lareinenoire: (Crystal Ball)
Read it in spurts over a two-day period -- damned work. At any rate, I think I will reread before posting a full-out review, but for now, here is what I've got to say.

SPOILERS for those who have not read the book )

As I said,a more detailed and coherent review later, once I've reread the book and let it sink in properly. But at the moment, all I really want to do is sit down with the author and pick her brain about how on earth to write such gorgeous and intricately structured novels.
lareinenoire: (Crystal Ball)
First of all, how a retelling/modernisation of Dumas' Le comte de Monte-Cristo came out in 2000 and completely escaped my notice until a few days ago is beyond me. At any rate, I found it at the library and there was absolutely no way that I was leaving the library without it. Kept away from reading it until yesterday evening, gave up, and finished it (albeit with a few interruptions including one very long discussion) around 3:30 AM.

Review below. Warning: Spoilers for both Fry and Dumas )

Someday, I want to teach a course on revenge plotlines. From The Oresteia to Batman. Because they all build so beautifully on each other. A pity Monte-Cristo might be too long to assign as part of a class, and not on its own. The longest book I read as part of an undergraduate class was Ulysses, and we needed an entire term to devote to it. Of course, I could just teach Monte-Cristo and use the other texts as additional material. Ooooh.

In other news, we might have a place to live. We just need to wait about two weeks, to see if the unit we want is still available. The gentleman who showed us around was kind enough to promise to let us know about any developments concerning the unit in question, so hopefully we'll have no problems there. And I spent the past few days reading lots. This makes me happy.
lareinenoire: (Elegance)
Finished it about five minutes ago. It took me longer than I would have initially thought, but I had to read it interrupted. Therefore, it really had nothing to do with the quality of the book, which is very good. For anyone expecting a repeat of the first trilogy, however, that's not what you get.

Warning: Massive Spoilers Beneath )
lareinenoire: (Wilde Truth)
In a nutshell, I loved it. Absolutely utterly loved it. Was so gripped that, as per a previous entry, I got ridiculously lost in it and nearly got in trouble with my manager. Also nearly missed a cue or two at dress rehearsal for R&G when I was reading it backstage.

Full review beneath. Here there be spoilers, yarr. )

The verdict: Fantastic. Will definitely be buying this one, and the sequels when they come out.

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October 2017

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