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theinkdrinker's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
miastr's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
there are lots of stories in this book, not just the one the book tells. unfortunately, those untold stories could have been a lot more interesting.
also, i couldn’t see past the main love story - it was unnecessary, i think. i can’t see why more people aren’t talking about it.
also, i couldn’t see past the main love story - it was unnecessary, i think. i can’t see why more people aren’t talking about it.
sierrarain03's review
4.0
It was a pretty good book! The different story lines and time jumps confused me at first but i got used to it and it was very nice to read. The writing is beautiful!
suannelaqueur's review
5.0
ONE MILLION STARS AND COMETS. This is why I read. These are the books I live for. I read this on a flight from Heathrow to JFK and honestly forgot I was in a plane. Utterly transported somewhere else. A brilliant idea brilliantly executed. I highly HIGHLY recommend this, especially if you have a few unplugged hours to disappear.
cheryl1213's review
3.0
I must confess to start that I finished this book, provided to me by the publisher is exchange for a review, several weeks ago. Sometimes I think delays (which I admit are quite common these days!) hamper my ability to write a review, other times I think that a delayed review can be far more telling...esp with my very odd memory..and capture the essence of a story more than an immediate write-up could.
This novel has two primary protagonists but also touches down in moments across several centuries. At the simplest level, it is the love story of Francois and Roisin. At another level, it is an ode to comets. At its core, it is about time, about love, about memory, and about the past that is always present in, well, the present. It begins at the end of the story, when Francois and Roisin are (finally, an odd word for a preface but an accurate one) connecting under the Antarctic sky. The reader is then taken back in their lives. Roisin's arc centers on a love of the night sky and a complex relationship with a cousin, a relationship that is intense in youth (intensified by being taboo) and teeters on the edge of soul-matehood but is tested by different destinies and dreams. In Francois's story, the focus is on his tie to his mother who is either insane or possesses a deep, inherited gift that allows her to see deceased relatives whenever a comet passes overhead (it is these predecessors whose stories are told in the chapters dating back much further in time, always tied to the appearance of a comet).
There are moments in this book that feel so very intense. And there are moments that feel desperately disappointing, when the writer falls back on what feels like too-simple tropes (e.g., near-misses in the histories of the two protagonists). There are moments of magic and others that feel forced (including the connection to a famous tapestry and the characters depicted thereon). I did enjoy the lessons about history and science and appreciated the research that went into the book. And overall, and I recognize this is such a wimpy statement, I think I liked it. But, like a comet blazing across the horizon and then disappearing into the dark, it faded very fast.
3.5 stars (and I'll pick 3 when forced to choose). Readers should be looking for love stories that can be more about history than romance, for a heavy dose of magic, for a little bit of science, and for a lot emotion....but also ready to accept a few literary foibles and a story that burns hot at moments and fades near-to-dark at others.
This novel has two primary protagonists but also touches down in moments across several centuries. At the simplest level, it is the love story of Francois and Roisin. At another level, it is an ode to comets. At its core, it is about time, about love, about memory, and about the past that is always present in, well, the present. It begins at the end of the story, when Francois and Roisin are (finally, an odd word for a preface but an accurate one) connecting under the Antarctic sky. The reader is then taken back in their lives. Roisin's arc centers on a love of the night sky and a complex relationship with a cousin, a relationship that is intense in youth (intensified by being taboo) and teeters on the edge of soul-matehood but is tested by different destinies and dreams. In Francois's story, the focus is on his tie to his mother who is either insane or possesses a deep, inherited gift that allows her to see deceased relatives whenever a comet passes overhead (it is these predecessors whose stories are told in the chapters dating back much further in time, always tied to the appearance of a comet).
There are moments in this book that feel so very intense. And there are moments that feel desperately disappointing, when the writer falls back on what feels like too-simple tropes (e.g., near-misses in the histories of the two protagonists). There are moments of magic and others that feel forced (including the connection to a famous tapestry and the characters depicted thereon). I did enjoy the lessons about history and science and appreciated the research that went into the book. And overall, and I recognize this is such a wimpy statement, I think I liked it. But, like a comet blazing across the horizon and then disappearing into the dark, it faded very fast.
3.5 stars (and I'll pick 3 when forced to choose). Readers should be looking for love stories that can be more about history than romance, for a heavy dose of magic, for a little bit of science, and for a lot emotion....but also ready to accept a few literary foibles and a story that burns hot at moments and fades near-to-dark at others.
jaclynday's review
4.0
This book has a quiet, otherworldly beauty. Though there are a lot of characters, a few do stand out and provide enough connective tissue to pull the reader through the tricky (and potentially confusing) narrative structure.
speasyspice's review against another edition
3.0
Irish astronomer Róisín and French chef François first connect at a remote research base at the edge of the world, but their meeting has been in the making for nearly a millennium. Debut author Helen Sedgwick spins an intricate web that spans continents and centuries, following an array of their intertwined ancestors from the Norman Conquest of 1066 to modern-day Bayeux. Luminous and spare, The Comet Seekers is not only a beautiful story about love, loss, and family ghosts, but also a story about humanity's endless fascination with the heavens and the ties that ultimately keep us rooted to the earth.
emilyesears's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
crafalsk264's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Róisín and François meet at a research center in Antarctica. Róisín is Irish and an astronomer with a fascination with comets. François is a French chef hired to provide meals to the employees and researchers at the Station. The two are drawn together slowly through a cache of shared interests. There are points of convergence throughout their lives and each has a connection to comets. The story of ancestors are told in chapters titled with the names of comets and when those comets visit earth.
Róisín is several years older than François and has been at University as a student and then a faculty member. Her life is shadowed by a tragic relationship with a beloved cousin who has adored her since childhood then as a friend and his death has left a void in her life that she hasn’t been able to fill.
François is the only son of a single mother (Severine) who takes him to cities and places of interest when he is very young. But as he grows older his mother becomes almost home bound and she sees ghosts when a comet nears and passes the earth, it calls forth the ghosts in François’ family and they all live with Severine. The family ghosts become all the company Severine needs.
This is a beautiful debut novel looking at lives lived in parallel paths crossing and recrossing each others’ time lines. The lyrical language when describing the comets was touching. The comets appear, pass, and retreat until the next time the forces of gravity pull and push the glittering travelers on their way. The book starts rather slowly but picks up after the characters, times, and location are introduced. I loved the writing on the comets, laughed at Severine’s relationship with her “family” and became rather fond of François but most of the rest of the characters—not so much. Recommend to readers who enjoy ghost stories travel literature and comet lore.