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danilanglie 's review for:
The Essex Serpent
by Sarah Perry
There were moments when I wanted to give this a higher rating. The writing is beautiful, the scenery is lush, and the characters are all incredibly flawed, and seem like real people.
But I didn't really care about any of them. I found myself initially repulsed by Luke, although maybe that was the point. By the end, I did care a little bit about him and Spencer, I suppose. Martha was kind of interesting, but I didn't feel for her in her unrequited love for Cora. Stella was just a little too doll-like for my taste, and William kind of a cliche, even though he had these relatable weaknesses built in to him. I can't put my finger on it, but I just wasn't invested in their relationships.
Also, the entire premise of this novel seems a bit unnecessary. I kept waiting for the Essex Serpent to matter in some way. I kept waiting for a big reveal, or for the lack of a big reveal to tie together the themes of the novel. I just don't really think the Serpent served much of a function. Sure, it helped to set atmosphere a little bit... but really that was all. Most of the characters would have behaved in the same ways, met the same people, gone to the same places, with or without the supposed existence of the great beast.
The ending felt like a cop-out, too. And here again I'm torn, because if Stella had died and given her deathbed blessing for Cora and William to be together, that would have been a cliche and I probably would have complained about that. But after all of that buildup, to leave Stella alive, felt strange, and it no longer worked for me that she was essentially a symbol instead of a character. If I'm meant to care about William and want him to be happy, I want to be able to imagine his wife as a fully realized and complex human, and Stella does not achieve that status.
However, for all my complaining, I will say that Cora is an utterly fascinating character, and I enjoyed spending a book with her. She's a remarkable person, and she shapes the lives around her so profoundly. But she's selfish, and can be unkind, and a little brash and unthinking. I like that she has definite undesirable qualities, both physical and otherwise, and that these negative things actually impact her ability to interact with the people around her.
In all, this wasn't a waste of my time, but it never quite clicked for me, either.
But I didn't really care about any of them. I found myself initially repulsed by Luke, although maybe that was the point. By the end, I did care a little bit about him and Spencer, I suppose. Martha was kind of interesting, but I didn't feel for her in her unrequited love for Cora. Stella was just a little too doll-like for my taste, and William kind of a cliche, even though he had these relatable weaknesses built in to him. I can't put my finger on it, but I just wasn't invested in their relationships.
Also, the entire premise of this novel seems a bit unnecessary. I kept waiting for the Essex Serpent to matter in some way. I kept waiting for a big reveal, or for the lack of a big reveal to tie together the themes of the novel. I just don't really think the Serpent served much of a function. Sure, it helped to set atmosphere a little bit... but really that was all. Most of the characters would have behaved in the same ways, met the same people, gone to the same places, with or without the supposed existence of the great beast.
The ending felt like a cop-out, too. And here again I'm torn, because if Stella had died and given her deathbed blessing for Cora and William to be together, that would have been a cliche and I probably would have complained about that. But after all of that buildup, to leave Stella alive, felt strange, and it no longer worked for me that she was essentially a symbol instead of a character. If I'm meant to care about William and want him to be happy, I want to be able to imagine his wife as a fully realized and complex human, and Stella does not achieve that status.
However, for all my complaining, I will say that Cora is an utterly fascinating character, and I enjoyed spending a book with her. She's a remarkable person, and she shapes the lives around her so profoundly. But she's selfish, and can be unkind, and a little brash and unthinking. I like that she has definite undesirable qualities, both physical and otherwise, and that these negative things actually impact her ability to interact with the people around her.
In all, this wasn't a waste of my time, but it never quite clicked for me, either.