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verymom 's review for:
The Lie Tree
by Frances Hardinge
I was so excited to see another Frances Hardinge book out - I'm a huge fan; she cannot write fast enough for me.
I made the mistake of glancing at Sherwood Smith's review, and it put me off starting the book for a week or two. I usually try to never read reviews before reading a book as I don't want to be influenced, but Sherwood Smith is another favorite author of mine, so I glanced at what she'd thought. I did not want to end up disliking anything Hardinge wrote, so I nervously ignored the book in my Kindle app for a bit.
I'm glad I finally took the plunge. Yes, Sherwood Smith has some valid points - it is a bit cliche to make the battle between science and religion as such, BUT, Hardinge is a brilliant writer, and she makes it work.
Her writing, as ever, is brilliant - it's full and rich and incredibly beautiful. I, unlike Smith, liked the main character, Faith. She's a girl in an oppressive society who finds ways to battle with her inner sense of right and wrong and doggedly solves the mystery of. I found the whole book to be a page turner -- I had a hard time putting it down. The mystery was well done, and the somewhat gothic, creepy, Victorian setting was perfect for Hardinge's type of tale spinning. Post mortem photos! Phrenology! Patriarchy! Burgeoning Natural Science study by gentlemen scientists!
I did guess the 'whodunit' before the end because I remembered a key clue, but that didn't detract from the overall story. I found the characters complex and very interesting. The ending was satisfying, and the relationship between mother and daughter more promising than it had been at first. I do wish we had Howard, Faith's little brother, in the closing scene. He must be there, but he is notably absent from the description. I wonder if this was intentional, but I loved his character so much, I missed him at the end.
I really enjoyed it overall, and anxiously await whatever Hardinge delivers up next.
I made the mistake of glancing at Sherwood Smith's review, and it put me off starting the book for a week or two. I usually try to never read reviews before reading a book as I don't want to be influenced, but Sherwood Smith is another favorite author of mine, so I glanced at what she'd thought. I did not want to end up disliking anything Hardinge wrote, so I nervously ignored the book in my Kindle app for a bit.
I'm glad I finally took the plunge. Yes, Sherwood Smith has some valid points - it is a bit cliche to make the battle between science and religion as such, BUT, Hardinge is a brilliant writer, and she makes it work.
Her writing, as ever, is brilliant - it's full and rich and incredibly beautiful. I, unlike Smith, liked the main character, Faith. She's a girl in an oppressive society who finds ways to battle with her inner sense of right and wrong and doggedly solves the mystery of
Spoiler
her father's murderI did guess the 'whodunit' before the end because I remembered a key clue, but that didn't detract from the overall story. I found the characters complex and very interesting. The ending was satisfying, and the relationship between mother and daughter more promising than it had been at first. I do wish we had Howard, Faith's little brother, in the closing scene. He must be there, but he is notably absent from the description. I wonder if this was intentional, but I loved his character so much, I missed him at the end.
I really enjoyed it overall, and anxiously await whatever Hardinge delivers up next.