Rating: 
Summary: Very entertaining read
Review: I read it as fast as I could, savored every word, and was left hoping for more. I could have done without the excessive sexual descriptions, but that's just my personal preference. Obviously, Faber knows women very well!
Rating: 
Summary: Another disappointment
Review: I had great expectations for this book. Luscious style, magnificent attention to details, great historical reconstruction. The first two parts and the characters of Sugar and William Rackam are just great. Then the author neglects the story of the major protagonists to delve in the pityful details of some of the three most boring characters found in literature: the wife of William Rackam, who is languishing from an unspecified illness, sees angels and has fits of crude sincerity, after which loses consciousness; the brother of the protagonist, who would be a pastor, but doesn't feel worthy of it, because of his carnal desires, and pays prostitutes to listen his sermons; finally a member of the Salvation Army (or something similar), a lady very gentle, awfully boring, who suffers from tubercolosis. Reading in details of the lives of those three makes a depressing and boring read indeed.
Moreover, the daughter of Henry Rackam enters the scene only in the final chapter, we almost never see her before, yet we are au courant of every development in Rackham House: seeing her grow would have been much more interesting than the inner torments of the undecided parson ( a character almost laughable).
As for the end, the book halts abruptly in the middle of a rather dramatic development, loose ends floating in mid-air everywhere.And the author, in the final note, is not deigning to explain if there will be a sequel, nor why he decided to end his book there.
Read a real victorian novel, this is my advice
Rating:
Summary: Ultimately Disappointing
Review: The problem with this book is that it takes you on a wild ride and then ends nowhere almost as if the author ran out of energy and imagination. The blurbs at the back will tell you that this is an updated version of a Victorian novel. No, Victorian publisher would have permitted a loose plot structure like this with so many loose ends at the end - it reads like a serial novel whose author died before finishing the story.A compelling read - but ultimately a waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: Highly entertaining, beautifully written!
Review: This book was years in the making, and the effort is an awesome achievement. The story is set in the Victorian era, and every detail takes the reader back in time. You can actually imagine the sights, sounds, and smells through Michael Faber's writing. The colorful character's descriptions and thoughts are so vividly detailed, he has created such an enjoyable read. He covers everything from high society and their lifestyle, to the very bottom wrungs of the poor, all through the eyes of a prostitute and kept woman named Sugar. Once you start, it is hard to put down. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: I took this book on a relaxing vacation and it was the only book I needed! Long, yes, but worth every minute. Weeks later, I still can't stop thinking about Sugar. Every redhead I see, I think, "She could be Sugar".
I have not read a book with such fantastic detail in years. It truely takes you to another point in time and entrigues you with the fantastic scenery and language.
Rating:
Summary: Could not put it down
Review: This is one of the best books I've ever read. He took Dickens and postmodern sensibility and meshed them successfully and tastefully. LOVED the characterization, loved the historical detail. Well done.
Rating: 
Summary: A Case of Arrested Development
Review: I was extremely disappointed with this novel. The author never seems to tire of explicit, vulgar descriptions of sex and the mean streets of Victorian London. I could never develop any sense of connection with the characters in the book, and I found the plot implausible -- 19-year-old hooker who is well-read, sophisticated and obsessed with writing a novel about a brutal female serial murderer becomes the loving mistress of a shallow, big-time loser who suddenly sees the light and becomes a moneyed aristocrat. Don't look at the details too closely or you'll start finding discrepancies that don't make sense. The portrayal of the only decent people in the novel (aristocrat's brother and his female friend) was trite at best. I have concluded that the author must be suffering from a severe case of arrested sexual development, because the basic plot reads like something an 18-year-old boy would dream up (throw in lots of tawdry sex, mix in excrement and anything else gross we can think up, and wash it down with lots of vulgar language).
Rating:
Summary: Dickens with a twist
Review: This was a big, hefty mama of a book. At 894 pages it isn't what you'd call a light read. But what a book! Before I even start talking about the story let me say that this is one of the most well crafted trade paperbacks that I've picked up in a while. The pages are heavy and smooth with a silky texture that is a pleasure to touch. Combine that with an intricate and fascinating story and it makes for a book that is almost impossible to put down. Some readers pointed out that the story doesn't really go anywhere at all. I agree. That's what makes it even more remarkable that I found it to be so compelling. The truth is...this is a "slice of life" story -- a year or so in the lives of a variety of odd, interesting characters. This is a character-driven book....not plot driven. If you're looking for grandiose, dramatic scenes, don't bother. If you like your stories to wrap up nicely at the end...then really don't bother. But if you like the idea of being a fly on the wall...getting to know a group of people and all their messy idiosyncrasies in great detail, this is the book for you. The characters in this book were hard to like and hard to dislike. At times I found myself feeling sympathy for the least deserving of individuals, and getting irritated with the ones who seemed to deserve my sympathy the most. These were some of the most human characters I've come across in a while -- glorious in their imperfections and maddeningly difficult to pin down. Faber also does a magnificent job painting a picture of the time and place...his descriptions were some of most vivid that I've ever encountered in a novel and they involve ALL the senses. I would not recommend this book for people made squeamish by frank sex scenes or those who are attracted to the lighter side of Victoriana (no fairies here). This is a story that gives equal attention to all sides of 19th century urban life--dark squalor, pristine elegance, and everything inbetween.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the weight lifting of the 800 pages
Review: yes, it is similar to a Dickens' novel.
But, very updated.
Is there anyone else out there who could just SEE Nicole kidman as Sugar? If movies based on books such as this one were still made?
Gritty, and not a "feel good" book....but engrossing.
We don't always need endings spelled out for us....gives us hope for a sequel...or, at least the ending we can choose to imagine, individually.
Rating: 
Summary: The Clashing of sex and religion, and all that lies between.
Review: I entered this novel with a certain amount of trepidation due to its large size. Initially I was also going to recommend a possible reader of this book to read Sheri Holman's the Dress Lodger instead, however, I reconsidered and realized that this story has a different sort of concern than the Dress Lodger. One reviewer could not see the point of the characters of Emmaline and Henry. In answer to that, without ruining the plot, I just want to say that I found them to be essential in serving as a counterpoint to the sensual and profane profession of prostitution. This book was too long..otherwise I would be trying to force its unforgettable story down the proverbial throats of all the voracious readers I could find.
|
