Scan barcode
A review by goblinhearted
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
4.0
Attempting a synopsis of this book is a little bit of a mindbend. At least 50% of what happens would be a spoiler to mention it here.
Essentially: two members of a "family" of thieves embark on a plot to gain an inheritance from an extremely wealthy estate. The plan is created by a man called “Gentleman”. His plan is for protagonist Sue to pose as a maid for Maud, a woman who is to inherit her uncle’s fortune - only upon marrying. Meanwhile, Gentleman will be the one Maud marries. As the plan unfolds, things aren’t quite that easy - nothing is as it seems and things get unhinged.
(Also anyone who knows Sarah Waters knows there will be lesbians which is all I really need out of life.)
This was a rare occurrence where I watched the movie, The Handmaiden (2016), first and liked it so much that I wanted to read the book.
I can’t tell if I am pleased or disappointed that I found the book to be nearly identical to the movie. I was certainly surprised! It’s not completely the same, but in a lot of ways it felt very similar to watching it, except for the first and last few chapters (and the setting/nationality of the characters, who in the book are English). For that reason, it feels a little unfair to write a book review on this, since I was essentially "spoiled" from the start.
I loved the movie, and therefore I very much enjoyed the book. Perhaps I felt a little antsy because I hadn’t watched the movie all that long ago (maybe a few months tops?) and so I was waiting for something new and different to happen - which I think is pretty reasonable for novels that were adapted into movies. To my surprise, it was quite similar.
The ending is the main place where things diverge, and to my shock and surprise, I could see why the ending was changed for the movie - and I preferred it. This feels like a personal defeat, lol.
That said, I would still recommend the movie and the book (although not together, or at least spaced apart by a few years) to anyone who will listen.
Essentially: two members of a "family" of thieves embark on a plot to gain an inheritance from an extremely wealthy estate. The plan is created by a man called “Gentleman”. His plan is for protagonist Sue to pose as a maid for Maud, a woman who is to inherit her uncle’s fortune - only upon marrying. Meanwhile, Gentleman will be the one Maud marries. As the plan unfolds, things aren’t quite that easy - nothing is as it seems and things get unhinged.
(Also anyone who knows Sarah Waters knows there will be lesbians which is all I really need out of life.)
This was a rare occurrence where I watched the movie, The Handmaiden (2016), first and liked it so much that I wanted to read the book.
I can’t tell if I am pleased or disappointed that I found the book to be nearly identical to the movie. I was certainly surprised! It’s not completely the same, but in a lot of ways it felt very similar to watching it, except for the first and last few chapters (and the setting/nationality of the characters, who in the book are English). For that reason, it feels a little unfair to write a book review on this, since I was essentially "spoiled" from the start.
I loved the movie, and therefore I very much enjoyed the book. Perhaps I felt a little antsy because I hadn’t watched the movie all that long ago (maybe a few months tops?) and so I was waiting for something new and different to happen - which I think is pretty reasonable for novels that were adapted into movies. To my surprise, it was quite similar.
The ending is the main place where things diverge, and to my shock and surprise, I could see why the ending was changed for the movie - and I preferred it. This feels like a personal defeat, lol.
That said, I would still recommend the movie and the book (although not together, or at least spaced apart by a few years) to anyone who will listen.