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bringmybooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
(tl;dr: I LOVED THIS BOOK)
✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷
At the end of last year I pulled together 24 books off of my shelf and asked my friends to choose 12 of them for me to read in 2023, and Katherine was one of the ones with enough votes to add to my list.
As it was the one I had the most trepidation over (hello 500pg book with 8.5pt font and 0.0003 margins written in 1954), I decided to start it at the beginning of the year (anybody else tackle hard tasks first?).
I am THRILLED to say what a freaking delight reading this book was, and how thoroughly annoyed I am with myself that it has sat unread on my shelf for NO LESS than 10 years. (What is wrong with me, I ask you!)
Although it was very dense and carried a cast of no less than 100 disparate characters (and at least half of those were essential to the plot), I never felt lost, never felt out of my depth, and never disparaged picking it up to read as much as I could in whatever time I had.
(Also, fun to note that, because I've tracked my reading speed since 2017 using the Bookly app, I can tell you with absolute certainty that in the past 6 years I have never read a book as slowly as I have Anya Seton's Katherine - 50pgs an hour against my usual 100-120pgs!)
As for the book itself: Over absolutely everything else, it is a love story - and it is a *beautiful* love story. It is impeccably researched and shows so much care and devotion to the figures in history that it depicts. It draws you in and walks you alongside the paths of the characters, and it lets you share in the grief, joy, confusion, heartache, love, and faith.
This was one of the most rewarding and fulfilling reading experiences I've had in the last decade, and I am so grateful for this gentle reminder of what reading means to me, in the simplest and most basic of terms. The feeling I got upon finishing Katherine. That's it.
✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷
At the end of last year I pulled together 24 books off of my shelf and asked my friends to choose 12 of them for me to read in 2023, and Katherine was one of the ones with enough votes to add to my list.
As it was the one I had the most trepidation over (hello 500pg book with 8.5pt font and 0.0003 margins written in 1954), I decided to start it at the beginning of the year (anybody else tackle hard tasks first?).
I am THRILLED to say what a freaking delight reading this book was, and how thoroughly annoyed I am with myself that it has sat unread on my shelf for NO LESS than 10 years. (What is wrong with me, I ask you!)
Although it was very dense and carried a cast of no less than 100 disparate characters (and at least half of those were essential to the plot), I never felt lost, never felt out of my depth, and never disparaged picking it up to read as much as I could in whatever time I had.
(Also, fun to note that, because I've tracked my reading speed since 2017 using the Bookly app, I can tell you with absolute certainty that in the past 6 years I have never read a book as slowly as I have Anya Seton's Katherine - 50pgs an hour against my usual 100-120pgs!)
As for the book itself: Over absolutely everything else, it is a love story - and it is a *beautiful* love story. It is impeccably researched and shows so much care and devotion to the figures in history that it depicts. It draws you in and walks you alongside the paths of the characters, and it lets you share in the grief, joy, confusion, heartache, love, and faith.
This was one of the most rewarding and fulfilling reading experiences I've had in the last decade, and I am so grateful for this gentle reminder of what reading means to me, in the simplest and most basic of terms. The feeling I got upon finishing Katherine. That's it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Rape
Minor: Sexism, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Gore, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, War, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
dwellordream's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
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