Affinity by Sarah Waters

Affinity by Sarah Waters

Completion Date: October 29, 2011
Reason for Reading: Favourite Author.

An upper-class woman, recovering from a suicide attempt, visits the women's ward of Millbank prison as part of her rehabilitation. There she meets Selina, an enigmatic spiritualist-and becomes drawn into a twilight world of ghosts and shadows, unruly spirits and unseemly passions, until she is at last driven to concoct a desperate plot to secure Selina's freedom, and her own.

"Unfolds sinuously and ominously...a powerful plot-twister. The book is multidimensional: a naturalistic look at Victorian society; a truly suspenseful tale of terror; and a piece of elegant, thinly veiled erotica." (USA Today)

"Gothic tale, psychological study, puzzle narrative-Sarah Waters' second novel is all of these wrapped into one, served up to superbly suspenseful and hypnotic effect." (The Seattle Times)

Today's post is left over from 2011. I read and reviewed Affinity with Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader. We are finally posting our thoughts on it. You will have to visit her post to see the first part of the review and then you can read the second part below.

Kelly: As long as it is done well, I really like diary-style books. They are never entirely believable because who remembers such exacting details from their day and writes in their diaries like that, but I think it was handled well. It showed enough of the story to see what was going on and that is the important thing. I also enjoyed that it was alternating between two people and their diaries. I think it wouldn’t have been the same story if the reader didn’t get to see both sides.

Marg: There are some diary books that are great to read, but there are others that aren’t! I was relieved to see that this was one of the good ones!

Kelly: What did you think of the relationships between the characters? Did you think they were believable?

Marg: I actually thought the relationships between the characters were really well drawn, especially the difficult relationship between Margaret and her now sister-in-law. If there was one character I did struggle with a little it would be Margaret’s mother, but I have no doubt that she was acting completely within the social and moral restrictions of the time.

Which relationships did you think were written well, or not as the case may be?

Kelly: Yes, the relationship between Margaret and her sister-in-law was very interesting. It was a nice addition to add a bit of sympathy to your view of Margaret. It must be even worse when you have a relationship with someone and not only does it not work out, but they marry your brother so you have to see them all the time. I don’t think you were meant to like Margaret’s mother. And, yes, she was probably very realistic for her time. Another relationship that was interesting was the one between Margaret and her father. He is dead at the time the book is set, but he is mentioned so much he really is another character in the book. I felt bad because it seemed that he encouraged Margaret to be a bit different and then he died before she actually got to live out her dreams. It left her with no real ally in the world. It was just interesting because of the time period and the expectations of the time. And it was another way that I felt badly for Margaret.

Obviously the big relationship in the book was the one between Margaret and Selina. What did you think of that relationship?

Marg: I found it interesting and appreciated the way that the relationship built up over time. I do think that Selina was extremely adept at manipulating the emotions of those around her, not only with Margaret, but also with so many other of the characters (mostly female) that we met through the course of the book. This manipulative ability combined with her evident charisma and somewhat dodgy moral character seems to lend itself to a fascinating character to read about.

Margaret would seem to be someone who would be an easy target for this kind of person though. She is already emotionally fragile, definitely aware of her apartness (for the want of a better word) from most other Victorian ladies of her social standing, and therefore the idea of acceptance from someone, from anyone, is one that she desperately clings to and in the short term at least is empowered by.

How did you read their relationship, both throughout the book and in the context of the end of the book?

****SPOILER ALERT****

Kelly: I have to admit that having read Sarah Waters twice before I was thinking there was something coming. I knew that things were not at all as they seemed, so I was very suspicious of the whole relationship. I just didn’t understand how their friendship would help Selina get out of jail. There were details that were not revealed to us until the end of the book. I was happy about that because then I was legitimately surprised. I love surprises in books. The Night Watch was a different sort of book, but Fingersmith had many surprises in store. I was able to figure out a couple of them, but there were still other twists and turns that caught me unaware. When an author can do that I know they are someone I am meant to be reading.

To get back to your actual question, Selina sort of creeped me out. As the book was told we were able to see her side of things. I always rather looked on people with her ‘abilities’ as con artists, but that is my personal opinion. As a result I read all of her sections with much scepticism. I didn’t entirely know the whole story, but I knew that things were likely a bit biased and things were being left out. I was still surprised by the connections in the story, but that is what I enjoy so much about books by this author.

What did you think?

Marg: I was absolutely sceptical about Serena and her talents all the way through, but as we were getting towards the end of the book I couldn’t quite see how she was doing the things she was doing. The solution made perfect sense though!

Overall,I am glad to have finally read my first Sarah Waters and I am looking forward to reading the next one which I think will probably be Night Watch given that I have owned that one for a couple of years.

Kelly: I hope you enjoy The Night Watch. It is a bit different from this one. I enjoyed reading this one together, though. I look forward to more Sarah Waters in the future and more buddy reads.

Fingersmith - The BBC Mini-Series

Dark deeds and intrigue abound when petty thief Sue Trinder (Sally Hawkins) helps con man Richard Rivers (Rupert Evans) defraud a wealthy heiress, Maud Lilly (Elaine Cassidy), of her inheritance. But Trinder's plans are thwarted when she falls in love with Lilly. The tale twists as the young women are separated but come to realize the strength of their passion for each other in this BBC adaptation of Sarah Waters Booker's novel.

In 2009 I had the pleasure of reading the book version. It was my second Sarah Waters, but it remains my favourite. Even though it is a bit of a mystery and I had solved a couple of them ahead of time, I was still gripped by the story. I loved the book and it has remained with me very well. When I am finally caught up with Waters I am going to go back and reread it. I had no idea, though, that there had been a mini-series made. When I happened upon it back when I first joined Netflix, I was intrigued, but also a bit scared. I have a hard time watching movies based on favourite books. More often than not, I have lots of problems or have to pretend that the book and movie are separate entities in order to enjoy it.

I decided to give it a try, though, and I am very happy that I did! There were obviously a few things taken out and such, but nothing was overly changed. The mystery was still there. Even though I had read the book, so knew where the movie was headed, I was still captivated and glued to my seat. When I started it I had only planned to watch a bit just to get a feel for it, but I ended up watching the first half. This completely destroyed my reading time. I kept wanting to know what happened next, even though I all ready knew. And, I have to say, which is a big deal for me, I actually enjoyed the romance quality of both the book and the movie. It was unconventional and sweet. While being a central aspect, it was still rather understated. And, obviously, there is so much more going on.

As to the acting, I thought it was very well done for the most part. Not to mention Rupert Evans is rather nice to look at. They all played their parts really well, though, and it honestly felt like I was watching the book come to life. I was a bit worried last night that the only reason I liked the movie was because I expected to hate it, but after finishing it, I know that I love it. I was freaking out all day thinking I wasn't going to be able to fit it in, but it all ended well. I finished and decided that I really wanted to watch it again very soon, so I am going to share it with the cc. I was trying to explain it all to him today and there is just too much to talk about. Not to mention I don't want to reveal too much.

Bottom-line, I really enjoyed this movie and am very happy that I took a chance on it. I now really want to read Sarah Waters!

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Time for another buddy review! I am thinking of making these more of a regular feature in 2010. Do you like them? I like them because they are interactive. If anyone wants to do a buddy review with me in 2010, just let me know. If I still owe you a buddy review in 2009 it is nothing against you, it is my reading is suffering the last couple months of this year. I am hoping that January will see a rebirth and less stress, so cross your fingers for me!

This is a buddy review with Aarti from BookLust. We have been supposed to review together forever, but things always seemed to happen. I am glad we have finally had the chance to! We have more planned for 2010. (And I am sure I will review with Ana, Chris, and Heather. They were my most common buddy review co-hosts of 2009).

'We were all more or less thieves at Lant Street. But we were that kind of thief that rather eased the dodgy deed along, than did it . We could pass anything, anything at all, at speeds which would astonish you. There was only one thing, in fact, that had come and got stuck - one thing that had somehow withstood the tremendous pull of that passage - one thing that never had a price put to it. I mean of course, Me.' Sue Trinder, orphaned at birth, is born among petty thieves - fingersmiths - in London's Borough. From the moment she draws breath, her fate is linked to another orphan, growing up in a gloomy mansion not too many miles away ...A modern day Dickens, Sarah Waters is one of Britain's rising stars.

Aarti is in green and I am in white. This is the first part of the review, to read the continuation you have to go to her blog.

This was only the second Waters book I read, and I really enjoyed it! It is my first book for the Women Unbound Challenge and I think it's a great start for that one as you can really see how bound the two main characters- both young ladies- are by society and its strictures and laws. They really are at the mercy of men and of people more wealthy and powerful than they are. I always think I would love to travel to the past, particularly England. But always with the caveat of being a self-supporting, wealthy gentlewoman! Otherwise, I don't think it would be a very good life! And Waters really made it clear that even when a woman does have money, she loses all control of it when she marries. She also showed just how isolating life could be for girls. I think she did an excellent job.

That said, for some reason, I think I liked Affinity better than Fingersmith! I'm not sure if that is just a product of me having read Affinity first, but I thought the two main characters in that one were somehow more compelling to me. But the same themes resonate- that of lonely, isolated women seeking comfort in each other.

I haven't read Affinity yet, so I can't really say anything about which is the better of the two. The other book I have read by her is The Night Watch. I bought it randomly when it first came out; even though I didn't really know anything about Waters or her books. I found my first read by her a bit different. It was set during WWII, and instead of being told in order the book started at the end and moved to the beginning. Fingersmith is told like a 'regular' story, so it is almost hard to compare the two of them. All I know is that when I was reading Fingersmith I kept wondering why it was that I let about 2 years go by before reading another Waters. There are so many twists and turns in her novels. Sometimes I would expect what was about to happen, but other times I was surprised. This is very much an edge-of-your-seat read. You never know what is going to happen with every flip of the page.

I agree this is perfect for the Unbound Challenge. I haven't decided if I will count it or not because I originally planned to only read non-fiction for the challenge. This book could really said to be about the restrictions put on women and how different their lives were from men. How different their lives were depending on their class structure, even. I thought Waters did a really good job writing a story that addresses these issues. We have one woman that lives with her uncle in what looks like the upper class structure, but then we have another woman that is raised by thieves. It was an interesting look at Victorian Society. Which of the main characters was your favourite?

I was trying to think of my favorite and I'm not sure! I thought Gentleman was fascinating in many ways. He had a cruel streak, but he also seemed to have some redeeming traits. I am not sure if I knew him well enough to say whether I liked him as a person or not, but I really enjoyed him as a character. I liked both Susan and Maud. They were drawn very well and really came to life for me. I thought Waters did so well to show the hypocrisy of Victorian society, showing Maud as this upstanding and very shy Victorian girl, but then having her work with her uncle on really disturbing and dirty reading topics. And Susan, who was raised on the streets and should have been really hard, was actually pretty idealistic and sweet.

There were a few twists that I expected, but a lot caught me off guard. I think one has to get used to that with Waters!

I enjoyed the way Waters portrayed the lesbian relationship as well- natural and based in trust. What did you think of that aspect? I don't think I can call it the romantic aspect, really, as the two weren't "together" for a good portion of the book, but it was certainly the central relationship.

Head over to Aarti's blog to read the rest!

And, don't forget that the Virtual Advent is in full-swing! Today is day two. Head over to the dedicated blog to see who to visit and follow on with the rest of the tour!

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

Books Completed: 6
Completion Date: January 16, 2007
Publication Year: 2006
Pages: 470
Owned Prior to 2007
Shortlisted for Man Booker and The Orange Prize

Moving back through the 1940s, through air raids, blacked out streets, illicit liaisons, sexual adventure, to end with its beginning in 1941, The Night Watch is the work of a truly brilliant and compelling storyteller.

This is the story of four Londoners - three women and a young man with a past, drawn with absolute truth and intimacy. Kay, who drove an ambulance during the war and lived life at full throttle, now dresses in mannish clothes and wanders the streets with a restless hunger, searching . . . Helen, clever, sweet, much-loved, harbours a painful secret . . . Viv, glamour girl, is stubbornly, even foolishly loyal, to her soldier lover . . . Duncan, an apparent innocent, has had his own demons to fight during the war. Their lives, and their secrets connect in sometimes startling ways. War leads to strange alliances . . .

Tender, tragic and beautifully poignant, set against the backdrop of feats of heroism both epic and ordinary, here is a novel of relationships that offers up subtle surprises and twists. The Night Watch is thrilling. A towering achievement.

This book was one of my Christmas presents to myself this past Christmas. I enjoy books that are set during the World Wars, so when I started to hear good things about this book, I knew that I was going to have to read it. I am very glad I did. The first book for the Chunkster Challenge, which means I have completed one of my goals for the month of January.

I am going to have to say, this is one of the more original books set during the Second World War that I have ever read. For starters, the majority of the characters in the book, both major and minor, are women. Many of the popular World War literature focuses on the men's side of things, so it was interesting to see women as main characters. Having never read Sarah Waters before, I think this book was a very good introduction to her. I did not really know what to expect, so the fact that the main characters were almost all women was something I expected, the fact that several of the characters are gay surprised me. I did not know that this was a staple of Sarah Waters writing because I had never read her before, but it was not a bad thing. I do not really mind the sexuality of the characters that I read, but I can see this book being not for everyone.

I am not sure who out of the main characters was my favourite. The four main characters are Kay, Helen, Viv, and Duncan. They all have a past in this novel, and with the writing style starting at the end and working backwards, you find yourself curious about how things turned out the way that they did. Kay is an interesting character. As is said several times through the book, she is looking for a wife, but luck does not appear to be on her side. She really is sweet, but she never seems to end up with what she is looking for. She also often gets mistaken for a boy because of her short hair and boyish style of dressing. She was the one that I looked forward to learning more about because when you meet her, she is nothing like she was earlier in the war. Helen surprised me, but annoyed me at the same time. She never seems to know what she is doing, and seems to be influenced a lot by the people around her. Then there is Viv, she is involved a situation common to the last century, but you cannot help feeling both bad for her and want to tell her to smarted up at the same time.

Then, there is Duncan. He is quite an interesting character to read about, especially as you read more about him the earlier years. He is at battle with his demons, and I am not sure that his story is ever clearly revealed, it is more something that you assume from the information that is presented. All the characters are interesting to read about, as well as the other characters that show up in the story because of the main characters. It really is a very enjoyable read, and a very good book to start the New Year out on. Worth every page.

4.5/5

Author Gender:
Male: 1
Female: 5

This was a new to me author.