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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
MOONLIGHT AND THE PEARLER'S DAUGHTER - LIZZIE POOK
If you're looking for a shorter read that's beautifully written, packs in a whole lot of story and sets a fast pace, I'm convinced you'll love Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter. Here's a synopsis:
Western Australia, 1886. After months at sea, a boat makes its passage from London to Bannin Bay. From the deck, young Eliza Brightwell and her family eye their strange, new home. Here is an unforgiving land where fortune sits patiently at the bottom of the ocean, waiting to be claimed by those brave enough to venture into its depths. Ten years later, the pearl-diving boat captained by Eliza’s eccentric father returns after months at sea - without Eliza’s father on it. Headstrong Eliza knows it’s up to her to discover who, or what, is really responsible.
As you can tell, there's a mystery at the heart of this novel, and Eliza is incredibly brave and tenacious for her time, taking it upon herself to discover what happened to her father.
I loved Lizzie Pook's unflinching portrayal of this period in Australia. These people lived in truly dire circumstances, facing disease, lack of healthcare and basic resources, corruption and a sense of lawlessness - where you could get away with just about anything. The completely barbaric treatment of the indigenous communities is also addressed. Every single character in this story showcases a slightly different element of life in Bannin Bay.
Eliza's story in the present is interspersed with journal entries by her father, detailing the natural world in their new home. This helps to propel the story forward, making it feel all the more urgent to find out what happened to him.
And then there's Eliza herself, who keeps getting reminded of the ways she should behave and what she should want, but stubbornly refuses to conform. This is very much a story of her finding herself and finding purpose and strength through the adventures she experiences on her quest to find the truth.
Review score: 4/5
TWs: d*ath, racism, violence, sexism
If you're looking for a shorter read that's beautifully written, packs in a whole lot of story and sets a fast pace, I'm convinced you'll love Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter. Here's a synopsis:
Western Australia, 1886. After months at sea, a boat makes its passage from London to Bannin Bay. From the deck, young Eliza Brightwell and her family eye their strange, new home. Here is an unforgiving land where fortune sits patiently at the bottom of the ocean, waiting to be claimed by those brave enough to venture into its depths. Ten years later, the pearl-diving boat captained by Eliza’s eccentric father returns after months at sea - without Eliza’s father on it. Headstrong Eliza knows it’s up to her to discover who, or what, is really responsible.
As you can tell, there's a mystery at the heart of this novel, and Eliza is incredibly brave and tenacious for her time, taking it upon herself to discover what happened to her father.
I loved Lizzie Pook's unflinching portrayal of this period in Australia. These people lived in truly dire circumstances, facing disease, lack of healthcare and basic resources, corruption and a sense of lawlessness - where you could get away with just about anything. The completely barbaric treatment of the indigenous communities is also addressed. Every single character in this story showcases a slightly different element of life in Bannin Bay.
Eliza's story in the present is interspersed with journal entries by her father, detailing the natural world in their new home. This helps to propel the story forward, making it feel all the more urgent to find out what happened to him.
And then there's Eliza herself, who keeps getting reminded of the ways she should behave and what she should want, but stubbornly refuses to conform. This is very much a story of her finding herself and finding purpose and strength through the adventures she experiences on her quest to find the truth.
Review score: 4/5
TWs: d*ath, racism, violence, sexism
In the late 1800s, Eliza Brightwell's father decides to move the family from England to Australia to make their fortune from the pearl diving industry. It's not a happy transition, as the climate and the people they meet are not what they expected.
Ten years later, Eliza's father doesn't return from sea. She's shocked, her brother and uncle will only say her father went overboard, and neither seems interested in pursuing this further. Eliza is insistent he is still alive, and deeply concerned that a friend is suspected of killing her father. Not believing what she hears, Eliza enlists the help of a stranger, and heads out looking for her father.
Lizzie's Pook was terrific at evoking the time period , its attitudes (racism), and how the pearl industry depends on the exploitation of the indigenous population. Eliza is courageous, intelligent and a little too ready to throw herself into danger to find out what really happened to her father. The story held my interest, and gave me some insight into a part of Australia in the late 1800s.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Simon & Shuster Canada for this ARC in exchange for my review.
Ten years later, Eliza's father doesn't return from sea. She's shocked, her brother and uncle will only say her father went overboard, and neither seems interested in pursuing this further. Eliza is insistent he is still alive, and deeply concerned that a friend is suspected of killing her father. Not believing what she hears, Eliza enlists the help of a stranger, and heads out looking for her father.
Lizzie's Pook was terrific at evoking the time period , its attitudes (racism), and how the pearl industry depends on the exploitation of the indigenous population. Eliza is courageous, intelligent and a little too ready to throw herself into danger to find out what really happened to her father. The story held my interest, and gave me some insight into a part of Australia in the late 1800s.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Simon & Shuster Canada for this ARC in exchange for my review.
Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter by Lizzie Pook
A little ‘by-the-numbers’, but credit to Pook for resisting the clichéd ending. The rich and colourful setting and well-developed characters overcame those anachronistic elements that tended to take me “out of” the story.
⭐ ⭐ ½
A little ‘by-the-numbers’, but credit to Pook for resisting the clichéd ending. The rich and colourful setting and well-developed characters overcame those anachronistic elements that tended to take me “out of” the story.
⭐ ⭐ ½
A beautifully written historical novel set in Bannin Bay Australia in the late 1800’s. This is Lizzie Pooks’s debut novel, which will be published in June 2022. Eliza Brightwell’s father is a successful Pearler. He collects beautiful large pearls from the ocean. He is gone months at a time. Eliza patiently waits for his return. But on this return trip, at the end of the season, his lugger returns without him. His crew including his son have no idea what happened to him. His son goes looking for him, but then he does not return. Eliza does not accept the disappearance of both. It is Eliza’s quest to find out the truth.This is the story of an incredible brave young woman.
Thank you, @bookclubfavorites, for the gifted book.
About the book: “For readers of The Light Between Oceans and The Island of Sea Women, a feminist adventure story set against the backdrop of the dangerous pearl diving industry in 19th-century Western Australia, about a young English woman who sets off to uncover the truth about the disappearance of her eccentric father.”
A beautiful cover to go along with this beautiful story. Set in Western Australia during the late 1800s, Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter is Eliza’s story. Her family moves to Bannin Bay from London because of this new industry and opportunity to seek fortune with pearl diving. For ten years, Eliza’s father goes out to sea on his ship with his crew of divers, and then he does not return. Rumors in town abound. Was he murdered? Did the crew overtake him?
While searching for the truth about her father, Eliza also uncovers the truth about this once, for all appearances, shiny, booming industry, to actually be a tawdry, corrupt, perilous, horrendous thing. The book also shines an important light on the indigenous people and how they were exploited, enslaved, and abused by this industry (truly horrific). The storytelling is rich and immersive with a dark tone, and Eliza made for a strong main character based on a historical figure of which I’d love to learn more.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
About the book: “For readers of The Light Between Oceans and The Island of Sea Women, a feminist adventure story set against the backdrop of the dangerous pearl diving industry in 19th-century Western Australia, about a young English woman who sets off to uncover the truth about the disappearance of her eccentric father.”
A beautiful cover to go along with this beautiful story. Set in Western Australia during the late 1800s, Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter is Eliza’s story. Her family moves to Bannin Bay from London because of this new industry and opportunity to seek fortune with pearl diving. For ten years, Eliza’s father goes out to sea on his ship with his crew of divers, and then he does not return. Rumors in town abound. Was he murdered? Did the crew overtake him?
While searching for the truth about her father, Eliza also uncovers the truth about this once, for all appearances, shiny, booming industry, to actually be a tawdry, corrupt, perilous, horrendous thing. The book also shines an important light on the indigenous people and how they were exploited, enslaved, and abused by this industry (truly horrific). The storytelling is rich and immersive with a dark tone, and Eliza made for a strong main character based on a historical figure of which I’d love to learn more.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
I'm all for beautifully written stories but this was over the top. It's a DNF but I read enough to know I didn't like it.
Still thinking the story was interesting - but ENOUGH SIMILIE and METAPHOR!
Still thinking the story was interesting - but ENOUGH SIMILIE and METAPHOR!
How unfortunate.
This one was a struggle for me.
The overly descriptive writing went overboard for me and the characters who make foolish decisions with little to no regard for anyone else made this a slog.
The feminist aspect is just a woman who is "different for the time", but her foolish galavanting into trouble and getting others into bad situations drove me crazy.
So glad it's over.
This one was a struggle for me.
The overly descriptive writing went overboard for me and the characters who make foolish decisions with little to no regard for anyone else made this a slog.
The feminist aspect is just a woman who is "different for the time", but her foolish galavanting into trouble and getting others into bad situations drove me crazy.
So glad it's over.
Beautiful story that had me from page one. Would love to read more coming from her pen in the future.
I really loved this book up until the ending. I hated the ending.