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A review by niffler_for_words
The Silence Factory by Bridget Collins
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
“Funny isn’t it? You sell sound, and I sell silence. We are two sides of the same coin.”
The Silence factory was a very dense book. I loved the gothic ambiance that lingers all around the story. The author transports us in her universe by using all the codes and many 19th century codes. I truly loved that, the writing was almost cinematographic. The pace, the descriptions, the mood –the writing in general– made me love to wander in this novel.
The book mixes two timelines: Henry’s in the present (but told past tense) in England, and Sophia’s in the past, in Greece (told in present tense, under the form of her diary). Absolutely all the characters are grey, which makes them deep and accurate. Some are worse than others, though…
All around the book, we wonder “who” the spiders truly are. I ADORED that humans were scarier than spiders. No one is really worried about spiders, and even if the silk appears dangerous, in the end, it's more its use by humans that is. I loved how our society was painted here, the relationships to progress, colonization, science, disability or ecology. The references to Darwin were delightful to me, as much as the oppositions between Greek Mythology and Monotheistic religions. The parent-children relationship is a recurring theme in the book, as much as orphaning. Not that it constitutes a problem to me, but I would warn people sensitive about miscarriage and perinatal mortality. It’s an important part of the story and characters’ background.
However, I wished we had more in the end. Sophia’s part, especially, seems a bit rushed. I would have liked more about the Greek and “pagan superstitions,” to have the past enlightening the present. If I loved the reflection about the place of women in this book, about the place of children, I would have liked more about the characters’ motivations and fall, especially about Lord Edward. But in the end, just like Henry, we are left in a haze about who, what, he represents. Some parts (I think about the painting) would have needed more depth to truly hit.
That’s a pity because if I loved my journey through that story, in the end, I can only memorize the little aftertaste of unfinished.
Rate 3.5/5
Thank you NetGalley, Bridget Collins and HarperCollin UK for this ARC in exchange for my honest review
The Silence factory was a very dense book. I loved the gothic ambiance that lingers all around the story. The author transports us in her universe by using all the codes and many 19th century codes. I truly loved that, the writing was almost cinematographic. The pace, the descriptions, the mood –the writing in general– made me love to wander in this novel.
The book mixes two timelines: Henry’s in the present (but told past tense) in England, and Sophia’s in the past, in Greece (told in present tense, under the form of her diary). Absolutely all the characters are grey, which makes them deep and accurate. Some are worse than others, though…
All around the book, we wonder “who” the spiders truly are. I ADORED that humans were scarier than spiders. No one is really worried about spiders, and even if the silk appears dangerous, in the end, it's more its use by humans that is. I loved how our society was painted here, the relationships to progress, colonization, science, disability or ecology. The references to Darwin were delightful to me, as much as the oppositions between Greek Mythology and Monotheistic religions. The parent-children relationship is a recurring theme in the book, as much as orphaning. Not that it constitutes a problem to me, but I would warn people sensitive about miscarriage and perinatal mortality. It’s an important part of the story and characters’ background.
However, I wished we had more in the end. Sophia’s part, especially, seems a bit rushed. I would have liked more about the Greek and “pagan superstitions,” to have the past enlightening the present. If I loved the reflection about the place of women in this book, about the place of children, I would have liked more about the characters’ motivations and fall, especially about Lord Edward. But in the end, just like Henry, we are left in a haze about who, what, he represents. Some parts (I think about the painting) would have needed more depth to truly hit.
That’s a pity because if I loved my journey through that story, in the end, I can only memorize the little aftertaste of unfinished.
Rate 3.5/5
Thank you NetGalley, Bridget Collins and HarperCollin UK for this ARC in exchange for my honest review