Affinity by Sarah Waters
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Book Reviews of Affinity
Book Review: So well done!
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't quite know where to begin to review this novel. First, although I haven't read all the reviews so there may be a mention of it in one of them I missed, I was surprised that not more connections were drawn to Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story - "The Yellow Wallpaper." It is one of my favorite stories and I saw so many allusions and interesting ties to that story. I also found the novel to be slightly reminiscent of Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace - especially in terms of questions of guilt and the seduction of one character by another - though the seduction in Alias Grace is less sexually based.
The more important thing to discuss here however is that Sarah Waters is an excellent and talented writer. She brought this dark and complex story to life with such grace and subtlety. I was so impressed by her ability to bring the reader so closely into Margaret Prior's mind and experience without making her seem an extreme or unrelatable character. I found myself sympathisizing with her, worrying with her, rejoicing with her, and understanding the various emotional twists and turns she went through as if I was experiencing it for myself.
I was also so impressed with the way that she handled both Margaret's and the readers doubts or uncertainty about spiritualism and Selina's powers. Ultimately, I found Ms. Waters writing to be just as seductive as Selina.
This is the first of her books that I had read and I can't wait to read more.
Book Review: Great pace and story
Summary: 5 Stars
Pace and a good story, that's all I want and this book delivers. Miss Margaret Prior, recovering from some personal shock, is advised to spend some time visiting a women's prison in London. There she meets a number of colourful characters appropriately reeking of Dickens and Bronte. She becomes obsessed and taken in by a particularly stunning and suffering young lady who possesses spiritual powers. It is because of these gifts that this alluringly pale Miss Dawes is now serving time, having conducted a seance that went awry, to put it simply. Miss Prior visits regularly, speculates and finally plots an escape for Miss Dawes. Here the plot cannot be revealed but I don't mention pace and story for nothing. Wonderful stuff! You expect The Woman in White or the theatrical The Woman in Black, anything to satisfy the desire and expectation of the macabre and other-worldly, but this is a more bitter and realistic story.
Juicy depiction of 19th century London, of contrasts between life on Cheyne Walk and life in the prison near London Bridge, of life at home as a spinster daughter to a difficult mother, of a love that cannot even be defined let alone nurtured.
I didn't think I would be taken in by the occult subject of this book, but the historical details and characters are so vivid that I was completely charmed. Sarah Waters is a top writer. I've read them all and can't wait for more of her books.
Book Review: Fantastic!
Summary: 5 Stars
Having already read and fallen in love with Waters' first novel "Tipping the Velvet," I must admit I expected more of the same when I picked up "Affinity." Boy, was I wrong!Waters has proven herself as a masterful storyteller, crafting tales that draw the reader in and do not let go. I found myself reading at all hours of the day and night, unable to stop turning the pages, absolutely absorbed in the tale unfolding before me. As I read this novel, I found myself falling in love with Selina Dawes, my heart broken by the dark story behind Margaret Prior's stint as a Lady Visitor, and so desperate to know what happens that by the end my head was spinning. My husband sat and just watched me read, my reactions so visceral that I was gripping the book, grimacing in ache and surprise as the story unfolded, and breathing raggedly, wildly, as I rushed headlong to the astounding ending.
This is not your run-of-the-mill mystery, gothic or otherwise. It is sensual, dark and entrancing, and I highly recommend "Affinity" to anyone looking for a good yarn. I have "Fingersmith" waiting to be read, but am enduring a torturous wait before diving into it, desperate to know what fabulous tale Ms. Waters has prepared for me, but painfully aware that once I have devoured it, there will be no more to sate my desire for this woman's fabulous work... And so I wait...
Book Review: dark and surprising
Summary: 5 Stars
Affinity is more polished than Waters' previous award-winner "Tipping the Velvet". While Tipping the Velvet was an epic of love and position lost and gained over a lifetime, Affinity focuses on a short period of time and two main characters. The scope of this novel is as tight as a short story, with no trailing pieces left unresolved. There is definitely a Gothic touch, with the dark brooding prison, the yellowish London fogs, and the black mourning clothes that the heroine must wear. This book could be described as a mix of the mysteries of Sherlock Holmes with a Dickensian critique of Victorian society.The story is about a Lady Visitor, Margaret, who begins visiting the women of Millbank prison because charity work should help get her mind off her dear father's death. There she meets Selina Dawes, a spiritualist who is jailed for an assault that occurred during one of her seances. There are many mystical things that happen in this book, and the reader is left to puzzle out whether to believe in the spirits or look for a logical explanation. Margaret herself is a skeptic, not sure whether to believe in Selina's tales of spirit friends.
The ending comes as quite a surprise, and like the Sixth Sense or Fight Club, will have you paging backwards to look for the clues you missed.
Book Review: What the Need for Love Will Cause Us to Do
Summary: 5 Stars
Margaret Prior is a very proper young Englishwoman. She is a Lady Visitor at Millbank prison; meant to show the wayward ladies how to behave themselves in an upright, appropriate fashion. One prisoner intrigues her more than the others, and this is where our story takes flight.
Sarah Waters has a masterful grasp of Victorian London - the deadly smog, the dismal prison system, and the severely limited opportunities for women. The world of spiritualists and their craft is also explored in some detail. Waters writes in a style that pulled me in and refused to let me go until the final page was turned, at which point the story still wouldn't release me. I've spent a great deal of time since finishing the book, thinking about its twists and turns and how I might have reacted to some of the situations in which Miss Prior found herself. I was thoroughly surprised by the ending (a rare feat nowadays) and I cared a great deal about the main characters.
If this is an indication of Sarah Waters' writing style, I'm very excited to read her other novels. An author with this sort of gift for storytelling comes along but rarely, and should be celebrated.