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A review by elemenoreed
A Woman of Substance by Barbara Taylor Bradford
3.0
When I first began reading this book, I didn't think I was going to be able to make it through. There were a few things this author did that caused me some minor annoyances. It was hard to develop any true feeling toward Emma in the beginning of the book because many of her thoughts seemed contradictory. The beginning is really slow going. Also, this author likes to make extremely long-winded descriptions of interiors, which I find detract from the plot, especially when a character is ruminating on important things and these ruminations are interrupted with a long description. Not only this, but the author then communicates how each room fits each character's traits and how these rooms say something important about that character, which is something I felt I could have figured out on my own and which was a further waste of page space. She also knocks you over the head with the fact that Emma has an iron will and that she's extremely ambitious. I really felt that Emma's actions could have spoken for themselves and that this repeated reminder of her strengths was unnecessary.
Having said this, however, I was able to make it through the first part of the book and after this point, I began to really connect with the story. The characters in this book are so real, and many, like Blackie, are lovable. Emma's journey from an impoverished, working-class girl to a powerhouse is extremely satisfying, as are the various ways in which she overcomes challenges. The story is great, the characters wonderful. Ultimately, I enjoyed the book. I would recommend this book only to someone who has a lot of time for reading (the book is quite long) and who is willing to read through the beginning, which is mainly where all the long and technical interior descriptions are; as the book progresses, they tend to get shorter.
Having said this, however, I was able to make it through the first part of the book and after this point, I began to really connect with the story. The characters in this book are so real, and many, like Blackie, are lovable. Emma's journey from an impoverished, working-class girl to a powerhouse is extremely satisfying, as are the various ways in which she overcomes challenges. The story is great, the characters wonderful. Ultimately, I enjoyed the book. I would recommend this book only to someone who has a lot of time for reading (the book is quite long) and who is willing to read through the beginning, which is mainly where all the long and technical interior descriptions are; as the book progresses, they tend to get shorter.