Reviews - La fille du pêcheur de perles

176 reviews for:

La fille du pêcheur de perles

Lizzie Pook

3.39 AVERAGE

emerion's review against another edition

2.25

adventurous dark informative mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

platypus1's review against another edition

3.0

A good debut with a few kinks

Overall I enjoyed this Debut Historical Fiction story written by Lizzie Pook. I was drawn into it right away as I have family in Western Australia. The story is about Eliza Brightwell who has early feminist ideas of how to live her life and her attempts to solve a mystery involving her missing father who owns a pearling ship in the made up town of Bannin Bay Australia. Along the way she is helped by some characters and thwarted by others.

The protagonist Eliza Brightwell is based on a real person Eliza Broadhurst, wife of a WA pearler and Guano Merchant. I have seen a display about them in the Fremantle Maritime Museum in Perth, WA close to where my family lived. Eliza’s husband owned a ship the S.S. Xantho that sank off the coast of Western Australia. Along with the display about the engine they recovered from his ship there was a collaborative display about his wife who was an early participant in the Australian Women’s Suffrage Movement.

The Authors writing is atmospheric and brings you into landscape of dry red dirt, the intense temperatures, an unpredictable ocean, and the animal and flora present as well as the different races living among each other in tight quarters. Unfortunately I felt she missed an opportunity in the prologue where she goes back 10 years to introduce the Brightwells with a brief description of their arrival in Bannine Bay. The storyline 20 years later would have been richer if she had used the prologue to build a base for the characters of the WA pearling industry, the racism and prejudices of the times, and the history of the local Aboriginals.

Overall it was a good debut that included a historical fiction story with a mystery with interesting characters and an exotic location. A good First attempt with some minor kinks in character and historical depth, but an interesting story about WA pearling industry that has not had much historical fiction attention.

I want to thank the Author for the meaningful acknowledgment of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait people and Elders as the First people of the land. So important for us all to remember and acknowledge the true history of the lands we inhabit and the Original Stewards. I’m learning everyday and am thankful for their patience.

Thank you to Book Club Favorites at Simon & Schuster for
the free copy for review.

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