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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's hard to review this book. It took me a bit to get into, then I practically devoured the rest. The pacing was meandering in a charming way then skipped along too quick. The style has an inscrutable plainness that leaves a lot unsaid. On one hand it felt like it was respecting my intelligence as a reader to put things together, but as it went on it felt like most of the emotion, deeper thoughts, and motivations of the characters were left offscreen. I loved the idea of the world and the clockwork wonders it evoked, but I felt distant from it - like watching it behind a foggy pane of glass - because of the sparse style.
As for the characters, the concepts were fantastic and bursting with not-quite-realized potential. I adored every little bit of information we got about the talented and mysterious Mr. Mori, but I felt that much of Thaniel's character was left between the lines to the point of him becoming quite boring as things went on. (How this was managed despite having unique narration tics with his synesthesia, I've no idea). And while I found the drag-wearing, anti-suffragette physicist Grace quite fun and offbeat in the beginning - especially her banter with Matsumoto, the dandy friend who lets her raid his closet - she had an abrupt change of priorities and comprehensibility halfway through the book that left me disappointed. I was looking forward to seeing Mori and Thaniel's relationship growing, especially since this book's been recommended for its LGBTQ+ representation, but all the heart of it was left offscreen in a way that left me feeling hollow - like Katsu curled around the cold space in Mori's bed where he should've been.
But what soured what had still been an enjoyable read for me was when I figured out where the final act was going. I nearly threw my phone at the wall. I almost DNF'd with just chapters left. I only skimmed through to the end to see ifKatsu was alright (more on this in the content warnings) and then reluctantly turned back for the characters I still cared about - ie. Mori and Matsumoto. Grace, who I'd enjoyed despite her purposeful dash of unlikability, made some truly baffling choices in the back half the book that felt like the author's invisible hand squashing a square peg in a round hole marked 'villainess' instead of an organic character arc and was ruined for me. Thaniel still felt like a rudderless mystery even after spending so much time with him. Convoluted plots and character arcs were introduced then quickly wrapped up in neat little bows in a way that felt more like a convenient epilogue than a true finish. Even now I feel overly critical writing about it, but that's how much the climax soured me on the rest of the story. It made those things I'd brushed aside before weigh a little more heavily against it.
There's also an honestly uncomfortable amount of casual racism and xenophobia from the white characters' perspectives. It's clearly meant to be period-typical and reflect the society they grew up in because it disappears in the POV chapters set in Japan, but it still felt excessive. Japanese and Japanese-British characters (including Mori) are constantly referred to as small and delicate and juvenile, and they're described by these racialized features exponentially more often than the white characters, even late into the story. For example, Thaniel's grey eyes and other physical descriptors are mentioned offhandedly, meanwhile each time Mori is described physically - like his tanned skin or short height or small hands - it's always tacked on with some remark inexplicably tying it up with him being Japanese. (Matsumoto, being a tall man, is described as being 'English-raised' instead.) At some point I was just desperate for ANY descriptor for these characters that wasn't racialized and was left disappointed.
Overall, I wanted to fully love this book (and nearly did for awhile!) but the overall execution and the plot choices in the climax unfortunately killed a lot of my enjoyment. I did love the premise of a mysterious, talented-beyond-his-time clockwork maker in his wondrous workshop - and I felt the middle portion of the story was the strongest in part because it focused on unveiling Mori's world. But as the book went on and we were moved from his workshop into the strange 3rd act drama with less compelling characters, I wondered if what I loved about it was more about the possibilities I was imagining for myself than what was on the page. Katsu the adorable clockwork octopus, kind and lonely Mori, and dearly underused Matsumoto were the shining stars for me, though I'm not sure I'll be tuning into the next book to see how they fare.
As for the characters, the concepts were fantastic and bursting with not-quite-realized potential. I adored every little bit of information we got about the talented and mysterious Mr. Mori, but I felt that much of Thaniel's character was left between the lines to the point of him becoming quite boring as things went on. (How this was managed despite having unique narration tics with his synesthesia, I've no idea). And while I found the drag-wearing, anti-suffragette physicist Grace quite fun and offbeat in the beginning - especially her banter with Matsumoto, the dandy friend who lets her raid his closet - she had an abrupt change of priorities and comprehensibility halfway through the book that left me disappointed. I was looking forward to seeing
But what soured what had still been an enjoyable read for me was when I figured out where the final act was going. I nearly threw my phone at the wall. I almost DNF'd with just chapters left. I only skimmed through to the end to see if
There's also an honestly uncomfortable amount of casual racism and xenophobia from the white characters' perspectives. It's clearly meant to be period-typical and reflect the society they grew up in because it disappears in the POV chapters set in Japan, but it still felt excessive. Japanese and Japanese-British characters (including Mori) are constantly referred to as small and delicate and juvenile, and they're described by these racialized features exponentially more often than the white characters, even late into the story. For example, Thaniel's grey eyes and other physical descriptors are mentioned offhandedly, meanwhile each time Mori is described physically - like his tanned skin or short height or small hands - it's always tacked on with some remark inexplicably tying it up with him being Japanese. (Matsumoto, being a tall man, is described as being 'English-raised' instead.) At some point I was just desperate for ANY descriptor for these characters that wasn't racialized and was left disappointed.
Overall, I wanted to fully love this book (and nearly did for awhile!) but the overall execution and the plot choices in the climax unfortunately killed a lot of my enjoyment. I did love the premise of a mysterious, talented-beyond-his-time clockwork maker in his wondrous workshop - and I felt the middle portion of the story was the strongest in part because it focused on unveiling Mori's world. But as the book went on and we were moved from his workshop into the strange 3rd act drama with less compelling characters, I wondered if what I loved about it was more about the possibilities I was imagining for myself than what was on the page. Katsu the adorable clockwork octopus, kind and lonely Mori, and dearly underused Matsumoto were the shining stars for me, though I'm not sure I'll be tuning into the next book to see how they fare.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Biphobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Blood, Stalking, Classism
Minor: Body horror, Chronic illness, Grief
Animal death: Personally, even though it's not really graphic and technically about a clockwork animal (though one that is so lifelike it seems to have the soul of an artificially intelligent lapdog), I found it so distressing that I had to skip over it and it still ruined the book for me. Apparently (potential book 2 spoilers) he returns in the next one, if skimming goodreads reviews is to be believed, but I'm not sure how or in what form.
Stalking: Doesn't turn out to be true, but it's discussed frequently in depth and may still be distressing, especially for people who are sensitive to discussions about domestic stalking.
Body horror: One scene's setting that includes skeletons and some gruesome medical items. If you want to skip it, keep an eye out near the end when Thaniel is waiting in the hospital. Skip the part about the gallery until Thaniel's back outside.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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:
No
Impossibile da descrivere, ma bellissimo. Un romanzo storico ambientato in un periodo dell'epoca vittoriana poco esplorata (1980s), un po' magical realism, un po' giallo con l'incontro di 2 anime al centro di tutto. Consigliatissimo
Ik ben eigenlijk nu al weer vergeten wat ik net gelezen heb.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was an excitable enough story - albeit plainly-written - but then the timeskip made it dive into "insufferably boring" territory about two thirds of the way though.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Overall, I'd say the book was a decent read that kept me interested. However, my very practical brain absolutely could not wrap itself around the "fantastical" elements of the book.
I understand that Mori was supposed to be clairvoyant and somehow magical and what not, but his seeing the present from the future got me completely tripped up, especially at the end. The whole last 40 pages or so of the book (with Grace's chase around London and then her for some reason wanting to blow stuff up) was so confusing. And why didn't Grace like Mori again? Did she not like him because he didn't like her because he knew she was going to marry the guy he loved? Also, woah, did that kiss come out of nowhere. Other reviews said that they picked up on the hints of their feelings earlier in the book, and I knew that they were like totes BFFs, but I did NOT see that coming.
Also, now that I think about it why couldn't Matsumoto and Grace have just been together at the beginning? Wasn't it because Matsumoto didn't think his family would approve? And then actually, 200 pages later, they said it was no biggie?
I also had a really difficult time picturing all the fantastical clockwork objects that Mori made. I wasn't too familiar with clockwork automatons to begin with, so I watched a documentary on it, which made the book more confusing. It was repeated again and again in the book that Katsu was only clockwork and random gears, but I cannot picture then how he would have moved around as if by freewill unless he was actually just a magical device. Even with random gears, I'm picturing that he should have been like a Roomba bumping around the workshop randomly, not climbing up people's arms trying to be petted and stealing socks (how would he have known that there was even a sock in front of him to steal??). It doesn't make sense! Arg!
The more I think about it, the more the fact that I liked reading the book in the moment doesn't make up for all the questions it left unanswered for me. Too little fantasy mixed into a bit more historical fiction. I'll have to stick with one genre or the other from now on.
I understand that Mori was supposed to be clairvoyant and somehow magical and what not, but his seeing the present from the future got me completely tripped up, especially at the end. The whole last 40 pages or so of the book (with Grace's chase around London and then her for some reason wanting to blow stuff up) was so confusing. And why didn't Grace like Mori again? Did she not like him because he didn't like her because he knew she was going to marry the guy he loved? Also, woah, did that kiss come out of nowhere. Other reviews said that they picked up on the hints of their feelings earlier in the book, and I knew that they were like totes BFFs, but I did NOT see that coming.
Also, now that I think about it why couldn't Matsumoto and Grace have just been together at the beginning? Wasn't it because Matsumoto didn't think his family would approve? And then actually, 200 pages later, they said it was no biggie?
I also had a really difficult time picturing all the fantastical clockwork objects that Mori made. I wasn't too familiar with clockwork automatons to begin with, so I watched a documentary on it, which made the book more confusing. It was repeated again and again in the book that Katsu was only clockwork and random gears, but I cannot picture then how he would have moved around as if by freewill unless he was actually just a magical device. Even with random gears, I'm picturing that he should have been like a Roomba bumping around the workshop randomly, not climbing up people's arms trying to be petted and stealing socks (how would he have known that there was even a sock in front of him to steal??). It doesn't make sense! Arg!
The more I think about it, the more the fact that I liked reading the book in the moment doesn't make up for all the questions it left unanswered for me. Too little fantasy mixed into a bit more historical fiction. I'll have to stick with one genre or the other from now on.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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:
No
I dearly loved this and also think it didn't reach its potential. Such a cool, original mix of quantum physics, a gay love story, steampunk, clairvoyance, and loneliness. My heart. There was casual racism that didn't feel intentional but was there nonetheless (sort of a "sign of the times" thing the author leaned into too far) AND I think if everything was more balanced and fleshed out, it would be a perfect book. I almost want the author to rewrite it now further along in her career.
As a bonus, the author's book from this year (Half Life of Valery K) definitely winks at this novel, so I need to reread it now that I get the references.
As a bonus, the author's book from this year (Half Life of Valery K) definitely winks at this novel, so I need to reread it now that I get the references.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Racism, Sexism
Moderate: Death, Cultural appropriation, Classism
I enjoyed the first half of this book a lot, but the second half confused the shit out of me. Characters started acting very differently and various revelations made the plotting convoluted. I couldn't tell who I was supposed to like, or trust (which was maybe the point?) so I don't know how I feel about the ending... the story was very romantic and inventive but then plot threads that occupied the first half (who bombed Scotland Yard?) are dropped in favour of completely new ones (is Grace in love with Thaniel now? Is Mori an evil mastermind?). I just... what? Also Japanese people are described as small/delicate/fragile/childlike so many times I wanted to scream. Such awful white-person-writing-about-asians clichés. But there was a clockwork octopus, so on the whole I'll put this in the "enjoyable" column.
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes