Author: Emma Donoghue
Pages: 352
Published: 2014
Challenges: I Love Libraries, Historical Fiction, Blogger Summer Reading
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Canadian literature
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Library
Description: Summer of 1876: San Francisco is in the fierce grip of a record-breaking heat wave and a smallpox epidemic. Through the window of a railroad saloon, a young woman named Jenny Bonnet is shot dead.
The survivor, her friend Blanche Beunon, is a French burlesque dancer. Over the next three days, she will risk everything to bring Jenny's murderer to justice--if he doesn't track her down first. The story Blanche struggles to piece together is one of free-love bohemians, desperate paupers, and arrogant millionaires; of jealous men, icy women, and damaged children. It's the secret life of Jenny herself, a notorious character who breaks the law every morning by getting dressed: a charmer as slippery as the frogs she hunts. (from Goodreads)
Thoughts: When I heard that Emma Donoghue had written a new book, I really wanted to get my hands on a copy, especially since I had really enjoyed Room a number of years ago.
The thing with the book was that I had a bit of difficulty figuring out where the book was during the time span of the book, as it seemed to jump around quite a bit and left me a bit confused as to where we were in terms of the story, which apparently is about a month. I would have really like it if author's that are doing time shifting of any sort to let reader's know where we are. I had no problem in loving Donoghue's writing, I just had an issue with the time shifting.
The thing with the book was that I had a bit of difficulty figuring out where the book was during the time span of the book, as it seemed to jump around quite a bit and left me a bit confused as to where we were in terms of the story, which apparently is about a month. I would have really like it if author's that are doing time shifting of any sort to let reader's know where we are. I had no problem in loving Donoghue's writing, I just had an issue with the time shifting.
Bottom line: If you enjoy books that use time shifting as a plot device, you will probably enjoy this book. If you have read it and did like the book, you may enjoy books such as All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and The Painter by Peter Heller (Goodreads came up with the recommendations, not me).
Rating: 3.5/5
Pages for 2014: 9440
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