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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
I loved this audio book. I also loved her novel Remarkable Creatures when I read it years ago. This was a great comfort read during this pandemic! Highly recommend!
3.5 stars, rounded down to 3.
A bit of a let down, TBH. I liked the story well enough, and I read it quite quickly, but there just wasn't enough character development to offset the thin slice of life plot.
I really enjoyed getting to know what it was like for a 1930s spinster living on her own, and getting to know Winchester and the surrounding area. I was googling Roly Pollys and The New Forest and many landmarks mentioned in the book as I read along.
I thought the broderers and their work was worked in quite well in the story line...But I felt the bell tolling information was too tedious. I did not enjoy the very poorly worked out 'baddie' from the corn fields that just felt like the author and editor threw him in there for some intrigue. I also didn't enjoy the 'romance', since Violet seems to get away with just about anything. We don't see any remorse from the male lead, and I think the book either needed remorse, or a death, or something to make it a bit heavier.
All in all, this book needed another 100 pages to really develop the characters. The jumping forward in time at the end didn't help things; it seems to have skimmed some really interesting conflicts. Instead we spend too long on bell tolling. Again, let down by a 5 star prediction; I'm happy I bought this one discounted and didn't spend full price on the hardcover. If you want to give it a read, don't spend 35$ on the hardcover.
A bit of a let down, TBH. I liked the story well enough, and I read it quite quickly, but there just wasn't enough character development to offset the thin slice of life plot.
I really enjoyed getting to know what it was like for a 1930s spinster living on her own, and getting to know Winchester and the surrounding area. I was googling Roly Pollys and The New Forest and many landmarks mentioned in the book as I read along.
I thought the broderers and their work was worked in quite well in the story line...But I felt the bell tolling information was too tedious. I did not enjoy the very poorly worked out 'baddie' from the corn fields that just felt like the author and editor threw him in there for some intrigue. I also didn't enjoy the 'romance', since Violet seems to get away with just about anything. We don't see any remorse from the male lead, and I think the book either needed remorse, or a death, or something to make it a bit heavier.
All in all, this book needed another 100 pages to really develop the characters. The jumping forward in time at the end didn't help things; it seems to have skimmed some really interesting conflicts. Instead we spend too long on bell tolling. Again, let down by a 5 star prediction; I'm happy I bought this one discounted and didn't spend full price on the hardcover. If you want to give it a read, don't spend 35$ on the hardcover.
I'm a big fan of Violet - she had plenty of character to craft a post-WWI story around, colored by the quandary of being an "excess woman" dealing with grief and building a life for herself. I also like stories with textile arts in them, so the embroidery was a lovely feature, plus the history & features of the cathedral & other churches & all the bells. It reminded me of the tv show Father Brown somewhat.
I'm rounding up to 4 stars, even though the rather mixed happy endings are pretty optimistic & I'm not sure the subplot with the stalker fits in with everything else. (Is it a metaphor? The ugly dragon is crippled by the feminine arts? IDK)
I'm rounding up to 4 stars, even though the rather mixed happy endings are pretty optimistic & I'm not sure the subplot with the stalker fits in with everything else. (Is it a metaphor? The ugly dragon is crippled by the feminine arts? IDK)
If i were to give this a 4-star it would be because of Fenella Woolgar's narration. It should be a 4-star and excellent read because of that. Fenella is absolutely lovely and she makes this book a lovely one as well - especially Violet.
This is a quiet and fairly slow-moving story. There is nothing wrong with that really, however I feel that if it weren't for the lovely Fenella reading this to me, my head would have hit the table in a loud thunk many times. It's a story filled to the brim with tales of embroidery and bell-ringing (indeed in one chapter there is the use of the word 'bells' 40 times in 10 pages! I finished in paper format so I was able to see and count out the word that was cramming my ears!). What makes it warm and lovely though is the story of Violet, and the so many women like her following WWI. A time when all the men were wiped out because of the war, leaving many, many women alone. No brothers, no fathers, no husbands or fiancés. Faced with this significant independence, society still didn't catch up to the thinking toward this new way of life, still making it difficult for women to live independently, earn a living wage and be able to leave the home and enjoy life without the shadow of a man at their side. And for those women turning to love with each other - heavens! Absolutely not! So Chevalier does do a nice job of showing the frustrations and loneliness faced during this time in between wars, but I cannot deny the overall dryness to this one so I'll say it's between a 3-and 4-star read. I do sincerely recommend the audiobook for absolute enjoyment. That I can absolutely say is the perfect way to enjoy this one.
This is a quiet and fairly slow-moving story. There is nothing wrong with that really, however I feel that if it weren't for the lovely Fenella reading this to me, my head would have hit the table in a loud thunk many times. It's a story filled to the brim with tales of embroidery and bell-ringing (indeed in one chapter there is the use of the word 'bells' 40 times in 10 pages! I finished in paper format so I was able to see and count out the word that was cramming my ears!). What makes it warm and lovely though is the story of Violet, and the so many women like her following WWI. A time when all the men were wiped out because of the war, leaving many, many women alone. No brothers, no fathers, no husbands or fiancés. Faced with this significant independence, society still didn't catch up to the thinking toward this new way of life, still making it difficult for women to live independently, earn a living wage and be able to leave the home and enjoy life without the shadow of a man at their side. And for those women turning to love with each other - heavens! Absolutely not! So Chevalier does do a nice job of showing the frustrations and loneliness faced during this time in between wars, but I cannot deny the overall dryness to this one so I'll say it's between a 3-and 4-star read. I do sincerely recommend the audiobook for absolute enjoyment. That I can absolutely say is the perfect way to enjoy this one.
It's not a great sign when my favorite part of a novel are the in depth descriptions of embroidering and cathedral bellringing. I mean, it was super cool to learn about those things (I'd never even heard the term Broderer before that), but those are not exactly things I read books for.
Violet Speedwell had so much promise as a heroine, chafing as she does against the small lot open to her. Unfortunately, she takes her bid for freedom and uses it to pursue a much older married man. And, in the end, she ends up pregnant with his baby (he won't leave his mentally broken wife). There's also the consistent subplot about the creepy man who sexually assaults her (right after the sex with the older man IN A FIELD). In the end, Violet's happy with her choices, which is good I guess, but I just never understood the appeal of Arthur at all.
Basically the only plus for me was her friendship with a girl who turns out to be in love with another girl. It's not the best angle on f/f, but not too bad for the time. Violet's initially judgmental but tolerant in a pretend-it-isn't-happening way but over time she slowly becomes more accepting and supportive. But hey, it is nice that the f/f ship ends up really happy and settled and there is no het romance. So there's that.
I just? Don't really get the appeal of this book to be honest. It's well written, certainly, but the plot's slow as hell with almost nothing happening, only to culminate in massive drama. Probably there are people who will enjoy this book but it was the opposite of a Christina book.
Violet Speedwell had so much promise as a heroine, chafing as she does against the small lot open to her. Unfortunately, she takes her bid for freedom and uses it to pursue a much older married man. And, in the end, she ends up pregnant with his baby (he won't leave his mentally broken wife). There's also the consistent subplot about the creepy man who sexually assaults her (right after the sex with the older man IN A FIELD). In the end, Violet's happy with her choices, which is good I guess, but I just never understood the appeal of Arthur at all.
Basically the only plus for me was her friendship with a girl who turns out to be in love with another girl. It's not the best angle on f/f, but not too bad for the time. Violet's initially judgmental but tolerant in a pretend-it-isn't-happening way but over time she slowly becomes more accepting and supportive. But hey, it is nice that the f/f ship ends up really happy and settled and there is no het romance. So there's that.
I just? Don't really get the appeal of this book to be honest. It's well written, certainly, but the plot's slow as hell with almost nothing happening, only to culminate in massive drama. Probably there are people who will enjoy this book but it was the opposite of a Christina book.
I was given this advanced copy in return for an unbiased review. I enjoyed this book especially at the beginning because like some of Chevalier's earlier books it puts you squarely in another era of history. But this books takes on a pretty contemporary tone toward the middle and some of the character's actions just felt out of place with the tone and setting of the book. *Spoiler* The affair with Arthur seemed kind of preposterous (in a field no less). Gilda and Dorothy's relationship seems kind of trite (not helped by the random spouting of Latin phrases which I just found irritating not whimsical). I guess if you set out to write a Jane Austen novel set in a more modern era this might be the result but to me it did not seem to fit the sensibilities of the interwar years.
Aside from that, the names were rather too quaint (Violet, daughter Iris) and it was just a bit corney but maybe these were common names from the time. I actually enjoyed the details on needlework and the ringing of church bells (learned a lot about that which is cool). The book needed to stick to a genre (if that's the way to put it) and time period more in my opinion. I enjoyed it but I can't say it is one of her better novels. Sort of like a Murder She Wrote episode. Good for a warm cup of tea and nostalgic mood but not really a great novel. And imagine you are watching Murder She Wrote (or for people who don't know that old show, some quaint TV show that is very predictable and tame) and suddenly the main character has an affair with a married man. Zero problem with seeing life depicted as it is. Anna Karenina may be my favorite book. It's just that in this setting in a cute country village in England it felt peculiar. Maybe I'm putting unfair limits or demands on the novel but I preferred Girl with a Pearl Earring which kept you in that world more easily and it was much more believable that the "illicit" relationships there happened. Still, I don't regret reading it and I still like her as an author.
Aside from that, the names were rather too quaint (Violet, daughter Iris) and it was just a bit corney but maybe these were common names from the time. I actually enjoyed the details on needlework and the ringing of church bells (learned a lot about that which is cool). The book needed to stick to a genre (if that's the way to put it) and time period more in my opinion. I enjoyed it but I can't say it is one of her better novels. Sort of like a Murder She Wrote episode. Good for a warm cup of tea and nostalgic mood but not really a great novel. And imagine you are watching Murder She Wrote (or for people who don't know that old show, some quaint TV show that is very predictable and tame) and suddenly the main character has an affair with a married man. Zero problem with seeing life depicted as it is. Anna Karenina may be my favorite book. It's just that in this setting in a cute country village in England it felt peculiar. Maybe I'm putting unfair limits or demands on the novel but I preferred Girl with a Pearl Earring which kept you in that world more easily and it was much more believable that the "illicit" relationships there happened. Still, I don't regret reading it and I still like her as an author.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Want to visit some of the places.
Set in 1932 Violet is 38 years old 2 million "surplus" women
Winchester cathedral chapter 1
Tomb of Izaac Walton author of the Compleat Angler in fisherman's chapel.
Great West window reconstructed piecemeal after being destroyed by parliamentarians in 1600s.
Louisa Pesel broderers
Ch3 mentions the ceiling bosses
"Prayers had died in the war [WW1] alongside G & L and a nation full of young men"
Diver William Walker saved the cathedral by shoring up the foundations (1907).
Ch 4 Violet attends the class and learns the stitches incl tent stitch, x stitch
Grave of Thomas Thetcher 1764
(white gravestone under a yew, outer close - between cathedral and High street)
Nether Wallop - church yard with Douce pyramid (also pyramid at Farley mount "Beware chalk pit" horse)
Q: how would we feel about the book if we didn't know so many of the places?
Fylfots cf swastikas see Eddington's tomb in S Aisle (J Austin is in N Aisle)
Louisa Pesel says that she used the Fylfots as an act of subversion, a single thread can make all the difference.
Set in 1932 Violet is 38 years old 2 million "surplus" women
Winchester cathedral chapter 1
Tomb of Izaac Walton author of the Compleat Angler in fisherman's chapel.
Great West window reconstructed piecemeal after being destroyed by parliamentarians in 1600s.
Louisa Pesel broderers
Ch3 mentions the ceiling bosses
"Prayers had died in the war [WW1] alongside G & L and a nation full of young men"
Diver William Walker saved the cathedral by shoring up the foundations (1907).
Ch 4 Violet attends the class and learns the stitches incl tent stitch, x stitch
Grave of Thomas Thetcher 1764
(white gravestone under a yew, outer close - between cathedral and High street)
Nether Wallop - church yard with Douce pyramid (also pyramid at Farley mount "Beware chalk pit" horse)
Q: how would we feel about the book if we didn't know so many of the places?
Fylfots cf swastikas see Eddington's tomb in S Aisle (J Austin is in N Aisle)
Louisa Pesel says that she used the Fylfots as an act of subversion, a single thread can make all the difference.
Holy cow, this book was boring. The most exciting thing that happened was the main character purposely seducing a married man. If embroidery and church bells excite you, then pick up this book when it comes out on Tuesday. If those things aren't up your alley, then probably skip this.
I enjoyed reading this book. Even though it didn’t make me want to pick up a needle and thread I did want to put my walking boots on and explore the English countryside and Winchester Cathedral.