Vintage Book Group discussion
This topic is about
The Chaperone
The Chaperone
>
The Chaperone
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Catherine
(new)
-
rated it 5 stars
Jun 24, 2013 07:09AM
Mod
reply
|
flag
Mod
This looks great - have a copy winging it's way to me, and I am going on a little mini-break on Sunday to West Wales, so will have lots of time to curl up with it in front of a woodburning stove after a long country walk!
Mod
What I liked most was the feeling that the book gave a real social commentary of the era. the 1920s were a time of much social change and the divide between the younger generation and the generation before was huge. The main character Cora at the age of 36 in 1922, still has very Victorian views on morality. Louise is at the opposite end of the spectrum. It makes very interesting reading as in the first couple of sections of the book it's very hard to warm to either character.
I found the parts about the orphanage and train fascinating, and this side storyline really added depth to the book and the character of Cora.
The book is very complex with lots of different stories running along side each other which make up the layers of the character's lives. As the story goes along you feel as if you are peeling away these layers slowly and finding out more about each character. This is one of the things I like most about the writer's style.
The relationships are written so beautifully and I felt real emotion reading about some of the struggles they go through (can't really discuss this more without ruining the story!)
My only criticism would be the change in pace of the book. The first two thirds, set in New York run relatively slowly and are quite detailed. Once the main story has played out the author continues to tell the story of the rest of Cora's life. I'm glad she did as I couldn't have bared to not know. However in order to cover another 60 years of story it did feel very rushed.
I took quite a lot of breaks during the book to read more about the real Louise Brooks and watch some videos of her on Youtube. She was so beautiful and very fascinating. I's like to read her autobiography some time.
Can't wait to hear what other people thought of this one. xxx
Well, this is another book that I never would have chosen based on the cover, but again it was a nice surprise and I was easily hooked right from the start.Believability/research of subject matter - 5/5
Another well-researched book. The details really do matter! If the details are spot on, they add to the story rather than get in the way of it. They help you picture the era and the characters better. I love that at the end of the book the author lists all the reading material she used as her sources, and there are a few books on that list that I'll be looking out for, especially the one about the 'Orphan trains'. And of course Louise Brooks' autobiography!
Quality of writing - 5/5
Very, very good. The last paragraph stood out, and also some of the descriptions - of Myra, of the Kaufmann's. Skilled use of language.
Plot - 4/5
Oo, it was really good!! The way that lives intertwined in and out, and the subplot of Cora's identity kept me turning the pages like fury! I did find that the ending dragged on a bit, I really think that the point when Cora gets the postcard from Louise would be the place to stop. I know it's nice to tie up all the ends and tell exactly what happened to people, but the isn't that just telling a life story rather than telling a 'story' that is in the form of a book? An epilogue would have served the purpose.
Satisfaction - 4/5
Very satisfying for the vast majority of it. I found the very last paragraph of the book very satisfying, but again, not sure the few chapters before were really necessary, it did mean it lost its momentum.
OVERALL SCORE - 4/5
It was very enjoyable, but again it doesn't quite hit that top rating of a book that I would read over and over. I would definitely look out for more from this author.
P x
