I had heard rave reviews about Kate Furnivall's books by some friends, so did not hesitate when I saw this book was offered as a freebie. And second bI had heard rave reviews about Kate Furnivall's books by some friends, so did not hesitate when I saw this book was offered as a freebie. And second bonus, the story took place in Malaya and the surrounding area during WW2, close to where I now live. I should have looked at some reviews before jumping into its reading. Maybe. Though it might have well prevented me from trying it. I really liked the way the book was written, the context seemed realistic enough, though a bit schematic at times. However there were many things that prevented me from really enjoying this book. The characters and facts were mostly described and told with a very detached tone. This really prevented me from liking ANY characters, except for maybe the young boy and Kitty, a very secondary or even tertiary character. All the others were very difficult to understand - the reader is rarely offered any insights into the thoughts of the characters and has to make his own mind based on a cold depiction of facts. And some explanations regarding their motives and past history may or may not be provided later in the book, but insufficiently and too late to redeem those characters. The plot was rather good, though with a bit many twists and turns. The one thing I really did not believe in at all was the sudden romance developing in the second part of the book. Last comment - after the book was a series of Q&A with the author, where she said the place where the main characters take refuge at the end of the book ended up heavily bombed later on. This inspired in myself a thought that they might have been saved for nothing, just dying later on, and then thinking that it would not have been such a catastrophe anyway as I liked them so little. Not a good last impression. I'll be very wary before trying another one of her books. ...more
Quite different from previous Eva Ibbotson's books I read (all targeted to adults, not YA). It was written at the first person and corresponded to theQuite different from previous Eva Ibbotson's books I read (all targeted to adults, not YA). It was written at the first person and corresponded to the diary of a middle-aged dressmaker during one year. It was very nicely managed, in the sense that I could feel the moods of the writer, according to what she remembered of her past, what emotions she was going through. The progressive discovery of her past, her secrets did not feel restrained by an author trying to keep the suspense for as long as he/she can, it flowed well. However it took some time at first, as if Susannah did not yet trust her pen and diary book. The tone was overall quite wry and the descriptions of many characters rather funny. I guess it was a thorough and quite realistic portrait of the era and the ways of life at the time. What I liked less: I'm not a huge fan of diaries and first-person told stories. I would indeed shelve this book much more easily into life-saga than romance, considering than most men have a mistress on the side of their official and proper wife. And indeed the narrator herself is one of those second woman. That might put off quite a few readers, better to be aware of it first....more
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