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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
slow-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
Almost a perfect book to me. I love history and the plague(s) has always been something of interest to me. How does one come back from losing so many? I really liked the writing and reflections on grief. Seeing people complaining about how bleak and gruesome the story is is silly to me. I thought that the author dealt with the matters well and added a lot of hopefulness into the narration considering. However, I have to say that the book seems to take a downward spiral by the end. I had come to love the little village Anna loved herself so it was hard to see her just leave it like that. I also didn't care for the Bradfords or the drama. I thought the story was setting up a plot for Anna and the rector to find solace in one another. I would have been interested in that a lot more than...whatever that was. Meaningless lust? I also thought the death of Elinor was too easily glossed over by Anna. Just in the last chapter, she was freaking out about the possibility of Elinor being plagued. But overall, I really liked this book. In my mind, Anna just took on the rector as her husband, he didn't have that weird thing where at the end his entire personality felt contradicted, and Anna continued as the village healer as she watched everyone slowly piece themselves back together.
informative
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Look, I liked it! Even the ending! As a historian, it tickled the right spot. It's devastating but in a way that makes things feel ok at the end. So what? I like plague stories. Sue me!
A lot of people complain about the ending, but I think when you look at Brooks' other writing it makes sense that she went there. I'm not mad. I'm not confused. I think it is an acceptable ending for a character that had an unacceptable life.
A lot of people complain about the ending, but I think when you look at Brooks' other writing it makes sense that she went there. I'm not mad. I'm not confused. I think it is an acceptable ending for a character that had an unacceptable life.
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
November 19th, 2017: I've been plugging away at this book for weeks. It is a chore. The writing is lovely, but I am becoming annoyed with the author for dropping in authentic 17th century words. Also, I feel the pacing is sooo slow.
Later that same day: I finished it. It could have been sooo much better!
Later that same day: I finished it. It could have been sooo much better!
The first three-quarters of this book were absolutely wonderful I adored them. But that last quarter was so out of place. It was like someone had killed the author and tried to finish the book off in a completely different genre. It just did not match. I adored the rest of the book though. I loved the way it was set up, I loved the individual characters and especially adored the reality that was served in it, not the ending of course, but in everything else. I was delighted to hear I was studying it next year and I am so happy that I had the experience of the first bit. The last bit though.... was just plain weird. Wrong. Incorrect. I don't hate it, it just didn't fit.
Reading this book during coronavirus was an interesting experience. It was a tad eerie to see the similarities between then and now; the characters searching for treatment and cures while assessing the “data” of who was infected.
Anna is a remarkable heroine. Her strength in the wake of adversity keeps the story going.
I enjoyed Brooks first novel, March, very much. When it comes to historical fiction, she has a gift.
Anna is a remarkable heroine. Her strength in the wake of adversity keeps the story going.
I enjoyed Brooks first novel, March, very much. When it comes to historical fiction, she has a gift.