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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I did not enjoy this at all. I kept setting it aside to read other things. I am glad it’s finally over. There were too many points of view to keep track of. And, even after reading the whole thing, I am still confused on some of the plot lines. Not for me.
A mystery left within a Manor in the English countryside unravels as this novel progresses through time. Starting in the 1860's and going into 2017, the story is layers upon itself as each time spills into the next.
Elodie is engaged to be married to a rather rich man and works as an archivist in London. When she stumbles upon a satchel containing a sketch book, Elodie sets out to find who owned the satchel so long ago. In her research, she finds a woman with a borrowed name and a habit of pickpocketing, an artist in love with his muse and not his fiance, a woman who opens a school for girls, a man on an artistic residence, and a woman fleeing the blitz with her children. All come to the Manor along the Thames and each fate is intertwined within the walls. While I greatly enjoyed the dramatics that took place in the 1860's, I had a tough time with the rest of it. I really didn't like Elodie, since it was clear she didn't love her rich fiance and her while story line seemed forced when incorporating it into the whole of the other stories. I liked the woman at the house during WWII, but her story could have been one on its own and instead was only really there to tie Elodie into everything. There rest was just filler and I often wondered where the story was going as I continued to learn more about more characters. It was a thick book for a story that could have been cut down. So while it was entertaining, it dragged a bit for me. It was vivid in history and did all come together in the end at least.
I just have a tough time believing Elodie as a character, especially when there were so many more interesting characters that could have had more focus. It was a worthwhile read that completed in cushy predicability.
Elodie is engaged to be married to a rather rich man and works as an archivist in London. When she stumbles upon a satchel containing a sketch book, Elodie sets out to find who owned the satchel so long ago. In her research, she finds a woman with a borrowed name and a habit of pickpocketing, an artist in love with his muse and not his fiance, a woman who opens a school for girls, a man on an artistic residence, and a woman fleeing the blitz with her children. All come to the Manor along the Thames and each fate is intertwined within the walls. While I greatly enjoyed the dramatics that took place in the 1860's, I had a tough time with the rest of it. I really didn't like Elodie, since it was clear she didn't love her rich fiance and her while story line seemed forced when incorporating it into the whole of the other stories. I liked the woman at the house during WWII, but her story could have been one on its own and instead was only really there to tie Elodie into everything. There rest was just filler and I often wondered where the story was going as I continued to learn more about more characters. It was a thick book for a story that could have been cut down. So while it was entertaining, it dragged a bit for me. It was vivid in history and did all come together in the end at least.
I just have a tough time believing Elodie as a character, especially when there were so many more interesting characters that could have had more focus. It was a worthwhile read that completed in cushy predicability.
Charming, thoughtful, lovely, heartbreaking. Slow at times with a perfect payoff. Elements of Atonement and reminds me somehow of Hugo at times. Very enjoyable.
Loved this book more than I thought I would, equally to the forgotten garden. I read it slow in order to prolong the end coming. It had everything a Kate Morton book should have....mystery, hardship, love, loss, betrayal, life lessons...etc. Overall it was a really nice story that had me engrossed in all of the numerous story lines.
This was such a beautifully told story. Kate Morton has a way of gently guiding you through a story and making you care about the characters in a way that only a great storyteller can. This is one book that I slowly, at least for me, savored. The characters become old friends, each with an unspoken burden, drifting through a world they are in but slightly apart from. I loved how all of the different characters are tied together, but not in the way you immediately think. All of them have an obvious connection, then a hidden, secret connection that is slowly unraveled through the sharing of their lives. I loved this book and can’t wait to read something else by Kate Morton.
A house with an ethereal feel attracts a group of artists and their models for the summer in 1862. All but one of them leave. There are many characters and threads that weave in and out of this story, so it’s a bit hard to summarize. All of the characters are tied, somehow, to this same house and the mystery event that occurred there.
I didn’t like the style of this one. For a while I couldn’t tell who the main character was: in the beginning of the story we switch between two, and besides a chapter marker there wasn’t much else differentiating the voices. There are so many characters and so many side plots that fade in and out, and I was genuinely only interested in one of them (Ada Lovegrove for those that have read).
There are also a lot of plot holes for the main mystery. The more I think about it the more frustrated I get. They are big and obvious, so I don’t know how there are so many that were never addressed. I think this story has an interesting concept, but it feels a bit half baked to me.
I didn’t like the style of this one. For a while I couldn’t tell who the main character was: in the beginning of the story we switch between two, and besides a chapter marker there wasn’t much else differentiating the voices. There are so many characters and so many side plots that fade in and out, and I was genuinely only interested in one of them (Ada Lovegrove for those that have read).
There are also a lot of plot holes for the main mystery. The more I think about it the more frustrated I get. They are big and obvious, so I don’t know how there are so many that were never addressed. I think this story has an interesting concept, but it feels a bit half baked to me.
slow-paced
I keep reading this author because I like her plots but the characters! Very two dimensional. Either sickeningly perfect or mustache twirlingly evil.
I think this is the most gentle, comforting ghost story I know of, and I love that about it. I love that a character, despite her own tragedy, effectively becomes a Fairy Queen who rescues and befriends sad children. I love that the house has personality and feels alive, but is a sanctuary, not a terror. It's a place of healing that seems to attract people who have lost a loved one. And everyone in this book has lost someone.
Quibbles: If you've read other Morton books (I've read [b:The Forgotten Garden|3407877|The Forgotten Garden|Kate Morton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547843777l/3407877._SY75_.jpg|3448086] and [b:The House at Riverton|1278752|The House at Riverton|Kate Morton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356452218l/1278752._SX50_.jpg|1267740]), the structure and some of the themes of this one will look familiar. She always weaves different time periods together, carefully revealing just enough hints in one to hint at the mysteries in another. Morton is so careful about doling out just enough information at the right time
With that in mind, I had no expectation that we would get the full picture of the summer Edward and co. spent at Birchwood before the final chapters, but I was a little surprised by how many other characters were introduced. At one point in the middle, it felt that we needed to take a tour of every lost soul connected to the house in a 150 year period, and it was starting to feel excessive. I think this was in the Leonard section - he interested me less than any of the others. (Sorry, Leonard. I was still pleased to see you and Juliet meeting at the end.) But by the end, I only wanted more and more.
With so many other people, I wondered for a while whether the book is mistitled. At one point, Edward seemed more central. Arguably, the house is more central. In the end, I think it's her due - she really is the glue to the story, even when it isn't clear how or why. But "the clockmaker's daughter" - is it really being her father's daughter that's most important about her?
Quibbles: If you've read other Morton books (I've read [b:The Forgotten Garden|3407877|The Forgotten Garden|Kate Morton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547843777l/3407877._SY75_.jpg|3448086] and [b:The House at Riverton|1278752|The House at Riverton|Kate Morton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356452218l/1278752._SX50_.jpg|1267740]), the structure and some of the themes of this one will look familiar. She always weaves different time periods together, carefully revealing just enough hints in one to hint at the mysteries in another. Morton is so careful about doling out just enough information at the right time
With that in mind, I had no expectation that we would get the full picture of the summer Edward and co. spent at Birchwood before the final chapters, but I was a little surprised by how many other characters were introduced. At one point in the middle, it felt that we needed to take a tour of every lost soul connected to the house in a 150 year period, and it was starting to feel excessive. I think this was in the Leonard section - he interested me less than any of the others. (Sorry, Leonard. I was still pleased to see you and Juliet meeting at the end.) But by the end, I only wanted more and more.
With so many other people, I wondered for a while whether the book is mistitled. At one point, Edward seemed more central. Arguably, the house is more central. In the end, I think it's her due - she really is the glue to the story, even when it isn't clear how or why. But "the clockmaker's daughter" - is it really being her father's daughter that's most important about her?
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated