Lacey L. (sedeara) reviewed on + 15 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 8
This book was like a lesbian tour of 19th century England. I was fascinated by the historical context even as I wondered how accurate it was. The writing was very vivid and the sense of "place" very strong--from London's theaters to London's slums--which made me convinced the author had done her research. This is often pegged as an 'erotic' book, and while I understand why that term is applied to it, the long stretches between erotic scenes were actually my favorite. The sexual tension at the beginning of the story, as Nancy falls in love with a woman for the first time, brings you quickly through the first 150 pages. A curiosity about whether she'll ever reunite with her first love pushes you through the last 350. For such a long book, it was a remarkably quick read.
The descriptions and character development were excellent; I was also impressed by the way the author adopted a 19th century tone. The writing style, with its occasional vague-osities and passive voice construction, fit very well with the time era--the lesbian, erotic Jane Austen. (Of course, many would say Jane Austen was a lesbian anyway.) I admire Sarah Waters for attempting to mimic a 19th centurty tone, and for being able to keep that tone consistent through the book, even though the subject matter itself was very different from what was published back then.
The story was rather melodramatic at places and reminded me a bit of the type of stuff I was writing at 16, which made it fun. It also kind of smacks of "first novel," which also made it fun. It's also VERY queer, which may have made it funnest of all--we've got all sorts of lesbians, cross-dressers, gay men, even a 'dyke tyke'. And within its queerness, it keeps all the characters multi-dimensional and doesn't fall back on stereotypes. And the ending was very satisfying.
The descriptions and character development were excellent; I was also impressed by the way the author adopted a 19th century tone. The writing style, with its occasional vague-osities and passive voice construction, fit very well with the time era--the lesbian, erotic Jane Austen. (Of course, many would say Jane Austen was a lesbian anyway.) I admire Sarah Waters for attempting to mimic a 19th centurty tone, and for being able to keep that tone consistent through the book, even though the subject matter itself was very different from what was published back then.
The story was rather melodramatic at places and reminded me a bit of the type of stuff I was writing at 16, which made it fun. It also kind of smacks of "first novel," which also made it fun. It's also VERY queer, which may have made it funnest of all--we've got all sorts of lesbians, cross-dressers, gay men, even a 'dyke tyke'. And within its queerness, it keeps all the characters multi-dimensional and doesn't fall back on stereotypes. And the ending was very satisfying.
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