Losing serious momentum coming into the summer. 52 books is a long ways off but I remain realistically optimistic that my goal shall be achieved.
I picked up this book for a penny (or so) at the Barnes and Noble sale rack. I have read many, if not all, of Tracy Chevalier's novels thus far. Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Lady and the Unicorn, Falling Angels, etc. Chevalier's characterization did not disappoint. By the story's end, I felt a part of Georgian England and the Piddle Valley. I especially loved the character of Maggie. She was the perfect ratio of vulnerability and rough edge for my taste. The references to Blake and Songs of Innocence were lost on me. Completely. Another BNoble reviewer suggests that Blake is by far the most aloof, vaguely written about character in a novel. I concur.
The ending also left me unhinged. It took 200 or so pages for me to fall in love with this novel and the last twenty pages felt like an afterthought for me. I don't enjoy when all the loose ends are tied up in a pretty little bow but Chevalier's ending this time around just felt lazy.
There are moments in this book that will stay with me. When the kids find themselves lost in Bedlam after following William Blake's funeral procession, the hysteria surrounding the French Revolution and the declaration of loyalty to King George AND when Maggie blows her nose and residue from the mustard and vinegar factory become quite apparent. And YET, I'm left with just moments and not a novel that changed me. And isn't that the novel we are all looking for?
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