
This book has been compared to the offerings of Philippa Gregory, which I think is an unjust comparison. Gregrory's books are page-turning, drama-filled reads that I equate to literary junk food: things that are interesting to snack on, a guilty pleasure, if you will. This book, on the other hand, was filled with self-importance and tended to get weighed down in name dropping.
First of all, I found the story very abrupt. Things moved rapid fire and nothing was really deeply covered at all. It seemed like many years and events were compressed into a few pages, which made everything seem rushed and barely explained. I also found it difficult to relate to the characters. They all seemed rather haughty and elitist, and although I tried to overcome it, their plights and predicaments failed to move me. Somewhere around the middle of the story, the book morphed from historical fiction into an espionage novel, which I found a bit odd. Unfortunately the switch didn't enhance my enjoyment of the book at all; rather it just left me a little quizzical. Most of the plot points were very predictable, and the further I got into the main narrative, the more I discovered that the characters' revelations weren't all that shocking or ensnaring. In fact, I had figured out the main thrust of the intrigue very early on in the book, and the only thing left to amuse me was to read about the way in which it would unfold.
I also found it vaguely annoying that everything about this story was written with overwrought melodrama. Everything was dealt with in the most histrionic way possible, and it seemed these people lived only to have outbursts. The characters in this novel were largely one-dimensional and I had a hard time relating to them because there was just so little emotional development evident in their behavior. I also didn't like the fact that Delia seemed to operate solely on her naivety and gullibility. She was very insubstantial as the protagonist; very little seemed to be going on in her head. I found it very unbelievable for a person to be so enmeshed in such a worldly atmosphere and still behave so innocently, especially when further reading exposed the fact that she was just as duplicitous as those around her. The fact that the author commented on her beauty in her every mention also got old very quickly.
Further sections of the book focused on secondary characters that were even less interesting than the major players. Though I enjoyed the sections regarding Egypt a bit more, there was still not enough glue to hold this story together for me. I also felt that the absence of morals in the characters was extremely distasteful, and felt that as a plot point it failed miserably. The fact that almost every character was involved in some sort of extramarital relationship was not particularly inventive, and I wondered why it had to be the crux of this story.
There was no real bite to these characters or their story, everything was just average, and for me, reading four hundred plus pages of average really gets me discouraged. Though the second half of the book (which focused on Egypt) was a bit more entertaining, I found this book not much to my liking. Although this wasn't really the book for me I think if you are the type of person who likes your historical fiction heavy on the drama, this might make a nice read for you.
9 comments:
Oy. sounds very blah. sorry it didn't work out.
This one didn't do it for me either I'm afraid. I think the Philippa Gregory blurb is an injustice to both her and the readers, because we expected a lot more than this book delivered.
I was wondering about this one as well. Maybe the only resemblance between this one and Gregory is in the cover art? I don't much care for Gregory, either, though. But will be steering clear of this one! Thanks for the honest review.
Sorry this one didn't work out for you. I've read a few reviews of others who agree with your assessment which saddens me as this book is sitting on my shelf. lol.
I'm not a fan of drama either, so I'll skip this one. Still, what I love about your blog is that even if the book doesn't interest me, I always enjoy reading your thoughts :)
I appreciate your honest and very thoughtful review. I have this one on my shelf, so thanks for the input!
Sounds like one to skip.
This is sitting in my TBR pile at this very moment, awaiting my attention! I'm not in a big hurry to get to it.
It's terrible to slog through 400 plus pages and not really enjoy it, I find it very frustrating. Your review was fantastic, though!
I found the book read a lot like a soap opera - which was ok by me, but I agree that the abrupt switches in perspective were distracting.
I linked to your review here.
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