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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
Thank the Heavens I’m finally done with this book! I just really didn’t care too much for it.
It took awhile to get into the plot, but I loved the idea from page 1. A wealthy woman with little choices becomes a poor man is the hook that pulled me in. Interesting read.
A full-on, saucy corset-fest with cross-dressing, Revolutionary history and more double entendres than you can shake a cod (OK, that was a triple entendre, just ask me) at.
I definitely enjoyed the frippery, puffery, bosh and flimshaw, the bawdy wit, and the constant use of the (probably-fictional) period adjective "shitten". Although, after several chapters, the perpetual obvious "Tis what she said" puns grew awfully tiresome. I definitely did NOT enjoy the too-modern/self-aware/PC opinions of the main characters, who can't go five seconds without whining about the evils of sexism, racism and slavery, as if institutionalized racism and white male privilege were typical subject matter for letters and diaries. I also hated the exposition through inserted newspaper clippings, the constant irrelevant and highly unrealistic qouting from Shakespeare in dramatic scenes to supposedly show us the erudition of the characters (or the authors'? They're both Harvard professors; should we really be impressed that they've read Shakespeare?), or the hammy epistolary format. The authors' research shows far too obviously here. The "expositolary" form, to my mind, really slows down fluffy pseudo-intellectual romance novels such as this and the Time Traveler's Wife. To me, what's interesting about letters as story-telling, is that characters may present themselves or their world views in very different ways to themselves or to their friends, or to one friend rather than another. It's much less interesting when it feels like the author telling us something she should have shown us, or where "reality" doesn't feel terribly different from one point of view to the next.
I definitely enjoyed the frippery, puffery, bosh and flimshaw, the bawdy wit, and the constant use of the (probably-fictional) period adjective "shitten". Although, after several chapters, the perpetual obvious "Tis what she said" puns grew awfully tiresome. I definitely did NOT enjoy the too-modern/self-aware/PC opinions of the main characters, who can't go five seconds without whining about the evils of sexism, racism and slavery, as if institutionalized racism and white male privilege were typical subject matter for letters and diaries. I also hated the exposition through inserted newspaper clippings, the constant irrelevant and highly unrealistic qouting from Shakespeare in dramatic scenes to supposedly show us the erudition of the characters (or the authors'? They're both Harvard professors; should we really be impressed that they've read Shakespeare?), or the hammy epistolary format. The authors' research shows far too obviously here. The "expositolary" form, to my mind, really slows down fluffy pseudo-intellectual romance novels such as this and the Time Traveler's Wife. To me, what's interesting about letters as story-telling, is that characters may present themselves or their world views in very different ways to themselves or to their friends, or to one friend rather than another. It's much less interesting when it feels like the author telling us something she should have shown us, or where "reality" doesn't feel terribly different from one point of view to the next.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
I listened to the audiobook and thoroughly enjoyed it. The wit, the mystery and the philosophy of it all. Wish I could spend more time with all three of the main characters. Consider this my request for a sequel.
The lives of a formerly privileged but now fallen woman, a painter fleeing debts incurred to save the life of a friend, and an escaped slave with a brilliant mind but a cool heart intersect in pre-revolutionary Boston. The tale is told in alternating chapters between the painter and the woman, who has disguised herself as a boy to become his apprentice.
Sounds fascinating, right? Sadly, no.
If this book were any slower, it would be moving backwards. The wordiness of the narrators, the flogging of the "blind spot" theme, and the lengthy political sections made it seem interminable.
On the other hand, in the second half of the book, all this dry narrative was bizarrely interspersed with some very graphic sex scenes. I have no objection to sex, even explicit sex, when it's integral to the plot (and, let's be honest, when it's steamy and well-written). After the first few scenes, however, I felt like I had gotten the picture. And the romantic stuff got awfully soppy, which really wasn't any more appealing.
I hoped, about a third of the way in, that this would turn into a thrilling adventure story, but it was more like a political saga/police procedural/trashy romance novel mashup, and none of those elements ended up being very compelling.
Ultimately, I slogged through the entire novel because it was an audio-book, and I tend not to give up on those since I can't just skim to the end to find out how things turned out. Plus once you're halfway through, it seems lame to quit. And, credit where credit is due, I thought the readers (one male, one female) on the whole did an excellent job with the material they were given. That could not, however, make the experience worthwhile.
This review seems a bit mean-spirited, as I reread it, but after over 18 hours spent listening to Blindspot, I feel justified in being a bit cranky. To sum up: just not worth it.
Sounds fascinating, right? Sadly, no.
If this book were any slower, it would be moving backwards. The wordiness of the narrators, the flogging of the "blind spot" theme, and the lengthy political sections made it seem interminable.
On the other hand, in the second half of the book, all this dry narrative was bizarrely interspersed with some very graphic sex scenes. I have no objection to sex, even explicit sex, when it's integral to the plot (and, let's be honest, when it's steamy and well-written). After the first few scenes, however, I felt like I had gotten the picture. And the romantic stuff got awfully soppy, which really wasn't any more appealing.
I hoped, about a third of the way in, that this would turn into a thrilling adventure story, but it was more like a political saga/police procedural/trashy romance novel mashup, and none of those elements ended up being very compelling.
Ultimately, I slogged through the entire novel because it was an audio-book, and I tend not to give up on those since I can't just skim to the end to find out how things turned out. Plus once you're halfway through, it seems lame to quit. And, credit where credit is due, I thought the readers (one male, one female) on the whole did an excellent job with the material they were given. That could not, however, make the experience worthwhile.
This review seems a bit mean-spirited, as I reread it, but after over 18 hours spent listening to Blindspot, I feel justified in being a bit cranky. To sum up: just not worth it.
For the first half of this book I was completely into it--the plot was interesting, there was erotic tension, it was witty, it is historical and well-researched. But at some point in the novel it started to go bad. The eroticism went overboard and became just silly and cloying. The history...well, I'm sure the facts are correct but somehow the atmosphere isn't really believable and the characters seem anachronistic. The mystery--well there's an omniscient "detective" who is always 20 steps ahead of the other characters (yawn) and there is that kind of Agatha- Christie-style gather-all-the-suspects-together denoument (double yawn) that just didn't fit in very well with either the romance or the history. And then the characters go from witty to maudlin as soon as they get together. Ultimately I think there was too much of a mish-mash of styles. But, I'm pretty sure that a lot of people will really enjoy this book and it was a very ambitious attempt, that I appreciate.
I actually read this in softcover, which won't be released until December 2008, because someone gave me an advance reading copy as a gift. I feel very cutting edge.
This was a nice, light end-of-summer read. The plot was fairly silly, but clever enough to be enjoyable. The two characters had distinct voices, but both were rife with terrible puns that were unfortunately repetitious throughout the book. I felt like a thorough editing in several places, especially some parts of the dialog, would have been beneficial, but overall I enjoyed it.
This was a nice, light end-of-summer read. The plot was fairly silly, but clever enough to be enjoyable. The two characters had distinct voices, but both were rife with terrible puns that were unfortunately repetitious throughout the book. I felt like a thorough editing in several places, especially some parts of the dialog, would have been beneficial, but overall I enjoyed it.
This novel follows two narrators, Fanny Easton and Stewart Jameson, who both find themselves in trouble in mid-18th century Boston. Stewart is running from debtors back in Scotland and England, and Fanny has been living in the Manufactory for three years since she left her father's house for the streets. At the opening of the story, she decides to masquerade as a young boy.
Both are talented artists, which is how their stories end up intertwined: Jameson advertises for an apprentice in the local paper, and Fanny accepts as the boy "Weston". The plot follows their adventures as they learn more about one another and try to hid their secrets from the Bostonians. Then Jameson's black friend shows up, after being enslaved and running away. The ties between Jameson and this Ignatius Alexander are weakly integrated into the plot, and that was one of the things that bothered me most. Their close relationship is unconvincing.
Then a local political leader is found murdered, and the trio sets out to free the wife and child of the accused slave. This involves Sherlock-ian efforts from Alexander, and Watson-esque support from both Jameson and Fanny.
The political tension between factions in Boston, and between Bostonians and the King's Government, provide the backdrop for the story, and motivations for the characters' actions. Additionally, this novel portrays some of the trauma, turmoil, horrors, and hypocrisy of slavery during the Independence movement.
The story was fast-paced and really enjoyable until the denouement, which drags on and on as Alexander channels Hercule Poirot and Sherlock in describing the murder to the townspeople. The ending dragged as well, until the last few pages, which I once again found to be interesting.
Both are talented artists, which is how their stories end up intertwined: Jameson advertises for an apprentice in the local paper, and Fanny accepts as the boy "Weston". The plot follows their adventures as they learn more about one another and try to hid their secrets from the Bostonians. Then Jameson's black friend shows up, after being enslaved and running away. The ties between Jameson and this Ignatius Alexander are weakly integrated into the plot, and that was one of the things that bothered me most. Their close relationship is unconvincing.
Then a local political leader is found murdered, and the trio sets out to free the wife and child of the accused slave. This involves Sherlock-ian efforts from Alexander, and Watson-esque support from both Jameson and Fanny.
The political tension between factions in Boston, and between Bostonians and the King's Government, provide the backdrop for the story, and motivations for the characters' actions. Additionally, this novel portrays some of the trauma, turmoil, horrors, and hypocrisy of slavery during the Independence movement.
The story was fast-paced and really enjoyable until the denouement, which drags on and on as Alexander channels Hercule Poirot and Sherlock in describing the murder to the townspeople. The ending dragged as well, until the last few pages, which I once again found to be interesting.