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rachelcus's review
I'm nearing on halfway through and giving up... I just don't care about the characters or the plot. I find this book is just not for me.
ashwise360's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
frostbitsky's review
3.0
I was randomly selected to receive an advanced digital copy of this novel through this site I signed up to. Which is pretty cool and exciting.
It really took me a while to get used to the prose. At times the descriptions would be quite poetic. (Page 80: No other landscape I had ever experienced more proved the point that beauty and terror are sisters. I stared out at the desert and felt its challenge.)
I liked the historical fiction aspect when it came to reading about America's landscape and city life in the late 1800's. However, the author would get too carried away until it became a rambling tangent that interrupted the narrative. It also did not make it easier to read when it came to Hugo's present day confession and the words exchanged between Hugo and his laywers were not in quotations. I often had to reread paragraphs to figure out what was said out loud and by whom.
I understand why Hugo was the narrator, it is a confession after all and makes for an interesting twist, but I often found him unlikable. Also, when he was not at home with Bronwyn I found him a bit dull. I was curious to see Bronwyn's transformation through another character's point of view. Perhaps Tu-Li or Tahktoo.
All that being said, I pushed through. I found it picked up in Part 2 and became an interesting mystery. I liked the philosophical nature vs. nurture brought up in the story. I enjoyed the story and am glad I pushed through to finish it, but I cannot say I loved it.
Overall I would rate it 3 out of 5 stars.
It really took me a while to get used to the prose. At times the descriptions would be quite poetic. (Page 80: No other landscape I had ever experienced more proved the point that beauty and terror are sisters. I stared out at the desert and felt its challenge.)
I liked the historical fiction aspect when it came to reading about America's landscape and city life in the late 1800's. However, the author would get too carried away until it became a rambling tangent that interrupted the narrative. It also did not make it easier to read when it came to Hugo's present day confession and the words exchanged between Hugo and his laywers were not in quotations. I often had to reread paragraphs to figure out what was said out loud and by whom.
I understand why Hugo was the narrator, it is a confession after all and makes for an interesting twist, but I often found him unlikable. Also, when he was not at home with Bronwyn I found him a bit dull. I was curious to see Bronwyn's transformation through another character's point of view. Perhaps Tu-Li or Tahktoo.
All that being said, I pushed through. I found it picked up in Part 2 and became an interesting mystery. I liked the philosophical nature vs. nurture brought up in the story. I enjoyed the story and am glad I pushed through to finish it, but I cannot say I loved it.
Overall I would rate it 3 out of 5 stars.
tattooedbooklover's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I loved this book, mostly because it so richly invoked the historical era in which it was set. I also liked the mystery element. the author did cheat a little with the reveal at the end, but it didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the book as a whole
penny_literaryhoarders's review
3.0
While exquisitely and richly written - it was what kept me returning to the pages - it was too long, too many bodies popping up, and the "unreliable" narrator schtick is wearing thin for me. I am very interested in picking up Zimmerman's The Orphanmaster for certain, as she writes with grand beauty. The Savage Girl's story, in the end, didn't meet my expectations.
divo's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I think if this book was re-structured so it had a dual perspective it would have been much more satisfying. One of the characters is at the center of events and I wanted to know what she was thinking and feeling about what was going on around her. I understand why the author wrote it this way to make the mystery a little harder to solve but the mystery is not as compelling as the characters. Or if not a dual POV, at least a longer denoument where we see the fall out of events that happened. Over all I feel like this book had a lot of untapped potential that was never fully realized.
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