Elaine > Recent Status Updates

This is one of the most interminable books I’ve read. I keep going because I hope that there will be fun hell stuff, but there’s not much of it.

I usually find Farineti

P. 142 - it’s still 1502 or 3. One character is talking about how all the rich people love cocoa beans. Cortez first introduces cacao (and therefore cocoa to Europe in 1528). The author writes a lot about contact with other parts of the world. 1500 is very early especially for England. There is not a lot of colonial contact going on yet. It’s not that hard to figure it out if you look it up.

P. 114. Now it’s 1502 in rural England and one of the characters has noted that “ black skin trumpeters from across the seas are all the rage.” What?! In a spaceship from the jazz age? I think the author of this book is just criminally stupid

18. It’s still 1500. She’s just met a young man wearing trousers and braces. Braces did not exist in 1500 and people did not really wear trousers. They were more likely to wear hose.

14. Oh no, what am I reading? Author has established it’s 1500 and this is totally impoverished urchin is dreaming about going to the Spice islands, which werenot visited by Europeans until 1512 so somebody did not do their research before writing this book and make me waste my money on it

This is painful. Will I finish?

Now they are talking about novel viruses in Constantinople in 1854. Viruses have not been discovered yet. Also, everyone in Constantinople speaks English. this book is really the worst. Why am I still reading?

The clanging anachronisms are going to make it hard to finish this sloppy mess. We’re in Constantinople in 1854 and a basement is lit by buzzing electric bulbs!! Would be news to Thomas Edison and to the city of Istanbul which didn’t get electricity until the 20th century. There was also a kerfuffle about an unlicensed gun in London (gun licensing not being a thing in 1854). And of course the dialogue!

The Booker list this year has been surprisingly delightful and I have had a lot of wonderful books but setting off with a new Jackson Brodie is like settling into a warm bath with a glass of champagne.

Having enjoyed to loved, to been challenged and surprised and intrigued by every Booker book I’ve read even the weaker ones. I guess I had to hit.a wall at some point.

This book is very simplistically written and a bit of a slog. I will persevere, but it reads like YA.

This book is so tritely and awfully written. Amazing premise/idea. Wrapped up in YA cotton candy pseudo literary prose. It’s a totally fast/light read but I’m still wondering if I can finish.

This is really slow going! Nearly as cloying as Our Town itself!

This book is even better than I remembered it.

I’m finding this book endless. Extremely skillful for such a young writer but emotionally one note, cliched characters and a lot of plot holes that the excess verbiage give you lots of time to think about.

OK I wanted to reach something light but this was just clunky and I couldn’t suspend disbelief to the extent necessary. Neither of the two plots really made any sense, or gripping enough so that I didn’t care.

I literally have no idea what’s going on or what it is that I’m reading but I am finding it oddly pleasurable

I am just not a Sally Rooney person.

This book is so terrible I cannot wait for it to be over

I’m finding this book very well written but equally uncomfortable/unpleasant. I’m not a fan of the current boomlet of books about very young women who make terrible choices, especially when it comes to sex, and seem to labor at their own degradation. A heroine needs agency (and not just for self-harm) to hold my interest. Will persevere for now.