About this title: Set in the first years of the 20th century, Tracy Chevalier's second novel is the story of two girls--one upper class, one working class--who meet in a London cemetery. As the years go by, their friendship--along with the rapidly changing world--grows more complex.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Dutton Books
Date Published: 10/2001
ISBN-13:9780525945819ISBN:0525945814
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 256 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Dutton Books
Date Published: 10/2001
ISBN-13:9780525945819ISBN:0525945814
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 256 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Dutton Books
Date Published: 10/2001
ISBN-13:9780525945819ISBN:0525945814
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 256 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Dutton Books
Date Published: 10/2001
ISBN-13:9780525945819ISBN:0525945814
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 256 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Dutton Books
Date Published: 10/2001
ISBN-13:9780525945819ISBN:0525945814
Description: Good in good dust jacket. Good, In good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 256 p. Ex-Library expected imperfections. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Dutton Books
Date Published: 10/2001
ISBN-13:9780525945819ISBN:0525945814
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 256 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Dutton Books
Date Published: 10/2001
ISBN-13:9780525945819ISBN:0525945814
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 256 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Dutton Books
Date Published: 10/2001
ISBN-13:9780525945819ISBN:0525945814
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 256 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Dutton Books
Date Published: 10/2001
ISBN-13:9780525945819ISBN:0525945814
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 256 p. read more
"This book, all about character development, is narrated by a diverse cast of characters in early 20th-century London: a proto-feminist who struggles with her identity; her husband, who is baffled by her; their strong daughter; the daughter's best friend, a flighty, self-centered girl; and her parents, both very conventional Victorian parents. Another main character (though never a narrator) is the nearby cemetery, where the girls like to meet & where many of the story's shaping events take place. It's also where they meet & befriend a young gravedigger's apprentice who occasionally narrates. They're all interesting characters who, together, illuminate the transition from Victorian to 20th-century England. It's certainly chick lit, with some unrealistic proto-feminism & a melodramatic denouement, but it's interesting, classy chick lit melodrama."
"When I picked the book I was intrigued by the time period and the vehicle of using several characters and their point of view to narrate the story. I read "Girl with the Pearl Earring" which I liked very much and thought the author did a marvelous job researching the period and bringing the time period and the characters were well developed. Based on my past experience with this author I thought I'd give it a try. Unfortunately I was deeply disappointed with this book.
Various characters in the story told short descriptions of events in the story - the descriptions by each character were too short to capture and develop the character and they told so little in each of their sections...I was begging for more detail and information. These brief narrations by the speaker causes the character to be undeveloped, flat, uninteresting and as a reader I was not able to get very involved with the character. I did not find that each character had their own distinctive voice such that without looking at the title of who was speaking I could immediately tell who was speaking. (In fact when the young girls were five they were speaking and thinking about things much too adult and sophisticated for their age so their voices felt believable.) For most of the beginning of the book the comings and goings and discussions focused around a cemetery -boring. I was more than half way through the book before I saw a glimmer of a plot. At first I thought the plot would center on turn of the century women and unhappy marriage, affairs, unwanted pregnancy, finding a soul mate but that never really developed. As the plot switches away onto something else (women's rights in turn of the century London, women suffragettes) I thought, at last here is the real plot but that was never really developed either. So much more could have been done to describe the women's suffragette movement, the hardships, the imprisonment of the women and the frustration embarrassment and misunderstanding on the part of the men and society. I imagine the author did extensive research on the era but that never came out in the story. The rich details, descriptions, of the times and the deep feelings, frustrations, fears and concerns of the characters were not brought out. I found the ending came abruptly but I guess after wondering all over the place the author had to finally just stop.
Overall this book was a big disappointment but I kept reading to the end to see why this book was published ...I thought surely it must have something meaningful to contribute."
"Once again, I've found myself closing a Tracy Chevalier novel and thinking about waste. This novel could have been really good - the plot is engaging and well thought-out, including social commentary, history, romance, and reflection, but the writing is so poor as to make it nearly unbearable to read. Several of the characters are paper-flat, having a single defining characteristic beyond which Chevalier does not develop, and occasionally various characteristics do not match up (for example, in the beginning of the story, the voices of Livy and Maude are far too adult for five-year-olds). I also found the ending unsatisfactory and abrupt. Like The Virgin Blue and The Lady and the Unicorn, this novel left me wondering if we will ever again see from Chevalier a novel as satisfying and well-developed as Girl With a Pearl Earring."
"I really don't know how I feel about this book. There were some great parts but i felt like the book went straight from the beginning to the end, like there was no real middle meat to the book. The end was also extremely abrupt. Some of the characters we interesting as well. Kitty was much like the book - had a flicker if interesting in the beginning but just faded, even when she was at the peak of her story line. Maude, Kitty's daughter was very interesting to follow. She seemed to walk the center line between Kitty and Lavina, realizing that she could be progressive without becoming her mother but staying away from Lavinia's backwardness. Lavina on the other hand was one character i wanted to throttle by the end of the book. Being so petty and self-absorbed to care more about your mouring attire than the death of your sister made this character had to stomach. All in all there were interesting parts and it is a nice read."
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
rating
