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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Impressive, December 8, 2009
This review is from: The Book of Fires: A Novel (Hardcover)
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I was a big fan of "The Year of Wonders" which this book is being compared to. And, I must admit, it is reminiscent of that novel. A young girl finds herself pregnant and alone. Rather than face the shame and end up being forced to marry the lout who raped her, she flees to London with a handful of gold coins stolen from a dead woman. Now that is the way to start a novel.
The narrative is so descriptive that you feel immersed in the scenery of the time and place just as the narrator is.
Once in London, she escapes being a prostitute when she finds a job working with a fireworks maker. She continues to try and keep her secret but, in working together, she begins to trust. In the end, not only her secret is revealed.
If you are a fan of historical fiction, this is a wonderful novel. I think this story is much more optimistic than the reality of this era actually was for women. A naive country girl moving to London alone would most likely have ended up on the streets as a prostitute in order to survive or being kept in a workhouse. It would have been very unusual for a young woman to be hired as an apprentice to work with explosives. But this is a novel and the story line works in this context.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The intersection of art and science in Georgian London, December 28, 2009
This review is from: The Book of Fires: A Novel (Hardcover)
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With her debut novel, The Book of Fires, Jane Borodale has written a meticulous period drama with a memorable heroine. In the fall of 1752, seventeen-year-old Agnes Trussel finds herself in the family way. Nearly paralyzed with fear and shame, when opportunity presents itself Agnes abandons her family home in the country and makes her way alone to London. Almost miraculously, she finds shelter and a job assisting widower John Blacklock, an artisan manufacturer of fireworks.
Somewhat uncomfortably, Agnes becomes a member of the small household. And by Blacklock's side she learns the tools of his trade. I know as much about fireworks as the average person, but Borodale's novel deeply explores the intersection of art and science involved in the endeavor, and it's a fascinating background for Agnes's story.
All the while, day by day, Agnes's secret is growing, threatening her position and her very future in this restrictive and unforgiving society. Agnes is definitely a reflection of her times. The novel's opening is a bit slow as she ponders her guilt and shame over and over. However, once the bulk of the story got going, I found myself entranced with the tale being told. The end of the novel was, perhaps, excessively well-telegraphed, but was no less satisfying for being predictable.
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14 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
These Fireworks Were A Fizzle, December 7, 2009
This review is from: The Book of Fires: A Novel (Hardcover)
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The fictional story of Agnes Trussel is set in 1752. She is a poor country girl who was raped and became pregnant. She runs away to London and finds a job working for a fireworks maker.
The story sounds very promising but the author mistakes knowledge of the period with story-telling. There are so many boring details that there really doesn't seem to be much of a story. It seems an opportunity for the author to sound smart explaining the minutiae of making fireworks and its dangers, the poor living conditions of the time and the naivete of the heroine. It's a hazard for writers of historical fiction; they often do a lot of research and by golly they are going to work every last detail in to the story. A good editor would have done this book wonders.
The jacket of the book puts it in league with authors Geraldine Brooks, Sarah Waters, Sheri Homan and Michael Faber. That is a stretch. Those authors write stories with "atmosphere" but develop the characters and create a story that is not bogged down with self-indulgent rhetoric. Their characters are believable.
"In my worn cotton shift I look surely like a great sow, though when I lift my shift to my chin and turn to study my bare blind swollen belly in the cracked and spotted looking glass upon the washstand, it could not be more nakedly a shocking human sight, smooth and ripe inside my skin." "The Book of Fires" Page 195
If you have an interest in fireworks history and adjective-laden sentences (referred to as "atmosphere"), you may enjoy parts of this book but don't expect a compelling story.
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