against the backdrop of World War 1, Dr William Abbey tells his unnerving story to Sister Ellis as the gunfire outside draws ever closer, alongside the shadow of Langa, the young boy cursed to follow William wherever he goes.
William’s story begins in 1884 in South Africa, in the tiny town of Natal. He watches, too scared to even move, as a gang of white colonists lynch Langa, a young Zulu child, to death in front of him. Langa’s mother, distraught with grief, curses William as her young son takes his last breath in her arms. As a privileged white man, William stood by and did nothing as Langa was brutally murdered. And now he must pay the price.
From that day forward the shadow of Langa has followed him wherever he goes, never stopping, not even for a minute. It can cross oceans and mountains, never tiring in its mission to haunt him for the rest of his days. And if it catches him? The person he loves most in the world will die.
William is now a truth-speaker, someone who can see into the souls of others, but not into his own. He can see deep inside their hearts, knowing exactly who they are. As the shadow of Langa draws ever nearer, William sees the truth inside of people, the feeling becoming stronger as Langa approaches, allowing him to see the deepest, darkest secrets they hold within their hearts. If Langa reaches Abbey and touches him, the person he loves most in the world will die, repeating over and over again until everyone William holds dear is dead. The shadow of Langa will haunt him forever, so William must live a lonely life, trying to outmanoeuvre the curse of a vengeful mother, doing all he can to protect those he loves.
But what is a curse to him is seen as a blessing by those in power, and now William must decide what he’s willing to sacrifice in order to survive. There are others with the same curse as William, but not everyone sees it as the curse it is, but more like something that can be used to their own advantage. William is not a brave person, but his new role as truth-speaker opens his eyes to the world around him and enables him to see beyond the outward exterior and into the hearts and souls of the people he encounters on his dark and lonely journey.
There is so much more I could say about this fascinating and complex story, but to do so would give too much away, and this is a story you need to read and discover for yourself. It’s a beautifully written and intricately crafted book that takes you on a harrowing journey of mystery and suspense, the tension always there, bubbling away beneath the surface as William’s thought provoking story unfolds before you.
I loved everything about this book. Claire North is such a talented writer, her words drawing you in and painting a vivid picture of the world William Abbey finds himself in. I had no idea what to expect when I started The Pursuit of William Abbey. All I knew was the small amount of information the blurb outlined and that it was by an author whose previous work I have loved, but it completely blew my expectations out of the water. The author is a born storyteller and I ate up every word of this devastatingly brilliant book.
I don’t give star ratings on my blog, but if I did The Pursuit of William Abbey would easily surpass the most stars I could possibly give. What a cracking read! Highly recommended.
William’s story begins in 1884 in South Africa, in the tiny town of Natal. He watches, too scared to even move, as a gang of white colonists lynch Langa, a young Zulu child, to death in front of him. Langa’s mother, distraught with grief, curses William as her young son takes his last breath in her arms. As a privileged white man, William stood by and did nothing as Langa was brutally murdered. And now he must pay the price.
From that day forward the shadow of Langa has followed him wherever he goes, never stopping, not even for a minute. It can cross oceans and mountains, never tiring in its mission to haunt him for the rest of his days. And if it catches him? The person he loves most in the world will die.
William is now a truth-speaker, someone who can see into the souls of others, but not into his own. He can see deep inside their hearts, knowing exactly who they are. As the shadow of Langa draws ever nearer, William sees the truth inside of people, the feeling becoming stronger as Langa approaches, allowing him to see the deepest, darkest secrets they hold within their hearts. If Langa reaches Abbey and touches him, the person he loves most in the world will die, repeating over and over again until everyone William holds dear is dead. The shadow of Langa will haunt him forever, so William must live a lonely life, trying to outmanoeuvre the curse of a vengeful mother, doing all he can to protect those he loves.
But what is a curse to him is seen as a blessing by those in power, and now William must decide what he’s willing to sacrifice in order to survive. There are others with the same curse as William, but not everyone sees it as the curse it is, but more like something that can be used to their own advantage. William is not a brave person, but his new role as truth-speaker opens his eyes to the world around him and enables him to see beyond the outward exterior and into the hearts and souls of the people he encounters on his dark and lonely journey.
There is so much more I could say about this fascinating and complex story, but to do so would give too much away, and this is a story you need to read and discover for yourself. It’s a beautifully written and intricately crafted book that takes you on a harrowing journey of mystery and suspense, the tension always there, bubbling away beneath the surface as William’s thought provoking story unfolds before you.
I loved everything about this book. Claire North is such a talented writer, her words drawing you in and painting a vivid picture of the world William Abbey finds himself in. I had no idea what to expect when I started The Pursuit of William Abbey. All I knew was the small amount of information the blurb outlined and that it was by an author whose previous work I have loved, but it completely blew my expectations out of the water. The author is a born storyteller and I ate up every word of this devastatingly brilliant book.
I don’t give star ratings on my blog, but if I did The Pursuit of William Abbey would easily surpass the most stars I could possibly give. What a cracking read! Highly recommended.
theaurochs's review
5.0
Claire North is on excellent form in this thoughtful, powerful and gripping novel.
She's also back to writing in full sentences again (mostly). I'm aware that her jagged, broken-train-of-thought style prose was not to everyone's favour in her last few, but it's definitely toned down here, and given that it is used more sparingly, it seems more effective when it is employed.
The book is a frame narrative- we initially find ourselves in a hospital somewhere near the front lines of the first world war. The titular Abbey appears at this hospital, and begins to tell his story to one of the nurses stationed there. And so we find ourselves thrown back to the lat 1800s, and immersed in a world of European espionage, great powers clashing against each other and grinding the general populace down between them.
That's where the heart of the book really lies, and also where it strikes most profoundly. How can we keep serving a society that we know is doing harm? That is disenfranchising and destroying anyone who is deemed as 'other'? What part can we play in it; can we change it from within; can we even change it from without- if so, how? These are all questions raised and examined throughout the narrative, with North's trademark observational skills and intriguing style. What truths do we tell ourselves in order to keep going?
Truth is another core concept here; with the main character (and others throughout) being cursed with the power of truth; being able to see the hearts of other people and find their personal truths. It is another great gimmick, like the powers found in North's other novels, and again is defined well enough to be compelling but with enough ambiguity left as to still be intriguing. The truths range from the mundane worries people carry up to national secrets, and William Abbey is employed to wrench them from the minds of foreign officials. The concept is well explored, to lots of its logical conclusions; but allows us to take a fantastic tour through turn-of-the-century Europe and beyond meeting a host of well-defined, awfully human characters.
The book also says that the ultimate value of these truths, and The Truth, are open to debate. Even when faced with absolute truths about themselves and their enemies; the great powers of time are unmoved, unchanging in their course. People only ever really want to hear things that confirm the truths they already know; and very little will change that.
North as always is passionate both in her love of and despair of humanity; the themes and ideas are incredibly timely despite the period setting, and her imagination is wonderful.
She's also back to writing in full sentences again (mostly). I'm aware that her jagged, broken-train-of-thought style prose was not to everyone's favour in her last few, but it's definitely toned down here, and given that it is used more sparingly, it seems more effective when it is employed.
The book is a frame narrative- we initially find ourselves in a hospital somewhere near the front lines of the first world war. The titular Abbey appears at this hospital, and begins to tell his story to one of the nurses stationed there. And so we find ourselves thrown back to the lat 1800s, and immersed in a world of European espionage, great powers clashing against each other and grinding the general populace down between them.
That's where the heart of the book really lies, and also where it strikes most profoundly. How can we keep serving a society that we know is doing harm? That is disenfranchising and destroying anyone who is deemed as 'other'? What part can we play in it; can we change it from within; can we even change it from without- if so, how? These are all questions raised and examined throughout the narrative, with North's trademark observational skills and intriguing style. What truths do we tell ourselves in order to keep going?
Truth is another core concept here; with the main character (and others throughout) being cursed with the power of truth; being able to see the hearts of other people and find their personal truths. It is another great gimmick, like the powers found in North's other novels, and again is defined well enough to be compelling but with enough ambiguity left as to still be intriguing. The truths range from the mundane worries people carry up to national secrets, and William Abbey is employed to wrench them from the minds of foreign officials. The concept is well explored, to lots of its logical conclusions; but allows us to take a fantastic tour through turn-of-the-century Europe and beyond meeting a host of well-defined, awfully human characters.
The book also says that the ultimate value of these truths, and The Truth, are open to debate. Even when faced with absolute truths about themselves and their enemies; the great powers of time are unmoved, unchanging in their course. People only ever really want to hear things that confirm the truths they already know; and very little will change that.
North as always is passionate both in her love of and despair of humanity; the themes and ideas are incredibly timely despite the period setting, and her imagination is wonderful.