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koz108's review
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Death
jrmarr's review against another edition
5.0
Who are the people in the lives of the infamous ‘villains’ of history? How do lives unfurl that lead to the world’s defining moments? This book explores the lives of the Booth family in such detail I had to remind myself it was a novel. Intricately researched, densely written and so well constructed to show how the paths of John Wilkes Booth and Abraham Lincoln meet. We don’t spend much time with Booth himself, but can see his journey towards infamy and the tragedy of his family so clearly.
macbeckyton's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
manderzreadz's review
4.0
This isn’t a book that you read in one sitting-you have to spend time and ruminate over the different characters and their developments. Luckily so, I had a super busy week that forced me to do this and consequently I enjoyed the book much more than I first anticipated when starting.
Booth gives you an insider knowledge of the Booth family and thrives on character development rather than plot. Fowler does a great job writing on this subject without idolizing or giving attention to the person that first made “Booth” a name in the history books. I would recommend for readers that like slow builds and heavily historically-“facted” fiction.
Booth gives you an insider knowledge of the Booth family and thrives on character development rather than plot. Fowler does a great job writing on this subject without idolizing or giving attention to the person that first made “Booth” a name in the history books. I would recommend for readers that like slow builds and heavily historically-“facted” fiction.
bookshelvish's review against another edition
4.0
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I ate this up. This is one of the most beautiful hardcovers I own (and signed!!!), but I listened to this on audio because sometimes I do better when a narrator keeps things moving for me and I could tell this one didn’t have an abundance of dialogue. I also think if you’re not into American history/civil war history that this probably won’t hit for you, but if you like biographic historical fiction this will be your bag. It’s the story of John Wilkes Booth (who assassinated Abe Lincoln) told from the POV of all of his siblings. I thought it was REALLY well done.
tangerine7199's review
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Very interesting premise but this needed 200 pages shaved off it
thebobsphere's review against another edition
2.0
I’m noticing historical novels are dominating this year’s Booker Longlist. In the past I would have been sniffy about this but, I enjoying a lot of them. Booth, is a bit different.
The title refers to the surname of John Wilkes Booth, aka the man who shot Abraham Lincoln. Thus Booth is a family saga. Karen Joy Fowler does approach the genre differently. Instead of a straight up bio of JWB from birth to murder, she focuses on his siblings and their view of John and how the shooting tore them apart.
Booth goes deeper than that though. During Abraham Lincoln’s time slavery and segregation were rife, with many Afro Americans being killed, something Lincoln abhorred, hence the reason why he tried to abolish slavery, which is the reason why he was killed . Through Lincoln and Booth Karen Joy Fowler is showing that modern day U.S, still has a problem with race relations and that gun toting maniacs still exist. As an aside do The Booths came from a theatrical background, the significance of Richard III, which crops up frequently is worth noticing.
With Booth, Karen Joy Fowler has written an intelligent political/historical novel. The problem that, although I admire what is done, I didn’t really like the novel. In fact I found it dull and, it did not make me gravitate towards the subject.
It’s inevitable that I will dislike a couple of books on the Booker longlist and this is one of them.
The title refers to the surname of John Wilkes Booth, aka the man who shot Abraham Lincoln. Thus Booth is a family saga. Karen Joy Fowler does approach the genre differently. Instead of a straight up bio of JWB from birth to murder, she focuses on his siblings and their view of John and how the shooting tore them apart.
Booth goes deeper than that though. During Abraham Lincoln’s time slavery and segregation were rife, with many Afro Americans being killed, something Lincoln abhorred, hence the reason why he tried to abolish slavery, which is the reason why he was killed . Through Lincoln and Booth Karen Joy Fowler is showing that modern day U.S, still has a problem with race relations and that gun toting maniacs still exist. As an aside do The Booths came from a theatrical background, the significance of Richard III, which crops up frequently is worth noticing.
With Booth, Karen Joy Fowler has written an intelligent political/historical novel. The problem that, although I admire what is done, I didn’t really like the novel. In fact I found it dull and, it did not make me gravitate towards the subject.
It’s inevitable that I will dislike a couple of books on the Booker longlist and this is one of them.
enoughread's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
ebbalinnaea's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0