Reviews

This was such a fascinating exploration of a fascinating character in history. I appreciated that the author classified this as a fiction book, though it seems highly researched and a mostly historical account. It always irks me when nonfiction pretends to know the inner thoughts of the characters, and this didn’t do that at all, despite the author’s clear research and assertion that most of the dialogue was based on letters from the characters.

I decided to just accept this as a biography with invented dialogue rather than a novel, and that definitely had a positive impact on my rating. I was able to accept the paragraphs of straight information, just telling us about the characters rather than letting us get to know them. There was a lot of explanation in this for a novel, but as narrative nonfiction, it was excellent.

Overall, I really enjoyed this, though it was certainly slow at points.

nookandcrannyseattle's review against another edition

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Listened to about 10 minutes before the terrible narrator did me in. I was so excited about this book, too! Seriously, where do they find these people?? I'll retry in print.

thefragranthand's review against another edition

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adventurous informative inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Very well written. If you're only going to read one book about Belle da Costa Greene/ Belle Marion Greener I recommend this one.

nanettels's review

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challenging informative slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

kendrareads's review

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informative medium-paced

4.0

This is a great flight read with The Personal Librarian. I read both for #mmdbookclub. Belle da Costa Greene was such a fascinating person. I appreciated the dive into her life as JP Morgan's personal librarian. I did find this read a bit confusing in telling the difference between a biography and historical fiction because the author is very clear that all of the people and events in the book are real. I suppose the historical fiction part comes into the dialogue that was shared between the characters. I learned quite a bit. This was a very enjoyable read.

katymaryreads's review against another edition

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To me, it read as a distant account of Belle Greene's life. It read more like non-fictionwith some invented dialogue than a novel. I didn't feel any identification with Belle, and didn't much care what happened to her.

joanneadams54's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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