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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pregnancy
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Death of parent, Classism
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
relaxing
slow-paced
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's beautifully written but a pretty unrelenting downer. Which makes sense given the gender/power dynamics of the time, but I just can't be entertained by women being pushed to their limit anymore? Who finds this fun? And if it's not also fun in some way, then maybe it should stay nonfiction, because god I do not have time for fake horrors when there are plenty of real ones.
emotional
reflective
medium-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
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was straight up my alley on a number of fronts, but I am sad to report that it was rather disappointing. Art, Bath, sisters, supposedly exquisite writing — this promised to be a treat.
My main complaint is, in fact, the writing. I'd be hard-pressed to call this beautifully written — lyrical, sure, but nothing more than that. Howes just tries too hard. Her writing is so carefully poised that it turns on itself and scrapes at logical tolerance. It's very much styled after the likes of Maggie O'Farrell and Hilary Mantel — the attention to detail, the desire to craft a sense of reality out of historical research, but Howes's expression is so contrived that it simply falls short. She draws on a lot of similes and metaphors that sometimes just don't make any sense. Example: " . . . the road narrows and widens and narrows again, like a snake that has eaten a goat." Why a goat? Can a snake even swallow an entire goat?? Perhaps my perspective is a bit skewed by my very recent reading of Bring Up the Bodies, but I was just not impressed.
I was also not impressed by the characters. Apart from Peggy and maybe Meg, they had little to no depth, all the more disappointing when I was looking forward to a deeper exploration of Gainsborough's character. Peggy I found annoying and very self-absorbed.
I was delighted to find that Howes had used the night that the chandelier in the Assembly Rooms nearly crushes Gainborough as one of the climactic cruxes of the plot, but other than that, I found the Bath content rather disappointing. Howes hyperfixated on the sedans, the mucky streets, the looming shadow of the Abbey, and very little beyond. And she somehow made the Abbey's presence seem so menacing — how could such a beautiful, regal building be manipulated like that?
Lauren, you say, this is a lot of complaining over a book that you gave three stars. Well, you're right. I did find the plot intriguing, if a tad slow, and for once I didn't mind the ancestral flashbacks, which is saying something, as this is a ploy that I usually find rather annoying. Howes's descriptions of painting and its tools were characteristically contrived but also admittedly well executed.
Overall, not the best piece of historical fiction I've read lately, but still intriguing and perhaps worth a read if any of the concept interests you. Austen aside, I guess I am still in search of a book that gives Bath as a setting the treatment it deserves.
My main complaint is, in fact, the writing. I'd be hard-pressed to call this beautifully written — lyrical, sure, but nothing more than that. Howes just tries too hard. Her writing is so carefully poised that it turns on itself and scrapes at logical tolerance. It's very much styled after the likes of Maggie O'Farrell and Hilary Mantel — the attention to detail, the desire to craft a sense of reality out of historical research, but Howes's expression is so contrived that it simply falls short. She draws on a lot of similes and metaphors that sometimes just don't make any sense. Example: " . . . the road narrows and widens and narrows again, like a snake that has eaten a goat." Why a goat? Can a snake even swallow an entire goat?? Perhaps my perspective is a bit skewed by my very recent reading of Bring Up the Bodies, but I was just not impressed.
I was also not impressed by the characters. Apart from Peggy and maybe Meg, they had little to no depth, all the more disappointing when I was looking forward to a deeper exploration of Gainsborough's character. Peggy I found annoying and very self-absorbed.
I was delighted to find that Howes had used the night that the chandelier in the Assembly Rooms nearly crushes Gainborough as one of the climactic cruxes of the plot, but other than that, I found the Bath content rather disappointing. Howes hyperfixated on the sedans, the mucky streets, the looming shadow of the Abbey, and very little beyond. And she somehow made the Abbey's presence seem so menacing — how could such a beautiful, regal building be manipulated like that?
Lauren, you say, this is a lot of complaining over a book that you gave three stars. Well, you're right. I did find the plot intriguing, if a tad slow, and for once I didn't mind the ancestral flashbacks, which is saying something, as this is a ploy that I usually find rather annoying. Howes's descriptions of painting and its tools were characteristically contrived but also admittedly well executed.
Overall, not the best piece of historical fiction I've read lately, but still intriguing and perhaps worth a read if any of the concept interests you. Austen aside, I guess I am still in search of a book that gives Bath as a setting the treatment it deserves.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes