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renatasnacks's review against another edition
2.0
This book made so many strange choices. Like...I'd be into it if Lizzie was in a love triangle with her dad and another woman...I'd probably be into it if Lizzie were in a weird The Secret-style cult, I'd be into it if Lizzie had astral projection powers...but all of it together is an overwhelming mishmash.
Also it would introduce odd details from the actual case and then do nothing to follow up on them.
It was still kind of a fun read, but...not nearly as fun as its premise seemed to promise :(
http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-84-lizzie-borden/
Also it would introduce odd details from the actual case and then do nothing to follow up on them.
It was still kind of a fun read, but...not nearly as fun as its premise seemed to promise :(
http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-84-lizzie-borden/
conspystery's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
sarahelizabethii's review against another edition
2.0
Laughed through the last 40 pages. So much absurdity.
lanikei's review against another edition
2.0
Apparently I knew next to nothing about the Lizzie Borden case, so that was a learning experience. As a fictional account of something I'm clueless about I always wonder how much fact is mixed in with the fiction. Much of this book is centered around inner monologues, weird mystical visions or hallucinations, and conjecture about Lizzie's lesbian relationships. Are these all in the head of the author or is some of this based in true accounts of the situation?
I think I would rather have read a more historical accurate account of the murders first, but I guess this was an interesting gateway to the story. Perhaps if I knew more of the facts I would find this take on the inner workings of the protagonists more intriguing.
I think I would rather have read a more historical accurate account of the murders first, but I guess this was an interesting gateway to the story. Perhaps if I knew more of the facts I would find this take on the inner workings of the protagonists more intriguing.
majesdane's review
3.0
The thing about this novel is that it really would have worked ... if it was about some other family. Out of everyone, Lizzie is the only one who resembles what we know of of the Borden family. For example: Emma here is ruthlessly cruel to Lizzie and a wildly out of control alcoholic; she's nothing like the uptight, old-fashioned Emma that we know of from history. Andrew and Abby aren't even themselves; Andrew is a adulterer who is oddly detached from the rest of his family while Abby is infinitely more sociable. Bridget Sullivan and Alice Russell barely make appearances in this story, despite being major players in the Borden case.
This book isn't terrible by any stretch, but it suffers from a few major flaws: the incredibly out of "character"-ness of the Borden family; the lack of any sort of real build-up and/or detail regarding major plot points (e.g, Andrew's affair, Lizzie's lesbianism, Emma's alcoholism and her trips to New Bedford); and the insufferable tacked-on supernatural aspect which does little more than just provide an explanation as to how Lizzie could have committed the murders. And really, this book, at 352 pages, just feels too short and rushed.
But really, if you took out the supernatural aspects, that alone would make the book better. I get why it was there, sort of, and it served its purpose in explaining how Lizzie committed the murders, but it just never really did anything for me. 99.9% of that part of the book was just there to fill up space.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading this. But I was disappointed because it could have been so much better.
This book isn't terrible by any stretch, but it suffers from a few major flaws: the incredibly out of "character"-ness of the Borden family; the lack of any sort of real build-up and/or detail regarding major plot points (e.g, Andrew's affair, Lizzie's lesbianism, Emma's alcoholism and her trips to New Bedford); and the insufferable tacked-on supernatural aspect which does little more than just provide an explanation as to how Lizzie could have committed the murders. And really, this book, at 352 pages, just feels too short and rushed.
But really, if you took out the supernatural aspects, that alone would make the book better. I get why it was there, sort of, and it served its purpose in explaining how Lizzie committed the murders, but it just never really did anything for me. 99.9% of that part of the book was just there to fill up space.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading this. But I was disappointed because it could have been so much better.
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