zade reviewed on 1/14/2013

Sarah Waters writes extremely well. Her descriptions and historical detail are fantastic. I have absolutely no complaints about her writing. Even the length of the book seems fine, given that it is in the tradition of the Victorian novel. I cannot give the book a purely positive rating because the story is so grim and every single character is distinctly unlikeable, with the possible exception of a single supporting character who plays a role only in the last quarter of the book. The protagonists are dreadful people, even taking into account the histories that molded them, and even Waters's wonderful skill in bringing them to life cannot redeem them. I finished the book because it was so well written, but really, I didn't much care what happened to either of the two main characters. I came to dread the next twist or turn in the plot because I knew it would reveal yet another example of how badly people can treat each other. The fact that I stuck around to the end is testament to how very talented I found the writer. I will certainly read another of her works in the hope that it will display her skill without being so terribly depressing and misanthropic.

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