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A review by rachelselene
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
1.0
i've heard good things about sarah waters, but i really just read this book because it was the basis for the handmaiden (2016). i'm still head over heels in love with that film, so i had high expectations for fingersmith.
my main impression of this book: tedious. i enjoyed part one and the beginning of part two, but after that it all went downhill. plot points are dragged out and it takes pages to accomplish anything; the plot itself becomes so convoluted that i gave up trying to understand it fully. this book is nothing but misfortune after misfortune, and it makes for a very dark reading. of course there's nothing wrong with a dark book, but there needs to be some sort of balance: give the characters one or two scenes of happiness, or, at the very least, lighten the mood a little. (i'm reminded of joss whedon: "make it dark, make it grim, make it tough, but then, for the love of god, tell a joke.") there's none of that here, and even the ending didn't do it for me. waters did nothing to make me believe that sue and maud actually loved one another - and how can they, when their only truthful interaction occurs on the last two pages? i know it is intended as a hopeful reconciliation, but it felt forced to me.
i can't believe i'm saying this, but here it is: the movie was better than the book.
my main impression of this book: tedious. i enjoyed part one and the beginning of part two, but after that it all went downhill. plot points are dragged out and it takes pages to accomplish anything; the plot itself becomes so convoluted that i gave up trying to understand it fully. this book is nothing but misfortune after misfortune, and it makes for a very dark reading. of course there's nothing wrong with a dark book, but there needs to be some sort of balance: give the characters one or two scenes of happiness, or, at the very least, lighten the mood a little. (i'm reminded of joss whedon: "make it dark, make it grim, make it tough, but then, for the love of god, tell a joke.") there's none of that here, and even the ending didn't do it for me. waters did nothing to make me believe that sue and maud actually loved one another - and how can they, when their only truthful interaction occurs on the last two pages? i know it is intended as a hopeful reconciliation, but it felt forced to me.
i can't believe i'm saying this, but here it is: the movie was better than the book.