Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
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Book Reviews of Fingersmith
Book Review: An Unstoppable Express
Summary: 5 Stars
Firstly I will say that if you have seen the BBC version and were not impressed, don't let it put you off the book, the two can not compare. I saw Tipping The Velvet and was hooked, I saw Fingersmith and well don't have much to say really... But I felt I should read the book (knowing what the BBC are like, if only film 4 or channel 4 got hold of it sooner!) and I have to say the book is amazing!!!!!!!
What struck me first about this book is the number of times one can, and must read it. Waters unique style of telling the same story twice, once from the perspective of Sue, and once from that of Maud means that the all-knowing reader agonises all the more as they understand how each action effects the other, they see the hidden messages in words and actions, each time understanding the effect on the other character. I found it agonising knowing so much and being forced to read on watching each character trap the other more furmly and deeply into the Gentlemans plot purely because they loved one another so truly.
Waters intimate love scenes are not lengthy, really few and far between, howver this mearly acts to make each moment they share has all the more meaning, the touch of a hand, or the russtle of a skirt becomes a sexually charged explision of want and desire. The desire one girl has for the other fluctuates depending on their beliefes or dibeliefs in the plot, Gentleman and each other. Through Waters narritive we see how an innocent move by one causes the other to flush and fall ever more in love, often with the executor of the action unaware. Then occasionally both become mesmorized at the same time, it is at these points the reader can really relate to the characters, bringing into the plot their own experiences and feeling, and so adding a new depth to each character, and a greater wish for the charsis a happy ending should provide.
I found the tugg of this need all too great, and must admit to reading the last few pages well before I was half way through the book. Sometimes this can ruin the book but in this case it only made things better, knowing what should come I was less on edge when reading and found the book more enjoyable, I took the time to read it carefully and soak up the fantastic literly syle of all Waters work were before I was reading at such a speed I'm sure I managed to pass at least three of the pages. The story has so many twists and excuisit moments that you could be told in detail the entire story and still enjoy reading it and discovering all the little details that an overview would miss out on.
I myself will enjoy reading it again, to look more intimatly into the wording to find the little clues and details I looked over in the first reading of it.
Book Review: thank you, sarah waters
Summary: 5 Stars
So, I'm currently about a week away from taking the dreaded LSAT (law school admission test) in order to one day save the world with my environmental law degree (kind of an "i am the lorax, i speak for the trees" thing). that or study literature forever. At any rate, I bought this book assuming I would use it to take the occasional "study break" from my terribly tedious LSAT homework....yeah, that didn't happen. Instead I hardly slept for 2 days and raced through all 600ish pages, could NOT put it down, absolutely living in the book. When I finally finished it, I was literally out of breath.
Sue and Maud are amazing characters because they are both so perfectly human. So much lesbian fiction and TV drama tries to force lesbians into this bizarre dichotomy of either squeaky-clean good girls in order to prove that they are not "sinful people," or on the flip side, evil seductresses who are trying to "stick it to the man," (and usually turn out straight in the end) to prove the exact opposite of the first image and reinforce negative stereotypes.
I'm sorry, but that is just not real life. Fingersmith's depiction of powerful, beautiful female characters is so refreshing compared to the cookie cutter 2-D characters of The L Word or that awful movie Imagine Me and You where it was just too damn cutesy and too careful not to make anyone uncomfortable that it left an over-sugary account of lesbian life (not to mention they are only together in the last 30 seconds of the film). So why did i watch it? Well, simply because the world has such a small selection of lesbian themed ANYTHING that it doesn't leave much of a choice.
That being said, however, Sarah Waters is BY FAR the best bet we have for writing and/or film adaptations that show characters who are not just "lesbians," but women, who have real struggles, and real desires, and real problems. She seamlessly transcends an entire century and creates Victorian characters who resonate so strongly with 21st century women, not to mention the plot twists, deliciously evil characters, atmospheric nuances, sexy scenes, and overall victorian scandal that make Fingersmith even better.
I also really appreciate that her characters never fall decidedly into the butch/femme duality, SO sick of that! Maybe it's just because I've seen so many examples that don't conform to this and breaking conventions is always a good thing!
Thanks Sarah Waters, like the others have said, you are a goddess :)
Book Review: The only question is...why didn't it win the Booker???
Summary: 5 Stars
"Fingersmith" is the first Sarah Water's book I've delved into, partly because I've been scarred by terrible Victorian fiction in the past, and partly because I was afraid how her novel's would treat their overtly lesbian material. I was overjoyed to find it subtle and touching, without any signs of being tainted by public perceptions of lesbian relationships. "Fingersmith" is a multitude of things. It is a mystery, a thriller, a horror and a love story. It is also a superbly detailed and well crafted historical novel. I'm gushing I know, but the truth is that I couldn't put it down.
The story is that of Sue and Maud, the love they bear one another and the tangled web that lies, deceit and family machinations weave around them. Add some intriguing plot elements (a bibliography of indecent literature and a madhouse) and stir with a truly delicious, but layered, villain, and "Fingersmith" comes out ripe and lush. There are some ingenius twists and turns, and true gut clenching moments when disbelief mingles with pure enjoyment.
I'll step back a moment to attempt an objective evaluation of the craft and style. Sarah Waters does not write in the slickest of prose, and many people may feel compelled to turn back after the first chapter. It is true that the first person narrative lends itself to a disjointed and clumsy beginning, but it won't take long for your palette to adjust. For those coming to the novel fresh from forays into other Booker material (and particularly this year's winner "The Life of Pi"), the dichotomy will seem clear and apparent.
Miss Waters is the author of plot driven novels, she is not a post-modern contemporary author driven by allegory and oxymoron similes. She follows hard on the footsteps of Dickens (although far more compelling) and inherits the voice of an Elizabeth Gaskell modernised for the 21st century. Don't allow this relative simplicity of style to put you off, the effect if by no means shallow or transparent. I promise you a truly gripping read if you perservere - the kind you remember from childhood when books were about turning the page and staying up all night to reach the end, not churning over the existentialist questions of existence.
Book Review: Brilliant and Sensational, Makes you want more!
Summary: 5 Stars
If you're looking to escape from your normal life of boredom, loneliness, and desire for a more interesting life, Sarah Waters' novel, Fingersmith, is a satisfactory yet above average novel to read. Sue and Maud are two lonely girls from different ends of the Victorian spectrum. Sue is poor, orphaned, and abandoned while Maud is an heiress. Both are trapped by their life's circumstances, Maud must marry and Sue must become a criminal in order to survive. In the end, the two young girls develop a mutual attraction to each other. Waters' novel is quite a treat for those of us who seek Victorian romanticism while at the same time it's not for realists like myself. I prefer the realistic novels while this novel is not only realistic but yet it is sensual and the two young girls find themselves in a very difficult situation. Lesbianism was still forbidden in Victorian times even though it has been around forever. Sue and Maud must come to terms with their relationship. At first, the relationship just seems ideal much like a lesbian soap opera but not all relationships end as well or forever. We don't really know what happens to Sue and Maud after the novel is finished but we do want to know more. I would have loved to have seen them ten years after possibly together or apart. Did they last? Did they go their separate ways? Did they find love elsewhere? Maybe good books like Fingersmith makes us ask those questions about Sue and Maud about ourselves. The book is a great escapism from our own troubling realities. We live in a society that nobody is complete without a partner whether heterosexual or homosexual. Those of us who are alone are often under suspicion by our peers, relatives, friends, colleagues, etc. Sue and Maud's genuine love and affection for each other comes through in Waters' writing. But we all want the love and happines from finding a soul mate, we must ask ourselves if Sue and Maud are soulmates or kindred spirits. We can only use our imagination to determine the outcome. Maybe all is not well, maybe they went their separate ways. We all yearn to find love and happiness with someone but we must first find happiness with ourselves.Book Review: The BEST BOOK I ever read by the BEST AUTHOR !!
Summary: 5 Stars
Fingersmith is quite simply the best & most enjoyable book I have ever read. It is the story of Susan & Maud, two orphaned girls who live very different lives in Victorian England. However although they don't it, their fates are entwined beyond separation. The story takes you from the depths of despair to the heights of happiness & includes great tragedy, sadness & also love. But it doesn't stop there as Sarah Waters takes you through virtually every emotion possible & boy do you feel them. Too say anymore about the plot would be to destroy the immense enjoyment I experienced reading this book, for other people who are yet to read it. However I simply couldn't write this review & not say that this book also has the greatest plot twists I believe ever written. You just don't see them coming & they leave you astounded.
Sarah Waters is undoubtedly the best new author around & this book should definitely have won the 2002 Booker Prize in Britain, for which it was nominated. She has the incredible talent of describing things, places or circumstances just enough, that your mind fills in the blanks & makes you believe you are there eperiencing the story, not reading it. You can almost see the smog hanging overhead, hear the chiming of the clock or feel the chracters emotions in moments of sadness or fear.
I read this entire book (548 pages) in 5 days staying up till I almost fell asleep because you just can't put it down. I just had to know if a character was going to avoid a desperately horrible fate or was caught by one of the twists. I also agree with an earlier reviewer who said finishing this book isn't the end, it does affect you long after you've read it. Sarah Waters description is so good, that it gives you an idea of just how far families were willing to go in Victorian times to deal with their female relatives who they considered were ruined or had shamed them or had a mysteriously illness that they didn't understand, so it must be madness.
If you haven't read this book yet, get out there & read it now, for I would have given it a 10 out of 5 if possible.