Scan barcode
bdingz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This is my first book by Sarah Waters and I don’t think it will be the last. I sometimes struggle with historical fiction featuring queer characters because I always have this sense they must be doomed somehow, but this story depicts joy as much as ut does despair. Some parts dragged a little, in my opinion, but it was almost autobiographical in style so I understand why it was as long and detailed as it was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content
Minor: Infidelity, Violence, Racism, and Racial slurs
A character used the n-word on one occasion in the third part of the book.juliastern__'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Death, Toxic friendship, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Sexism
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol
marleywrites's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
This review will contain spoilers.
“Tipping the Velvet” covers a span of about eight years in the life of Nancy Astley, from age 18-25. Nancy essentially has her gay awakening in her small hometown where she helps prepare oysters when a musical act of Miss Kitty Butler arrives at the theater. The two eventually grow closer and their relationship blooms, plateaus, and falls. The rest of the novel follows the aftermath of everything, and how Nancy moves on from it all.
I found this novel to be extremely impressive. I was engaged from the start— the prose is beautiful and visceral, and the author painted a realistic picture of Nancy’s perspective throughout this novel. Nancy’s emotions are strong and intense, and we see the range of feelings she experiences in exquisite detail.
I found Nancy’s story fascinating. Her character was well-developed and we saw her grow throughout the novel in a fascinating and treacherous way. Nancy has been through a lot— and in a way, she’s quite privileged through some of situations she finds herself in. However she is simultaneously a survivor of multiple questionable sexual situations with a partner who has a significant powerful advantage over he, she is a renter, she loses everything all at once.
What I found most intriguing was the emotional changes that Nancy experiences throughout the story. The shift from Kitty being the only thing that can save her, to realizing she doesn’t need her at all anymore, is one that I think anyone who’s had a first love and first heartbreak can relate to. The emotional distance she holds herself at with Diana, with Zena, and with Florence (at first) protects her, but also hurts her. I enjoyed watching the slow but steady shift as she learned to trust and love again, and to recognize it as something steadier, and to learn what it means to have a partner who is proud to be yours.
The writing style of this author has captured me completely— when I finished this novel I immediately went and added all the rest of her work to my TBR. This was a stunning debut and I can’t wait to read the backlist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Infidelity
Moderate: Death, Violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Cursing, Drug use, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Blood, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Emotional abuse, and Outing
Minor: Miscarriage and Racism
thetomeraider's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Oof. I hated this book. I know it's beloved. I can't help it. Please do not revoke my LGBTQ+ membership.
Recently after reading a book that constantly is on lists of "Best Latinx Fiction" - and hating it - I realized that some older books (older meaning 20 years or more) that are lauded as groundbreaking may indeed be groundbreaking for their representation or subject matter at the time they were published but that may not mean they're actually good, especially as we gain more diversity in publishing. When you have a limited choice in something that's much needed, all of it seems pretty spectacular. Maybe a bit of that is what's happening here for me.
So,I do recognize how important it was for lesbians to have this representation, and even that explicit lesbian sex was revolutionary.
The book is divided into three parts and the 1st part was quite enjoyable. Nancy is an oyster girl from a seaside town who, while at a music hall, lays eyes on Kitty, a male impersonator & performer. She's immediately fanning herself. Kitty has her hot and bothered. Nancy is sheltered and maybe doesn't get why at first but she for sure has a redhot crush on Kitty. She becomes friends with Kitty, they go away to London together where Nan becomes Kitty's dresser and later part of the act, yadayada.And they become lovers. This whole part is kinda sweet. The whole crushing hard on someone and the beginning part of falling in love and new sexy funtimes is captured so well. This is also where it becomes pretty obvious how flat Nan is as a character. Her whole character is just "I love Kitty and having lesbian sex with Kitty". Me as the reader does not understand what's so great about Kitty. She looks good in a suit, I guess? Cool. Also, Kitty is not all in on this love affair and how Nan cannot see that is confusing. But anyway...predictably, Kitty hooks up with their manager Walter and breaks Nan's heart.
Nan loses her shit, is real sad, and in Part 2, inexplicably starts dressing as a dude and on the fly becomes a "rent boy" which is just...ok. Nothing wrong with sex work but kinda weird to dress as a young man to get paid by men who are looking to have sex with another men while she is actually a woman and the customer not knowing that. Then she kinda gets...kidnapped?Whisked away, I guess. By a rich lady who wants to keep her as a companion & sex servant while dressed as a boy. That ends and in part 3 she meets up with Socialist Florence who she briefly met in part 2 and got the tingles about.
SOCIALIST FLORENCE IS THE BEST PART OF THIS BOOK! Ugh, she was great. More Florence, please. Flo was in love with a woman previously who did not feel the same. That woman died in childbirth leaving Flo & her brother to raise the baby. I love those non-traditional fams. Good for them. Nan & Flo get it on and for some reason Nan is still going on about Kitty. Bleh. Kitty shows up and Nan has one moment of rational thinking and chooses Florence. The End.
Nan was one of the most insufferable characters ever and I almost abandoned the book several times because I felt like I could not spend one more moment with her. Sarah Waters' writing is actually mostly fantastic, although maybe a bit tedious and drawn out at times. There were points that things dragged and I said out loud, "Oh.My.God. I DO NOT CARE".
ALSO also also... Nancy visits her family, taking them expensive gifts. She realizes as she looks around their dwelling, "Oh,wow. My family is poor" but she's also very busy being hurt that her family didn't appreciate the gifts she brought. Yes, Nancy, that's because you could have been sending them actual money and now they know it. Instead you bought your homophobic sister a dumb fancy hat and now she has another reason to hate you besides being a lesbian.
CAT CONTENT: There's a three legged cat who belongs to Nan's landlady. I bet the cat avoided Nan whenever possible.
Recently after reading a book that constantly is on lists of "Best Latinx Fiction" - and hating it - I realized that some older books (older meaning 20 years or more) that are lauded as groundbreaking may indeed be groundbreaking for their representation or subject matter at the time they were published but that may not mean they're actually good, especially as we gain more diversity in publishing. When you have a limited choice in something that's much needed, all of it seems pretty spectacular. Maybe a bit of that is what's happening here for me.
So,I do recognize how important it was for lesbians to have this representation, and even that explicit lesbian sex was revolutionary.
The book is divided into three parts and the 1st part was quite enjoyable. Nancy is an oyster girl from a seaside town who, while at a music hall, lays eyes on Kitty, a male impersonator & performer. She's immediately fanning herself. Kitty has her hot and bothered. Nancy is sheltered and maybe doesn't get why at first but she for sure has a redhot crush on Kitty. She becomes friends with Kitty, they go away to London together where Nan becomes Kitty's dresser and later part of the act, yadayada.And they become lovers. This whole part is kinda sweet. The whole crushing hard on someone and the beginning part of falling in love and new sexy funtimes is captured so well. This is also where it becomes pretty obvious how flat Nan is as a character. Her whole character is just "I love Kitty and having lesbian sex with Kitty". Me as the reader does not understand what's so great about Kitty. She looks good in a suit, I guess? Cool. Also, Kitty is not all in on this love affair and how Nan cannot see that is confusing. But anyway...predictably, Kitty hooks up with their manager Walter and breaks Nan's heart.
Nan loses her shit, is real sad, and in Part 2, inexplicably starts dressing as a dude and on the fly becomes a "rent boy" which is just...ok. Nothing wrong with sex work but kinda weird to dress as a young man to get paid by men who are looking to have sex with another men while she is actually a woman and the customer not knowing that. Then she kinda gets...kidnapped?Whisked away, I guess. By a rich lady who wants to keep her as a companion & sex servant while dressed as a boy. That ends and in part 3 she meets up with Socialist Florence who she briefly met in part 2 and got the tingles about.
SOCIALIST FLORENCE IS THE BEST PART OF THIS BOOK! Ugh, she was great. More Florence, please. Flo was in love with a woman previously who did not feel the same. That woman died in childbirth leaving Flo & her brother to raise the baby. I love those non-traditional fams. Good for them. Nan & Flo get it on and for some reason Nan is still going on about Kitty. Bleh. Kitty shows up and Nan has one moment of rational thinking and chooses Florence. The End.
Nan was one of the most insufferable characters ever and I almost abandoned the book several times because I felt like I could not spend one more moment with her. Sarah Waters' writing is actually mostly fantastic, although maybe a bit tedious and drawn out at times. There were points that things dragged and I said out loud, "Oh.My.God. I DO NOT CARE".
ALSO also also... Nancy visits her family, taking them expensive gifts. She realizes as she looks around their dwelling, "Oh,wow. My family is poor" but she's also very busy being hurt that her family didn't appreciate the gifts she brought. Yes, Nancy, that's because you could have been sending them actual money and now they know it. Instead you bought your homophobic sister a dumb fancy hat and now she has another reason to hate you besides being a lesbian.
CAT CONTENT: There's a three legged cat who belongs to Nan's landlady. I bet the cat avoided Nan whenever possible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
lilly_anne's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Drug use, Homophobia, Cursing, Violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Vomit, Racial slurs, and Adult/minor relationship
leahrenz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Absolutely loved this book! The writing style is vivid and contains lots of hints toward future plot developments without giving them away. Certain objects will be mentioned, Checkov-gun style, or a scenario will be set up in which you as the reader can already tell everything is going to go tits up, or that thing will come back to haunt a character, and all this makes for a highly entertaining read! As a reader, you *know* something is going to happen and it's like waiting to sink your teeth into a juicy fruit... Not to say that the period in between is boring! Not at all. As is essential for good historical fiction, the descriptions crackle with life and give the book a very contemporary feel despite it being set in the 1880-90s. As I was reading I felt it would make an excellent mini-series.
The initial, heady falling-in-love of the main character is also wonderfully described. I further loved being plunged into 1880s London show biz! I would highly recommend this read for any lovers of romance, historical fiction or just a well-written, well-paced book.
"Boys stood drinking at the doors of public-houses, their pomaded heads gleaming, in the gas-light, like silk. The moon hung low above the roofs of Soho, pink and bright and swollen as a Chinese lantern. One or two starts winked viciously alongside it."
"She stood there for what seemed to be a small eternity; then her arm came up, the flower flashed for a second in the beam of the lime - and my own hand, trembling, rose to catch it. The crowd gave a broad, indulgent cheer of pleasure, and a laugh."
The initial, heady falling-in-love of the main character is also wonderfully described. I further loved being plunged into 1880s London show biz! I would highly recommend this read for any lovers of romance, historical fiction or just a well-written, well-paced book.
"Boys stood drinking at the doors of public-houses, their pomaded heads gleaming, in the gas-light, like silk. The moon hung low above the roofs of Soho, pink and bright and swollen as a Chinese lantern. One or two starts winked viciously alongside it."
"She stood there for what seemed to be a small eternity; then her arm came up, the flower flashed for a second in the beam of the lime - and my own hand, trembling, rose to catch it. The crowd gave a broad, indulgent cheer of pleasure, and a laugh."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Mental illness and Violence
Minor: Racial slurs
cnidariar3x's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Gorgeous sapphic bildungsroman with a sprinkle of "Napoleon Dynamite", a pinch of Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" but sticks the landing much better with more nuance than either.
I love this book so much.
I love this book so much.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Lesbophobia, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Racial slurs, Confinement, Classism, Racism, Infidelity, and Outing
More...