Book Review: Affinity by Sarah Waters

Oh my goodness Sarah Waters, you are sensational. This is by far the best of hers I've read so far. I now have Tipping The Velvet and Fingersmith in my possession, but am desperately trying to save them. Like thats going to work. So Affinity. The blurb reads:

From the dark heart of a Victorian prison, disgraced spiritualist Selina Dawes weaves an enigmatic spell. Is she a fraud or a prodigy? By the time it all begins to matter, you'll find yourself desperately wanting to believe in magic.

I DESPERATELY WANTED TO BELIEVE IN MAGIC!! This book completely sucked me in. And while I dare not reveal if Selina was in fact a fraud or a prodigy, this book is so compellingly believable that it almost doesn't matter. Almost.

This story is told from two perspectives, that of Margaret Prior, a lady visitor to Millbank Prison in Victorian London, and Selina Dawes, an inmate. Margaret becomes increasingly interested in how Selina came to be at the prison and they develop a friendship of sorts and Margaret's interest in the art of spiritualism grows. Behind all of this lingers Margaret's sadness, the loss of her beloved father, the rejection by a lover and the secret of her sexuality.

As with many of Sarah Waters' novels, several of the characters are homosexual however this is never the basis or most important part of the plot. However in this story, it is used as an important plot device and works in a very successful and heartbreaking way.

I don't want to go on and on about this one, I find it difficult to say much without giving it all away. Just go and read it because it is truly awesome!!

Book Review: The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

Ah where to begin Sarah Waters? Where to begin? 'The Night Watch' is my favourite sort of book, an ensemble drama of sorts, random characters with connections that become "unveiled" as the story progresses. And I think this is one of the best of those I have read.


'The Night Watch' revolves around 4 main characters and is set between 1941 and 1947. Kay drove an ambulance during the war but has become a ghost of sorts since, wandering the streets in men's clothing, drifting. Helen is a kind girl working in a post-war dating agency who deals with issues of past betrayal. In this office works Vivien, a glamour girl, who continues to pursue an affair with a married soldier she met during the war. The final character is Duncan, Vivien's brother, who served the final years of the war in prison.


This book works backwards, a fantastic narrative technique if done well, as it has been here. The story begins in 1947 and travels backwards, slowly and ever so enticingly revealing how each character arrived in their current circumstance. I found this book utterly heartbreaking at times. This book explores World War II from the perspective of London civilians in a realistic and non-apologetic manner, yet allows it to be the setting for the story, not the basis of the plot. The story involved air raids, rationing and gruesome tragedy without making it about this, the focus was still on the characters and their experiences whether they were war-related or not. 


Sarah Waters is so wonderful at character development, they are so real, vulnerable. This book explores homosexuality during the war, being a woman during the war, imprisonment during the war, love and loss during the war, without being about the war. She describes the normal human emotions that are somewhat heightened by the stress and tension of this time.

She felt capable of anything! She finished her coffee, her mind racing. She was thinking of all the things she could do. She could give up her job! She could leave Streatham, take a little flat all to herself! She could call up Reggie! Her heart jumped. She could find a telephone box, right now. She could call him up and tell him - what? That she was through with him, for ever! That she forgave him; but that forgiving wasn't enough... The possibilities made her giddy. Maybe she'd never do any of these things. But oh, how marvellous it was, just to know that she could!

Haven't you felt just that? That exact feeling? I could never have put that into words. And such simple things in this book that made me ache for the characters, Helen's fear of rejection when her lover doesn't come home one night, and the despair and vulnerability...

"I had to have dinner all on my own. I stood right here, at the bloody oven, and ate it with my apron on."

 I actually cried then. Oh the humiliation of love and loneliness.

This was a fantastically poignant and moving book. I felt the adventure of air raids, the despair of loss, the excitement of new love, the hopelessness of war. I want to read it again, but the true joy in reading this book is not knowing where it is going. Once I told an elderly lady that I was reading 'Anna Karenina' and she said "How wonderful! I long to read that for the very first time again." So go and read this book, and enjoy it for the 'very first time', it is wonderful.

Have you read this? What did you think?

Teaser Tuesday - The Night Watch

 Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

I have never participated in this, but always really enjoy reading other teasers. It seems so naughty reading ahead doesn't it? I am currently reading The Night Watch by Sarah Waters.

She was looking over his shoulder, still scanning the faces of passers-by. Then she took in what he'd said - and the contrast between what he was thinking and the real reason she was here seemed, all at once, to defeat her.


Page 127.

Book Review: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

I have been rather disorganised this week with blogging, but it is because I've been reading this AWESOME book!! And by awesome I mean terrifying. Can you believe I was genuinely frightened by this book? I have read other reviews that have said they were disappointed by the lack of 'fear factor'. Well I did not feel this. However I am the person who can't watch the ads for those spooky criminal TV shows because I get all jumpy, and couldn't walk down my darkened hallway for 4 months after I saw 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'. And frankly, I think I really picked the wrong time of my life to read this book. I am house-sitting an old house at the moment which comes with its own 'little stranger', a 400 year old dog. She howls. A lot. So no sooner would my rapidly beating heart recover from a moment of suspense in the book and I was beginning to think that I might indeed survive the night...


would I hear...


AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...


I tell you what, that dog does a damn good impression of a ghost.


Now. Shall I tell you a bit about the actual book? 'The Little Stranger' is narrated by a local county doctor in Warwickshire in England, Dr Faraday, who is called to old manor house, Hundreds Hall, to see the young maid who has become ill. Over the following months he becomes increasingly involved with the family who live here, Mrs Ayres and her two grown children, Caroline and Roderick. Following an unforseen tragedy at a party hosted by the Ayres family, their lives begin to unravel as more and more seemingly inexplicable events occur.


I don't want to go into too much detail as this book unravels deliciously, if not a little frustratingly. I found Dr Faraday to be quite annoying and thought that he was far too sensible in regards to the possibility of a ghost. He was always able to rationally explain the appearance of strange marks, strange noises and strange happenings even when logic really didn't fit, passing the most bizarre happenings off as mental delusion (as any good doctor would). I found most of the characters in this book difficult to like and to relate to and found the character of Betty (the malingering adolescent parlour-maid) to be the most endearing. Mrs Ayres appeared cold and distant at first, however as her story evolves she becomes a warmer and more motherly character. Caroline and Roderick both experience the house differently, Roderick becomes desperately maddened by events, whilst Caroline initially resists and justifies them until she too, slowly succumbs to the drama as it unfolds.


This is my first Sarah Waters experience and won't be my last. Apart from all the apprehension and lack of sleep I suffered whilst reading this, I thought it was an utterly brilliant book. I was unnerved by the activity within the house and the tragic effect it had on the family. I just finished this book last night and really want to read it again as I think that upon a reread a somewhat sinister and ever so subtle twist will reveal itself to me. Alright, maybe not entirely subtle, but very much open to interpretation. And for that Sarah Waters, I take my hat, scarf, and sparkly red shoes off to you! You are a genius. This book had a really interesting effect on me. I believed everything I was told (OK, I'm quite gullible) so that when supernatural influences were implied I believed them, and when they were rationalised by logic I believed that too. So I wonder if what I think was implied was actually implied, or if I was looking for too much information and insight that I could never actually receive given that this book was written in first person. Despite its first person narrative, I feel that the perspectives of each character were mostly fairly represented, as much as they could be at least. I think that the narrative was a strength of this book and really gets the reader stuck in wonder as to whether the root of the problems here are mental delusion and strain or supernatural phantasms?


To be honest, I don't know what I believe about the conclusion of this book. I think it is a must read and am desperate to hear what other people thought of this one. Have you read it? Could you sleep?

Other Reviews [if you've reviewed this please let me know and I'll add it to the list]
Farm Lane Books
Savidge Reads
First Tuesday Book Club (spoilers)
Books Please
Book Bath
Constance Reader
Books I Done Read