Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Another great novel from Sarah Waters
After reading and enjoying Sarah Waters's previous novels, I knew Fingersmith would meet my expectations. However, I had no idea! Fingersmith, as usual, had the gorgeous, atmospheric qualities that I think is Sarah Waters's trademark. And of course, the writing is simply genius. But more than that, Fingersmith is fantastic -- this novel told a darn good story.Set again in 19th century London, Fingersmith begins with Sue Trinder's tale as an orphan and a thief. She lives in a house filled with other orphaned babies and an assortment of pickpockets, or "fingersmiths," along with the lady of the house, Mrs. Sucksby, who took care of Sue since she was an infant. Now 17, Sue's opportunity to show her appreciation to Mrs. Sucksby finally comes -- in the form of Gentleman, a seedy con man and friend of the household. Gentleman is armed with a plan to make them all rich and enlists Sue as his helper. But things aren't always what they seem, and as the plan unfolds, all sorts of secrets and twists come unraveled. Fingersmith is everything I had hoped it would be -- beautiful writing, a stunning cast of characters, and a riveting, compelling storyline. I was helplessly drawn into the slums of London as well as the drab, solemn English countryside where Sue and Gentleman spend their days spinning their treacherous web. I will admit that there weren't as many shocking surprises (for me, anyway) like Affinity, but this novel was much like Tipping the Velvet in how it pulls in the reader from the beginning with a rousing good story. I can't enough good things about Sarah Waters, her novels, and her talent. She's exceptional, and Fingersmith is nothing less than stellar.
Rating: - Amazing
This really is a book that'll keep you up til you finish it. I sped through the last chapter and didn't get to bed until after 2 am. PLUS, as one blurb says happened to that reviewer, I did have a dream I was in a madhouse and that my roommate was the nurse in her bed. Freaked me out. It's a sign of how involving this book is.
One issue I had was reading that this was considered lesbian fiction. Why? It's a story of two people who fall in love and just happen to be girls. We don't call other stories "heterosexual fiction," right? This is simply good literature. No, it's *excellent* literature. Read this book, and fall in love with the girls yourself.
Rating: - Simply incredible
Fingersmith is, quite simply, one of the best books I have read in a long time. Sarah Waters is the newest British author to capture my attention. Fingersmith, her newest book, is set very evocatively in a den of pickpockets and thieves in Victorian London.Reading Fingersmith is like taking a journey. In the same way that Dickens, Wilkie Collins or Charles Palliser could transform a reader, Waters is a magician. Her characters are believable and real; her setting is breathtaking (you can practically smell the stench of London); the plot is complex, but accessible. All and all, Fingersmith is virtually perfect. The main character, Sue, is filled with a combination of wide-eyed wonder and worldliness. Her story is one of love, betrayal and struggle; but this is no historical romance. Sarah Waters writes in a very literary style and new readers are sure to recognize her talents.
|
