Sarah Waters’ The Paying Guests has been getting a lot of good press since its release last month, and the praise for this novel is much deserved. It really is a masterful work. Waters creates a suspenseful and heartbreaking love story against the backdrop of post-WWI London. Its rigid moral climate and deteriorating social and economic situation contribute to an almost suffocating environment that limits opportunity for women and criminalizes unconventional sexual desires. Waters stands shoulder to shoulder with Edith Wharton and Kate Chopin in […]
“When I try now to sort out who knew what and who knew nothing, who knew everything and who was a fraud, I have to stop and give it up, it makes my head spin.”
I finished Fingersmith a couple of weeks ago, but I’ve had a hard time putting together my thoughts on it. I mean: I liked it. A lot. Sarah Waters is a new-to-me author, whose backlist I’m certainly going to be checking out, because Damn, can that lady craft a story. I have a lot of kudos to give the book, and I’m going to try to get to them all in this review. Where I’m conflicted though, is… the twisty-turny nature of the plot. Even […]