I waited a few days to write this review, because I needed to digest the story. At first, I was wavering between 4 stars and 4.5 stars, but I've settled on 4.

The writing is phenomenal. It flows so naturally and beautifully, and it makes me envious that I can write that well one day. I loved the Gothic atmosphere. I love stories with enormous manor houses with secrets and dark corners, with hints of either the supernatural or human instability behind each door, down each corridor, in each empty cavernous room. At first the vague setting bothered me, as I couldn't figure out WHEN we were. The book was published in 2006, but we never see Margaret use a computer or cell phone. She hand writes everything, doesn't record Vida Winters' conversations, and chooses to send letters to her father via snail mail. Even Vida Winters' story of Angelfield didn't mention a year or decade. I think we are meant to assume Margaret's timeline is in the late 20th century, and the story of Angelfield is in the early 20th century. Either way, once the story began, I stopped asking questions, because it didn't matter.







***SPOILERS****









I did have some issues with this story. The writing was so beautiful, it disguised the fact that I really felt no payoff by the end. There was so much build-up, but it just didn't do it for me. Part of that might have been because there was just so much happening, so many mysteries that needed to be solved, that it was hard to know which one to care about the most. One mystery was of the young man who interviewed Ms. Winter earlier in her life, demanding she Tell the Truth. That mystery wasn't solved until toward the end of the book, and by that point, I'd forgotten about the young man so this revelation didn't have as big an impact on me as it could have. Also, I felt such a buildup to Hester's introduction, but then her disappearance felt so sudden, and so quick. I felt we were introduced to her, and then she was gone. And she vanished from the narrative for a while, until Margaret thinks about her again later in the book, by which point, some of my emotional attachment to Hester had lessened.

As for the character of Margaret, I felt more frustration with her than anything. I did not understand why she resented her mother so much for keeping her dead twin a secret. Why wasn't she that mad at her father? He kept it a secret as well. What was the point of the strained relationship between Margaret and her mother? There was no parallel to Ms. Winter's story. And, not to sound completely insensitive, but would the death of her twin at birth really affect Margaret to the extent that she becomes completely reclusive and (I read her as) antisocial and withdrawn from everyone? Was she like that as a child? As a teen? I just had a hard time connecting with her. I didn't really like her.

But my biggest issue with the book was the ending, and the revelation of Ms. Winter's real identity. It subverted the entire issue of twins, which the whole book was based around. A third child? A third child who no one knew about, except the Missus and John the Dig? Out of everything in the book, that was the most far-fetched. It was disappointing. We're made to believe Ms. Winters is Adeline, and that she'd always had the ability to be normal, as a normal child had peeked through her feral nature once she'd been separated from Emmeline. That somehow, Hester's teachings had worked and brought sanity to Adeline. But no, Emmeline and Adeline remained feral, and this third child, their half-sister, was the only sane one even though she'd grown up with them.

What I found myself asking, after I'd finished the book, was How did Emmeline and her half-sister spend their adult life? How did the half-sister decide to become a writer? What was it like to go from a recluse into a world-renowned best-selling author? Why didn't they ever try to get in contact with Emmeline's son? Those questions also frustrated me.

I did like this book. However, I would say that the writing and perfectly set atmosphere masked the confusion of too many mysteries spread out too far apart from each other that lacked cathartic payoffs. I also wished the narration went more in-depth into the Angelfield characters' psyches. They're always cloaked in a layer of mystery, and I don't think that served them well here. It lessened any emotional payoffs I was waiting for.

I didn't mean to rant about this, but I think this book, for as great as it was, had potential to be even better, and just missed the mark. Would I recommend this? Absolutely. I was engrossed, sucked into the gloomy, dark atmosphere. I loved the story. Will it stay with me for years and years? No. But it was thoroughly enjoyable in the moment. ( )

Revisited November 2021
I almost never re-read #books, but this week I revisited a novel I read, loved, and enthusiastically recommended for many years. It holds up! And I had misrembered some key points, so that made the experience even better. Perfect #audio performance (Lynn Redgrave!)


January 2008
By far, one of the best books I've read in recent years. Densely written...no brain candy here! I was tempted to skip over some of the descriptive passages (she's very Bronte that way) but I fought the urge and ended up being all the more drawn into the story. I'm always in such a hurry to finish things, this book forced me to slow down and THINK and rewarded me with terrific writing and a really good story. I can't wait to seek out more of Setterfield's books.
( )

excelente ( )

This is fantastic storytelling, Setterfield never disappoints with her craft. The Victorian gothic setting, the family secrets and oddities, the telling of the story to her biographer in snippets while we also explore present-day settings, all excellent. ( )

While the last 50 or so pages really irked me, the overall book was well written and interesting. The stories of Vida and then Margaret well intertwined beautifully. ( )