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thereadingmum's reviews
815 reviews
The Scent of Oranges by Kathy George
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Based on Dicken's Oliver Twist, from the POV of Nancy, one of the supporting characters. I had forgot what happened to her but about a quarter through my memory started creaking and I got more and more anxious for her.
If you haven't read Oliver, I'll spare you the details but essentially my fears were justified.
However, I felt that because we had followed Nancy and got a much fuller picture of her, it didn't seem as sad at the end.
What I didn't like was her justification for Bill's behaviour, though I suppose it's typical of abuse victims, I still didn't like it. I also found the idea of a man having relations with a woman who looks like his dear mother in his mother's old room just a tad icky. However, I hope his later observation that she was nothing like his mum was realised before the "relations".
I think George was trying to capture Dicken's style but make it more modern. So that some may find the prose odd.
I gobbled this one up in a few days genuinely enjoyed it despite the dark themes.
If you haven't read Oliver, I'll spare you the details but essentially my fears were justified.
However, I felt that because we had followed Nancy and got a much fuller picture of her, it didn't seem as sad at the end.
What I didn't like was her justification for Bill's behaviour, though I suppose it's typical of abuse victims, I still didn't like it. I also found the idea of a man having relations with a woman who looks like his dear mother in his mother's old room just a tad icky. However, I hope his later observation that she was nothing like his mum was realised before the "relations".
I think George was trying to capture Dicken's style but make it more modern. So that some may find the prose odd.
I gobbled this one up in a few days genuinely enjoyed it despite the dark themes.
Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This is early enough in the Poirot series that Christie isn't annoyed with him yet so his idiosyncracies are quite mild and this allows the story to shine through much more.
I read this years ago and thought I didn't remember the plot. However, as I went it must have triggered my memory because I figured out the solution about halfway through. It didn't diminish from my enjoyment of a well-executed novel from the queen of mysteries.
I read this years ago and thought I didn't remember the plot. However, as I went it must have triggered my memory because I figured out the solution about halfway through. It didn't diminish from my enjoyment of a well-executed novel from the queen of mysteries.