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A review by jaclynday
Derby Day by D.J. Taylor
3.0
A few years ago I made a pact with myself that if I wasn’t enjoying a book, I’d stop reading it and move on to the next. Before that I’d had a hard time stopping a book midway through, even when I hated what I was reading. I figured that I owed it to someone (the author? myself?) to see it through to completion.
Well, I almost gave up Derby Day. I read it faithfully every night and each time, I’d tell Brandon, “I don’t know how much more of this I can read.” Yet, despite my silly pact giving me license to set it down and move on, I kept at it.
It wasn’t always clear to me through the first half of the book, but Derby Day is actually quite a masterful crime caper set against the backdrop of England’s most popular horse race. D. J. Taylor has written Derby Day in a fantastic and successful approximation of a Victorian-era novel (I felt like I was reading Dickens more than once!), but it is this same thing that made it seem slow or painstakingly methodical at times. Yet, as all the loose ends begin to come together near the end of the book, it really pays off with a suspenseful, genius ending that I definitely didn’t see coming.
This isn’t a book I’d recommend without a few caveats: First, know that it’s a slow read. Second, the structure, language and writing style mimic that of Victorian novels—which can be quite dense. Third, if you want to try something outside your comfort zone, this might be a good book to try. As I said before, there’s a great payoff when the various plot lines start to come together.
Well, I almost gave up Derby Day. I read it faithfully every night and each time, I’d tell Brandon, “I don’t know how much more of this I can read.” Yet, despite my silly pact giving me license to set it down and move on, I kept at it.
It wasn’t always clear to me through the first half of the book, but Derby Day is actually quite a masterful crime caper set against the backdrop of England’s most popular horse race. D. J. Taylor has written Derby Day in a fantastic and successful approximation of a Victorian-era novel (I felt like I was reading Dickens more than once!), but it is this same thing that made it seem slow or painstakingly methodical at times. Yet, as all the loose ends begin to come together near the end of the book, it really pays off with a suspenseful, genius ending that I definitely didn’t see coming.
This isn’t a book I’d recommend without a few caveats: First, know that it’s a slow read. Second, the structure, language and writing style mimic that of Victorian novels—which can be quite dense. Third, if you want to try something outside your comfort zone, this might be a good book to try. As I said before, there’s a great payoff when the various plot lines start to come together.