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tresea's review
2.0
Enjoyed the first third of the book immensely, sympathized with the main character. Second third was a bit boring and dragged in places. By the last third I wanted to punch Belle Cora in the face.
cher_n_books's review
4.0
3.5 stars - It was really good.
Sometimes life does not work out the way we planned and we choose paths that would surprise our younger selves. Sometimes first loves do not fade away - "To make life endurable, I had put the part of me that loved Jeptha to sleep, but I had never been able to bring myself to kill it." And sometimes, one meets their arch nemesis at the tender age of 9, and that mortal enemy is in the form of a clever, conniving first cousin - "I was a simpler person than she was. I knew it, because I could think of nothing to say to hurt her. I simply wished her dead."
Historical Fiction is my favorite genre, in part I believe, because real figures and events are often weaved into the story, which makes it far more intriguing, even if only loosely based on truth. Such is the case with this novel, though from the best I can tell, the majority of the novel is fully fictionalized, with the "loose truth" appearing towards the end of the story when Belle is in San Francisco.
The author presents the novel as a fake memoir, including a fake forward, which makes it difficult to tell what exactly is based loosely on truth vs fully fictionalized, though the author does address that somewhat in the author's note. Had the author's note been placed at the beginning, before the fake forward to the fake memoir, I believe it would make everything come together more cohesively and be less confusing. A quick wiki search, which I do NOT recommend until you have finished the book unless you already know the story of Mr. and Mrs. Cora, details a major event that involves murder as happening significantly differently than presented in the book, and that irked me a wee bit. Taking some liberties is expected, but when you alter who pulled the trigger, it feels more like alternate historical fiction.
I enjoyed this novel quite well and would recommend it to anyone that likes historical fiction and is interested in the Gold Rush era. It put me in mind at times of East of Eden by John Steinbeck (a favorite of mine). The pacing was inconsistent however, and while I never found it to be slow, some parts were much less fascinating than others. A couple of people on Goodreads have it shelved as "chick lit" which I do not think is appropriate as it is not a light, "beachy" read. On the other hand, I do think women will enjoy this more than most men, as there is a consistent exploration of relationships - both romantic male/female, and those of a female/female feudal nature (see arch nemesis reference above), yet I would definitely not classify this as a romance.
Favorite Quote: Philosophers know that all choices are fateful. Each decision destroys worlds of possibility and permits others to survive at least a little longer. In a gold rush, the process is visible to ordinary men, and since they're not philosophers, it unsettles them, and they begin to do strange things.
First sentence: My experiences in the April 1906 earthquake in San Francisco have led me to write this book, so I suppose I'll begin there.
Sometimes life does not work out the way we planned and we choose paths that would surprise our younger selves. Sometimes first loves do not fade away - "To make life endurable, I had put the part of me that loved Jeptha to sleep, but I had never been able to bring myself to kill it." And sometimes, one meets their arch nemesis at the tender age of 9, and that mortal enemy is in the form of a clever, conniving first cousin - "I was a simpler person than she was. I knew it, because I could think of nothing to say to hurt her. I simply wished her dead."
Historical Fiction is my favorite genre, in part I believe, because real figures and events are often weaved into the story, which makes it far more intriguing, even if only loosely based on truth. Such is the case with this novel, though from the best I can tell, the majority of the novel is fully fictionalized, with the "loose truth" appearing towards the end of the story when Belle is in San Francisco.
The author presents the novel as a fake memoir, including a fake forward, which makes it difficult to tell what exactly is based loosely on truth vs fully fictionalized, though the author does address that somewhat in the author's note. Had the author's note been placed at the beginning, before the fake forward to the fake memoir, I believe it would make everything come together more cohesively and be less confusing. A quick wiki search, which I do NOT recommend until you have finished the book unless you already know the story of Mr. and Mrs. Cora, details a major event that involves murder as happening significantly differently than presented in the book, and that irked me a wee bit. Taking some liberties is expected, but when you alter who pulled the trigger, it feels more like alternate historical fiction.
I enjoyed this novel quite well and would recommend it to anyone that likes historical fiction and is interested in the Gold Rush era. It put me in mind at times of East of Eden by John Steinbeck (a favorite of mine). The pacing was inconsistent however, and while I never found it to be slow, some parts were much less fascinating than others. A couple of people on Goodreads have it shelved as "chick lit" which I do not think is appropriate as it is not a light, "beachy" read. On the other hand, I do think women will enjoy this more than most men, as there is a consistent exploration of relationships - both romantic male/female, and those of a female/female feudal nature (see arch nemesis reference above), yet I would definitely not classify this as a romance.
Favorite Quote: Philosophers know that all choices are fateful. Each decision destroys worlds of possibility and permits others to survive at least a little longer. In a gold rush, the process is visible to ordinary men, and since they're not philosophers, it unsettles them, and they begin to do strange things.
First sentence: My experiences in the April 1906 earthquake in San Francisco have led me to write this book, so I suppose I'll begin there.
cawhite's review
4.0
I think that living in San Francisco made me appreciate this book and the glimpses of SF history.
indianajane's review
5.0
Excellent historical fiction. I love it when a book is well-written, the characters are complex and feel real, AND I learn something about a place and time that I previously had little familiarity with. I picked this book up from the new fiction shelves at the library based on the cover blurb. Over half of the books that I find this way end up going back unread. I started this one with hope, but much trepidation due to the nature of the main character. I was very quickly sucked in by the story and the writing. The writing in this book stays out of the way. First-person narratives often feel forced, but this never did. The writing carried the story beautifully. As I was reading it, I kept thinking, "Unless something changes, this is a five-star book." Nothing changed.
emp1234's review
3.0
3.5 stars. Really well written and the story, for the most part, moved at a fast and interesting pace. I felt like it got a little bogged down towards the end when there were a lot of political discussions. I don't seek out historical fiction in general, but bet people who do would love this book.
vee615's review
4.0
I liked this book because the main character was interesting, she was such a flawed character and since it was in first person narration this made it interesting. This book is likened to Moll Flanders about a woman's fall from grace. But unlike Moll Flanders Belle Cora learns to embrace her gifts, uses them to get what she wants and sometimes needs, but is also open about the downsides and dangers of being a prostitute and later on a madame of her own house.
The author did a great job putting Belle in various historical movements and events lending an eye into life in New York, the country, and later out west in San Francisco. However, this book was dense and often just exhausting. The reader falls into a constant ebb an flow of good things happen and then something goes terribly wrong and we have to watch Belle build herself back up from zero. This can get trying sometimes especially when we see that she did it to herself a couple of times.
The author did a great job putting Belle in various historical movements and events lending an eye into life in New York, the country, and later out west in San Francisco. However, this book was dense and often just exhausting. The reader falls into a constant ebb an flow of good things happen and then something goes terribly wrong and we have to watch Belle build herself back up from zero. This can get trying sometimes especially when we see that she did it to herself a couple of times.
somojones's review
4.0
This historical fiction is a very good story. Protagonist Belle was cunning, a conniving person who manipulated people and events at whatever the cost. Her whole circle of family and friends lacked morals and integrity. All of them fit in as unscrupulous characters of the “Wild West”. A good book that kept me engrossed.
jlrasa23's review against another edition
4.0
I received this from a giveaway and thoroughly enjoyed the book.
grapegatsby's review
3.0
There were parts of this book that were excellent. However, it just kind of ended. I wanted more about how the protagonist re-invented herself yet again. I also would like to know just how much of this is based on historical fact. The use of a "fake editor" and "fake memoirs" is actually a confusing convention at first, and I disliked any "dear reader" reference. But the story holds up and was enjoyable for the most part. That said, it's not one I'm going to run out and purchase in paperback. The Kindle edition is just fine.