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kay_m 's review for:
The Orphan Collector
by Ellen Marie Wiseman
Disappointing
This book was a let-down. Given the setting, I was sure it would be enthralling as I'm interested in pandemics and 1918 Philadelphia was a momentous place and time. There was some dramatic tension, what with our 13-year-old poor immigrant protagonist trying to navigate one traumatic nightmare after another. I also appreciated the social commentary about economic class and xenophobia and the hypocrisy of the Catholic orphanages. But overall, the characters were too exaggerated, the pacing too slow, and the plot too unrealistic.
More disturbingly, I felt a bit duped in the end, as the actions of the antagonist are not based on anything remotely istorical. Nothing wrong with a novelist using her imagination. But it seemed wrong to bill this as historical fiction when it was so far-fetched.
There were also some curious plot points and/or loose ends that left me scratching my head. I'll hide them via a spoiler alert in case you haven't read the book:
(2) Finn just shows up and is apparently going to be Pia's love interest. But where is he living? Is he working? How is he managing to stay clean, even? He's just suddenly ... there.
(3) I'm also not sure how I felt about Pia's paranormal gift of being able to diagnose illness through touch. The book isn't billed as magical realism or fantasy, so it felt like one more example of narrative over-reach.
You can only ask so much of your audience before they lose the ability to suspend disbelief.
2.5 rounded up
This book was a let-down. Given the setting, I was sure it would be enthralling as I'm interested in pandemics and 1918 Philadelphia was a momentous place and time. There was some dramatic tension, what with our 13-year-old poor immigrant protagonist trying to navigate one traumatic nightmare after another. I also appreciated the social commentary about economic class and xenophobia and the hypocrisy of the Catholic orphanages. But overall, the characters were too exaggerated, the pacing too slow, and the plot too unrealistic.
More disturbingly, I felt a bit duped in the end, as the actions of the antagonist are not based on anything remotely istorical. Nothing wrong with a novelist using her imagination. But it seemed wrong to bill this as historical fiction when it was so far-fetched.
There were also some curious plot points and/or loose ends that left me scratching my head. I'll hide them via a spoiler alert in case you haven't read the book:
Spoiler
(1) Why would the fake nurse go to so much trouble to deliver the baby rattle to Pia? I didn't get the significance of that, or the motivation for it. (If anyone reading this review has theories, please post them in the comments - I'm genuinely curious.)(2) Finn just shows up and is apparently going to be Pia's love interest. But where is he living? Is he working? How is he managing to stay clean, even? He's just suddenly ... there.
(3) I'm also not sure how I felt about Pia's paranormal gift of being able to diagnose illness through touch. The book isn't billed as magical realism or fantasy, so it felt like one more example of narrative over-reach.
You can only ask so much of your audience before they lose the ability to suspend disbelief.
2.5 rounded up