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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Nothing much happens. If you can be satisfied with a glimpse at life in northern England in 600(or so)AD then you'll like this. If you're looking for action and intrigue... then look elsewhere.
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
An incredible work of historical fiction, with a central character I loved. Fascinating to learn about Britain in the 7th century, a time period I knew absolutely nothing about.
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I love books that make me rethink the world. Hild is such a novel. The novel has been compared to Game of Thrones, a comparison I understand, but don't agree with. Griffith creates an amazingly lush, historically grounded story full of complex people. The novel sent me to history texts to find out more about the time period. It's so engrossing that I missed my subway stop reading it on my commute. amazing novel.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Finally finished it.
I gave it a 3 because I didn't love it, I didn't hate it either.
Very well researched (seemingly) and well written. But honestly, I had a hard time with the names & words. Normally I enjoy such things; this time, it bogged me down.
I normally really love historical fiction, especially anything set in the British Isles.
Bums me out that I didn't enjoy this more since I waited for years to get and read it.
I gave it a 3 because I didn't love it, I didn't hate it either.
Very well researched (seemingly) and well written. But honestly, I had a hard time with the names & words. Normally I enjoy such things; this time, it bogged me down.
I normally really love historical fiction, especially anything set in the British Isles.
Bums me out that I didn't enjoy this more since I waited for years to get and read it.
I really wanted to love this book, but I was looking for lesbian themes and it just didn’t appear in the first 13 hours. A lot of names and characters.
Beautifully written, but sometimes it takes a lot of work on the reader's part just to keep reading. Like many other reviewers have noted, this was reminiscent of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, and that was part of the reason I really did love this book and was willing to keep putting in the hours to finish each chapter.
The pace is mostly relaxed, following the seasons, and Griffith's descriptions of the natural world seen through Hild's eyes are absolutely wonderful. There were quite a few moments that came back to me while gardening or sitting on the patio that made me pause to just drink in the beauty of my surroundings. The book has made me want to pay more attention to the trees and the birds and everything else that flourishes in my own backyard.
The ending is not the greatest, but almost no great book can achieve this- at least not for every reader. I am looking forward to the next book, as we still have so much left of Hild's life to journey through.
The pace is mostly relaxed, following the seasons, and Griffith's descriptions of the natural world seen through Hild's eyes are absolutely wonderful. There were quite a few moments that came back to me while gardening or sitting on the patio that made me pause to just drink in the beauty of my surroundings. The book has made me want to pay more attention to the trees and the birds and everything else that flourishes in my own backyard.
The ending is not the greatest, but almost no great book can achieve this- at least not for every reader. I am looking forward to the next book, as we still have so much left of Hild's life to journey through.
I think this one just wasn't for me. I found it meandering but without the internal dialogue or external evidence of character growth that would help me relate to the main character. In some ways I think the book follows forms of the time period which is just a different way of storytelling to what I enjoy.
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest