I'm a little torn on how to rate this one. While I liked the story overall, some parts of it frustrated me in ways that I find difficult to articulate. From the get go, I understood that this would not be an easy read by any means, as I knew from the summary that the subject matter revolved around the burgeoning eugenics movement at the end of the 1920s in Europe. With eugenics forever linked to the Holocaust in my mind, I had mixed feelings going into this book and to be honest, wasn't too sure if I was up for a story (albeit a fictional one) about the beginnings of a movement associated with one of the most horrific war atrocities in history. With that said, I had read this author's debut novel and liked it overall, so I figured I would give this one a try.
After having finished this one, I will say that I'm glad I took a chance on it, as it gave me better insight into the historical context behind why people back then had the attitudes and beliefs they did (even though I disagree with them completely). I also appreciated the writing, which I felt was well done overall (though some of the narrative did meander a bit, but not to the point of hugely impacting my reading experience).
My frustrations with this book were mostly with the characters — specifically the 2 main characters whose alternating perspectives the narrative was told from. Edward and Eleanor Hamilton are a wealthy, happily married couple in England who are both proponents of the eugenics movement for their own personal reasons, but Edward is a stronger believer due to his profession. When their sweet and beautiful four-year-old daughter Mabel starts to experience epileptic seizures, with each one more frequent and severe, their perfect lives shatter. The decision is made that Mabel, with her shameful illness, must be hidden away in order to protect the family's honor as well as Edward's work in eugenics. But things get worse from there, to the point that Edward's and Eleanor's marriage teeters on the verge of collapse.
To be perfectly honest, I found both Edward and Eleanor very difficult to like — not just because of the views they espoused, but also their personalities and the way they behaved throughout the story, annoyed for about 75% of the story. At certain points, I felt there was a lot of time spent by both of them attempting to justify their views and it got to be a bit too much in my opinion. I was hoping there would be more focus on Mabel, since her illness was technically the catalyst of the entire story, but there wasn't as much on her as I expected. While both characters did end up having redeeming qualities that came into play later on, I think by that time, my frustration with them was too palpable to overcome.
Having said all that, I think the story overall was a good one and it's obvious the author, Louise Fein, was meticulous in her research. While I did have issues with some aspects of the story, it was still an eye-opening read, one that I feel was well worth the effort. I heard that Fein is working on her third novel, which I'm definitely looking forward to reading!
After having finished this one, I will say that I'm glad I took a chance on it, as it gave me better insight into the historical context behind why people back then had the attitudes and beliefs they did (even though I disagree with them completely). I also appreciated the writing, which I felt was well done overall (though some of the narrative did meander a bit, but not to the point of hugely impacting my reading experience).
My frustrations with this book were mostly with the characters — specifically the 2 main characters whose alternating perspectives the narrative was told from. Edward and Eleanor Hamilton are a wealthy, happily married couple in England who are both proponents of the eugenics movement for their own personal reasons, but Edward is a stronger believer due to his profession. When their sweet and beautiful four-year-old daughter Mabel starts to experience epileptic seizures, with each one more frequent and severe, their perfect lives shatter. The decision is made that Mabel, with her shameful illness, must be hidden away in order to protect the family's honor as well as Edward's work in eugenics. But things get worse from there, to the point that Edward's and Eleanor's marriage teeters on the verge of collapse.
To be perfectly honest, I found both Edward and Eleanor very difficult to like — not just because of the views they espoused, but also their personalities and the way they behaved throughout the story, annoyed for about 75% of the story. At certain points, I felt there was a lot of time spent by both of them attempting to justify their views and it got to be a bit too much in my opinion. I was hoping there would be more focus on Mabel, since her illness was technically the catalyst of the entire story, but there wasn't as much on her as I expected. While both characters did end up having redeeming qualities that came into play later on, I think by that time, my frustration with them was too palpable to overcome.
Having said all that, I think the story overall was a good one and it's obvious the author, Louise Fein, was meticulous in her research. While I did have issues with some aspects of the story, it was still an eye-opening read, one that I feel was well worth the effort. I heard that Fein is working on her third novel, which I'm definitely looking forward to reading!
Received ARC from William Morrow via NetGalley.
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