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A review by catapocalypse
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I was excited when this came up as a Book of the Month pick, because the premise itself had so much promise: Nella, an apothecary in London in the late 18th century, secretly deals out poisons to help women dispose of the men who have harmed them. Eliza, a 12-year-old servant girl, is sent to procure one to use against her mistress' husband. Meanwhile, there's a modern-day storyline that follows Caroline, an American woman whose 10th wedding anniversary trip to London becomes a solo trip after discovering her husband had an affair with a coworker. Caroline happens upon a vial from Nella's shop, that revives her old love of historical study as she searches for info on its origin.
All of this should have been cool as heck! Unfortunately, the execution wasn't quite there. I felt the pacing was okay, starting at a medium pace and hitting some fast points in the latter half. The narrative was more on the plot-driven side, but it did try to give the characters decent treatment. They still fell pretty flat for me. Part of it may have been an over-analytical treatment of their feelings, especially for Caroline, which left little room for any sensual or visceral experience of their perspectives, despite the first-person POVs.
For Caroline in particular, the issue may have been that her character was entirely this premise of having put aside academic fulfillment for a man that ultimately betrayed her trust, and not much else. I love history, I was a Classical Studies BA, and I still felt little connection to Caroline in general. I couldn't help but compare her brief moments of research to the experience that was Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian (a deeply unfair comparison, I know, since this novel was not at all trying to be on that level). The latter evoked a deep nostalgia for academic research for me, but I felt absolutely nothing with The Lost Apothecary. She also had this peculiar idea that history about everyday folks was somehow excluded from academic historical study, which was baffling. Even Classical Studies programs contain plenty of course options on more than just leaders and high politics.
Another frustration with Caroline's story was how, despite the super analytical treatment of her experiences, she still came out with weird ideas, like attempting a comparison between little white lies she told about things and her husband having a secret affair. Also, I won't spoil with details, but some of his behavior was straight up abusive, and I felt like she let him off too easy on that.
On the whole, the story would have been perfectly fine, possibly even stronger if it had only focused on the 18th century storyline. I found Nella and Eliza more compelling. They still could have benefited from further polishing and effort, but had a stronger foundation of substance.
All of this should have been cool as heck! Unfortunately, the execution wasn't quite there. I felt the pacing was okay, starting at a medium pace and hitting some fast points in the latter half. The narrative was more on the plot-driven side, but it did try to give the characters decent treatment. They still fell pretty flat for me. Part of it may have been an over-analytical treatment of their feelings, especially for Caroline, which left little room for any sensual or visceral experience of their perspectives, despite the first-person POVs.
For Caroline in particular, the issue may have been that her character was entirely this premise of having put aside academic fulfillment for a man that ultimately betrayed her trust, and not much else. I love history, I was a Classical Studies BA, and I still felt little connection to Caroline in general. I couldn't help but compare her brief moments of research to the experience that was Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian (a deeply unfair comparison, I know, since this novel was not at all trying to be on that level). The latter evoked a deep nostalgia for academic research for me, but I felt absolutely nothing with The Lost Apothecary. She also had this peculiar idea that history about everyday folks was somehow excluded from academic historical study, which was baffling. Even Classical Studies programs contain plenty of course options on more than just leaders and high politics.
Another frustration with Caroline's story was how, despite the super analytical treatment of her experiences, she still came out with weird ideas, like attempting a comparison between little white lies she told about things and her husband having a secret affair. Also, I won't spoil with details, but some of his behavior was straight up abusive, and I felt like she let him off too easy on that.
On the whole, the story would have been perfectly fine, possibly even stronger if it had only focused on the 18th century storyline. I found Nella and Eliza more compelling. They still could have benefited from further polishing and effort, but had a stronger foundation of substance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault
Minor: Blood and Pregnancy