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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i wish i liked this more than i did. it was missing something i cannot pinpoint. the third part entirely weakened what was otherwise a brilliantly atmospheric historical fiction. there are ambiguous endings and then there are unfinished endings, this unfortunately is the latter. the characters were rich but the plot seemed basic enough if not for the wonderful historical setting.
dark
medium-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
Set in London in the year 1850, Iris and Rose are twins working as apprentices for Mrs. Salter, an abusive, opium-addicted woman who owns a doll shop. Iris longs for a better, freer life, while Rose accepts the situation they have found themselves in.
Silas owns a shop of curiosities. He kills, skins and models animals into new taxidermy creations. He sells his taxidermy creatures to artists, which is how he happens to meet an artist named Louis (more on him later).
Albie, a nearly toothless boy, is involved with Silas (through selling him dead creatures) and Iris (through sewing doll clothes), and introduces the two accidentally when he is caught by Iris for attempting to steal at the Great Exhibition construction site.
At a bar one night, Louis tells Silas that a bird he has done up for him moldered and had to be thrown out. He lost his model for the painting he had in mind because of the smell. Silas suggests Louis use Iris as his new model. And our story takes off.
So, did I like it? Yes, I did.
When I started The Doll Factory, I didn’t read the jacket, didn’t read the reviews, didn’t know anything about what I was getting myself into going into it. With that said, I had no idea it was going to get as crazy as it did. I thought I was reading about three lives that happened to coincide with each other. Imagine my surprise when all of a sudden Silas is obsessed with and trying to seduce Iris.
I do have one question for Macneal that I feel was never answered in the story: Was it or was it not Guinevere who tore up Iris’s first painting? It seemed like Louis was making it up or joking about Guinevere doing it when her nails were cut so short, as Macneal makes a point to tell us. So was it Guinevere or was it Louis who destroyed the painting? Or...was it Millais?
Silas owns a shop of curiosities. He kills, skins and models animals into new taxidermy creations. He sells his taxidermy creatures to artists, which is how he happens to meet an artist named Louis (more on him later).
Albie, a nearly toothless boy, is involved with Silas (through selling him dead creatures) and Iris (through sewing doll clothes), and introduces the two accidentally when he is caught by Iris for attempting to steal at the Great Exhibition construction site.
At a bar one night, Louis tells Silas that a bird he has done up for him moldered and had to be thrown out. He lost his model for the painting he had in mind because of the smell. Silas suggests Louis use Iris as his new model. And our story takes off.
So, did I like it? Yes, I did.
When I started The Doll Factory, I didn’t read the jacket, didn’t read the reviews, didn’t know anything about what I was getting myself into going into it. With that said, I had no idea it was going to get as crazy as it did. I thought I was reading about three lives that happened to coincide with each other. Imagine my surprise when all of a sudden Silas is obsessed with and trying to seduce Iris.
I do have one question for Macneal that I feel was never answered in the story: Was it or was it not Guinevere who tore up Iris’s first painting? It seemed like Louis was making it up or joking about Guinevere doing it when her nails were cut so short, as Macneal makes a point to tell us. So was it Guinevere or was it Louis who destroyed the painting? Or...was it Millais?
tense
19th Century gothic, what else could you ask for. Interesting and very lively story but I didn’t really enjoy it. It wasn’t as dark as I thought it would be
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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:
Yes