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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “This is not a book that i would reccomend to a teenager or probably ayone for that matter. Clark's language is a little rough frequntly using terms that most people flinch when they hear. But WOW can she bring things to life! I'd reread sentences, not because I didn't understand them but because...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “The book opens with scenes from the Great Fire of London. A pregnant woman escapes the fire, and later gives birth to a child afflicted with a large red birthmark on his face. At the time, it’s commonly accepted that traumas faced by a pregnant women will be visited on her newborn child. |
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“The book opens with scenes from the Great Fire of London. A pregnant woman escapes the fire, and later gives birth to a child afflicted with a large red birthmark on his face. At the time, it’s commonly accepted that traumas faced by a pregnant women will be visited on her newborn child.
Marilyn L wrote this review Wednesday, October 28 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
In the next scene, some years later we meet 16 year old Eliza Tally. She is pregnant by the local “rich kid”. To avoid a scandal, she is sent off to work for a London apothecary, where she thinks she will be given something to “take care” of the pregnancy. That doesn’t happen. She is pretty much captive in the household, along with another girl, Mary, who is developmentally challenged. Eliza has her baby, and then it is taken from her. I’m still not sure whether it died or not. She is made to stay in the household, but is allowed to take books to a bookseller who befriends her.
She discovers Mary is pregnant too, and begins to realize that her master is conducting experiments to discover how trauma affects the babies born to women, and that she was, and now Mary is part of that experiment. She realizes that she cares deeply for Mary, and that they must both escape.
What to say about this book? The description that it is darkly humorous is interesting. I found much of the book dark, but did not find it in any way humorous, dark or otherwise. Parts of it were difficult to read, but I very much wanted to finish it and find out how everything was resolved. I will say that the resolution was satisfactory to me.
I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend this book, but it wasn’t a total loss either.”
“A solid, taut period piece. Dark, haunting. Worth a read.”
Kelly D wrote this review Saturday, September 26 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Slightly unbelievable, but good fiction. ”
Lana F wrote this review Sunday, August 30 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I found this book average and at times silly. The character development was weak and at many times inconsistent. There were at least 2 times that I almost quit reading.”
Misa T wrote this review Friday, August 21 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I bought this at least a year ago after reading the book flap and I admit, admiring the book cover. I am intereseted in historical fiction and though I had never heard of the author or the book, I thought that I would be in for a treat.
Tricia W wrote this review Tuesday, July 28 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I was a little right, and a little wrong.
I enjoyed this novel on many levels - Clark's descriptions of physical sensations and appearance were skillfully drawn. However, sometimes I thought that the language was reaching and that Clare was striving too hard for dramatic effect. I wavered repeatedly between curiosity and annoyance. ”
“Clare Clark's first novel was miserable, one of the few books I put down without finishing. I wasn't sure this one would be any better, but it was worlds improved! Eliza Tally was an interesting heroine, likeable yet flawed. Mary, the house "idiot," was incredibly loveable. And Clark has such a vivid way of writing -- the filth of London, the dirt of the streets, Mary's spittle, the opium trances of the apothecary Grayson Black...she makes the sordid somehow appealing. I never quite knew how the story would end, and unpredictability is always refreshing. Overall, though it had its odd moments, I sincerely enjoyed Clark's latest.”
Alethea wrote this review Friday, July 10 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“oh so boring, I was so disappointed.”
Raddish wrote this review Monday, July 6 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Quick witted and sometimes taudry...The Nature of Monsters does NOT out do Clark's previous novel in any way. Her writing was drivel-like here, and I found myself becoming angry with her for deceiving us so with the title. The reader, when upon picking up the book, expects it to be about a psychopath, or perhaps a deranged steamstress, not just a pregnant woman. But I WILL give Clark kudos for becoming so elevated in the litary world. ”
Elki Armagh wrote this review Tuesday, June 9 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I gave this book a try because it sounded fun and I was thinking that monster=purple people eater, and then I thought it might mean psycho serial killer which I would not want to read, but then I actually started reading and the meaning of monster was neither. I was greatly disappointed in what could have been a very whimsical story, but that was fault on my part/expectations and not the authors'.”
amvw wrote this review Monday, June 1 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I really liked this book. The strange ideas and characters took on a life of their own! Even the main character has some monsterous personality traits, but she learns and grows. I found the dark humor quite fun also. Usually crazy and rediculous ideas just turn me off, but nothing in this book was unbelievealbe even though it deals with ideas that are, well, unbelieveable in our present time. Very well written. All the senses were described and I could visualize and even smell where 'I' was while reading the book.”
Elizabeth J wrote this review Thursday, March 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
