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Post by geminii on Jan 31, 2023 12:50:19 GMT
I have now finished this Book, and I know a few of you have read it too ..  If anyone would like to kick the comments off, then please do - I just need to arrange my thoughts before I add to the chat x Please note : As everyone will be reading the book at different times it is only polite to ensure that all spoilers are noted as such and are changed to a white colour ink. This will then only show the information if you highlight over it with your mouse. For example you would add the word spoiler, an apostrophe, write what you want to say and then change the text colour by clicking on the colour wheel just next to the font size at the top of the screen .. Spoiler, ' then whoever glances quickly will not be able to see unless they highlight over it'.Thank you all x |
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Post by adelynechan on Jan 31, 2023 13:27:42 GMT
I finished this one earlier this month, and my notes on the book aren't as good as I'd like them to be. Overall though, I really wanted to like it more than I did. The story is beautifully written, I liked the subtle way in which the characters were introduced into the story - I felt almost as though I was watching them interact through a window. I also liked getting to know a little about the myth of the Essex Serpent, though despite being the title character it actually features more in the background. I thought this worked really well, and helped to convey the feeling that it is a mythological creature (i.e. not in your face) but hovers over everything that happens.
What didn't quite work for me was the characters, I wasn't really drawn to either of the main characters Cora or Will, and tired of them as the book wore on. What didn't help was that, at the same time, I kind of fell in love with the doctor, who after a career-ending injury wasn't quite the same again and seemed to just fade out of the picture. I was mad at Cora for what she did to him, and to be honest I didn't quite buy either arm of the "love triangle". The other character that I really liked was Francis, but again he only popped in and out of the story - there were times where I was wondering what had happened to him as his mother seemed to have moved around a lot without mention of him!
Overall I found this a bit of a difficult read, I wish I related more to one of the main characters, which probably would have helped me enjoy the rest of the story more. It certainly raises many points of contention, particularly in the "debates" between Cora and Will, but in the end I thought that the angle of evidence vs. faith was overshadowed by the loveline - which I didn't find convincing enough for this purpose.
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Post by sarita on Jan 31, 2023 18:13:25 GMT
This what I felt in 2019 when I read this book. I'm afraid I'm in a minority here..
I loved it. So very atmospheric, beautiful writing. Not a lot happens and yet I couldn't put it down.
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Post by emzbez on Feb 10, 2023 19:19:02 GMT
I am still a bit undecided if I like it or not. I would not have picked it up to read if not a book club read. I liked the idea that is was about a folk law tale.
I listened on audio but I think I may have got more out of it, if I read it, due to the letters. It was slow to start and a bit confusing. I did love Cora's character though, and felt the other characters were all so different but played their parts. The folk law part did seem a bit lost and I felt sorry for the pastors wife. I must admit I was expecting a different ending so I suppose you could say it wasn't predictable.
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Post by rosemary3 on May 8, 2023 22:39:02 GMT
Just finished and I really loved it. I agree with Adelyne that the characters definitely had their faults, but I didn't mind that so much. I liked Will and I liked the way it ended with hope for Stella. But mainly, like Sarita, I enjoyed the atmosphere of it and the prose. Also having family that came from Tolleshunt/Goldhanger/Heybridge on the Blackwater Estuary and having visited that area and tried to imagine their lives, I have an idea of how flat and bleak it would have been in the 19th century. I thought that Cora and her son Francis were more alike than she realised - she was actually quite emotionally detached, and this may have been neurological and passed on. Her relationship with her late husband and the way she had accepted his cruelty was another sign of this. She could certainly be cruel and self-obsessed herself, but I didn't blame her for that. I did blame the men for falling in love with her - they should have had more sense, but isn't that always the way  I will probably give it 5 slightly guilty stars - guilty because it's not a great work of literature or an amazing crime novel, which is where I ususally bestow the top ratings, but for me it was definitely above the standard 4 star read. |
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