Original Publication Year: 2002
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Series: NA
Awards: Nominated for a number of awards including the 2002Man Booker and Orange Prize and won the Crime Writer’s Association Ellis Peter’sHistorical Award (2002).
Format: Audio (from Audible)
Narrated by: Juanita McMahon
The description of the book on
goodreads starts; “No one and nothing is
as it seems in this Dickensian novel of thrills and reversals…” which is a
very good place to begin. The story
takes place in Victorian era England and tells the twisting tale of two young
women; Sue who is raised in the household of an infant farmer and fencer of
stolen goods while Maud spent her childhood in a mad house and then under the
thumb of her wicked uncle. Sue is recruited
to pose as Maud’s lady’s maid in order to help with a plot to steal Maud’s fortune.
However as the two girls get to know one
another Sue begins to question her ability to betray Maud.
This book is full of twist and
turns, so it is difficult to talk about without giving too much away. I did not at all suspect what I got. I had somehow formed the impression that this
would be your typical “impoverished, immoral girl is redeemed through the power
of love and friendship” type story, which sounds insipid, but it’s a trope I
like and with all the love out there for this book I figured Sarah Waters had written it with extraordinary
skill and historic accuracy.
Waters’ skill and uniqueness of
voice is undeniable but she was not at all writing the story I was expecting. I think for most people this will be a breath
of fresh air and extremely satisfying.
For me it ended being a little disappointing because not only was it
surprising, it was also incredibly dark.
The characters in the book all represent the very worst of human nature even,
for the most part, the two main characters.
Sure they are the least rotten fruit in the bowl but that isn’t saying
much.
The world being portrayed is the
seediest of seedy underbellies of Victorian England. Infant Farms, pornographic literature, dismal
cheerless manor houses, mad houses and London slums.
The plot is brilliantly devious
and was frequently jaw-droppingly surprising.
There are many mysteries to be solved and I can see that for most
readers this book would likely be a huge page turner.
So why did it not work this way
for me? My own fault really. I was just not
in the mood for the amount of gritty darkness this book contains. It is all written masterfully with a detail
that brings it to full life but unfortunately I was needing rainbows and
puppies. I was needing/wanting the story
I thought this was going to be. Sue and
Maud’s relationship, which should have been the one bright spot at the heart of
the book really didn’t work for me either.
We first get to know Maud through Sue’s eyes and I can’t imagine a more
unattractive person – she’s awkward, weird, moody and cold. So I was more perplexed and surprised by Sue falling
in love with Maud than I was pleased. They
do end up making a good pair I think but based on initial impressions, it did
not work for me.
Three final nits: One thing that I don’t think was clear was
the whole crux of the scam. Much of the
book is leading up to the moment when this is revealed and then when it was, it
left me muddled and seemed unconvincing.
It’s a nitpick as I don’t think that really detracted from the overall
story and was likely just me being dense but if someone understands the legal
machinations that made two claims possible, I’d like to hear it! The second issue I had was that I thought it
was a little long and dragged in places.
The building of suspense and getting to know Sue and Maud intimately was
important to making the twist and turns work, but nevertheless I do think it
could have been tightened up. Finally, a
narrative device was used that I just really don’t like. At a certain point in the story the reader
knows something that the main character does not. The lack of knowing this “something”
means the character acts in a foolish and naïve way. This always just makes me irritated with the
character as I can’t seem to put myself in their unknowing shoes. This could just be me though – does anybody else
really like this device and think it works well for them?
The audio version of the book was
fine. Juanita McMahon has a very pleasant
voice and handled the cultured and the cockney accents equally well. I think her voice for Maud may have actually
added to my negative view of her in the beginning – it is very soft and monotone
- but she was voicing the character in a way consistent with the
narrative. Maud’s uncle does not like
loud discordant noises and so she is trained to speak in the most soothing tone
possible.
FINAL VERDICT: In the end I am giving the book 4 stars because
I can objectively recognize what a brilliant historical mystery it is and that
my somewhat lackluster enjoyment of it was simply mood related. If you’re prepared to enter a bleak and very
sordid world than I think most readers will really enjoy it. 4 out of 5 stars.
CHALLENGES
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| Read Harder Challenge: A Book By or About Someone that identifies as LGBTQ |
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| Featuring Diversity |
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