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doobyus's review
2.0
I have to confess to being a bit disappointed in this book. It is built on a series of vignettes throughout Thomas Aikenhead's life and it felt like a series of short stories bolted together to create a novel. This has been used successfully by other authors (notably Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout) but, what was singularly missing from this book was depth to any of the characters, especially Aikenhead.
Given that the book was about him, and how he came to be the last person executed for blasphemy in Britain, the shallow characterisation spoiled it for me. Rrally all we learn of him is that he was a good boy with a penchant for speaking out of turn. The other characters were as flimsy, especially the cause of Aikenhead's demise, Mungo Craig.
The vignettes were well enough written, but the author really missed the opportunity to delve into Thomas's personality and that of his nemesis, and, frankly, every other character in the book.
I enjoyed the writing and some of the scene setting was excellent, but my overall reaction was, what actually happened here?
Sorry...
Actually, when i think about it, the second major issue i had with the book, despite the skill of the writer, it always felt like writing, if you know what i mean?
Given that the book was about him, and how he came to be the last person executed for blasphemy in Britain, the shallow characterisation spoiled it for me. Rrally all we learn of him is that he was a good boy with a penchant for speaking out of turn. The other characters were as flimsy, especially the cause of Aikenhead's demise, Mungo Craig.
The vignettes were well enough written, but the author really missed the opportunity to delve into Thomas's personality and that of his nemesis, and, frankly, every other character in the book.
I enjoyed the writing and some of the scene setting was excellent, but my overall reaction was, what actually happened here?
Sorry...
Actually, when i think about it, the second major issue i had with the book, despite the skill of the writer, it always felt like writing, if you know what i mean?
hannahnott's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
meghan47's review
4.0
4.5. An engaging look at the life of Thomas Aikenhead (the last person in Britain to be hanged for blasphemy). The author was one of my mom's poetry professors at the University of Edinburgh!
svw89's review
3.0
Unspeakable is about Thomas Aikenhead, the last person to be executed for blasphemy in Britain. I enjoy reading fictional accounts of real life people, especially ones that I'd never previously heard of, but I did struggle with large parts of this.
The use of strong Scottish dialect for every character made it very difficult to read at times. I'm the kind of person who likes when authors use dialect in their writing but this was too much. It was a distraction. It was difficult. It took away rather than enhanced. What made it doubly difficult was that there were no speech marks used. It's a shame because for the non-speech parts, the writing was strong and I really got a feel of the places, especially Edinburgh in parts one and three.
I thought that parts one and two were stronger than part three. Part three I felt was a little rushed. I would have preferred, and was expecting, a bit more in the lead up to Thomas' arrest, trial and execution.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free digital copy.
The use of strong Scottish dialect for every character made it very difficult to read at times. I'm the kind of person who likes when authors use dialect in their writing but this was too much. It was a distraction. It was difficult. It took away rather than enhanced. What made it doubly difficult was that there were no speech marks used. It's a shame because for the non-speech parts, the writing was strong and I really got a feel of the places, especially Edinburgh in parts one and three.
I thought that parts one and two were stronger than part three. Part three I felt was a little rushed. I would have preferred, and was expecting, a bit more in the lead up to Thomas' arrest, trial and execution.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free digital copy.
brainyheroine's review
5.0
Fictional accounts of real people are really hard to write. There have been few that I've read where I feel that the author does the history justice; the true curse of the history major. My matrilineal descent stems from Edinburgh so I've long been fascinated with its history. This novel is an excellent demonstration of what a well researched book can be. The explanation and portrayal of Scottish culture, the dynamic and enigmatic personality of Thomas Aikenhead, the general uncertainty of whether or not his death was justified, these are only a handful of reasons to love this book. Even in a modern setting the fear and utter hatred that was felt for him and by him, the zeal for knowledge and the almost addictive need he had for it still feel every bit as real now as they must have back then.
natyjaeger's review
This review was originally posted on my blog.
I have received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Unspeakable tells the story of Thomas Aikenhead, the last person in Britain to be executed for blasphemy. It's such an interesting story! Unfortunately, I could not finish this book, but I did think it was worth 3 stars. I will explain in the next paragraphs.
The writing is really amusing and authentic and the author has such talent. It is so well done it's easy to picture the characters and Scotland back in the late 1600s. The main character Thomas is smart, inquisitive and curious. I was particularly fond of the not-so-subtle criticism to the church and law. It made me smirk many times as I read.
However, my problem with this book is that the Scottish accent is translated into the dialogues, which, especially for non-native English speakers like me, can make it hard to follow. I simply could not finish this book. It was an exhaustive mental exercise to translate something twice and try to guess what those words could possibly mean ("Nocht", "ken", etc...), which took away my pleasure for reading it. If not for that, it would have been a really, really good and interesting book, which is why I decided to give it 3 stars. If it wasn't for my trouble reading it, I would have given it 5. It is such an amazing critique of that time, and I hardly ever read stories set in Scotland, which was particularly interesting to me.
Veredict: This is such an interesting story about a young man who ultimately will be hanged for blasphemy. Set in Scotland in the late 1600s, it is written so well the reader feels as if they were there, too. The dialogue as a literal speech transcription, however, made it really hard for me to read this book, and turned an otherwise great read into a laborious exercise for me. If you have no problem reading this type of dialogue, I recommend this book very much.
I have received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Unspeakable tells the story of Thomas Aikenhead, the last person in Britain to be executed for blasphemy. It's such an interesting story! Unfortunately, I could not finish this book, but I did think it was worth 3 stars. I will explain in the next paragraphs.
The writing is really amusing and authentic and the author has such talent. It is so well done it's easy to picture the characters and Scotland back in the late 1600s. The main character Thomas is smart, inquisitive and curious. I was particularly fond of the not-so-subtle criticism to the church and law. It made me smirk many times as I read.
However, my problem with this book is that the Scottish accent is translated into the dialogues, which, especially for non-native English speakers like me, can make it hard to follow. I simply could not finish this book. It was an exhaustive mental exercise to translate something twice and try to guess what those words could possibly mean ("Nocht", "ken", etc...), which took away my pleasure for reading it. If not for that, it would have been a really, really good and interesting book, which is why I decided to give it 3 stars. If it wasn't for my trouble reading it, I would have given it 5. It is such an amazing critique of that time, and I hardly ever read stories set in Scotland, which was particularly interesting to me.
Veredict: This is such an interesting story about a young man who ultimately will be hanged for blasphemy. Set in Scotland in the late 1600s, it is written so well the reader feels as if they were there, too. The dialogue as a literal speech transcription, however, made it really hard for me to read this book, and turned an otherwise great read into a laborious exercise for me. If you have no problem reading this type of dialogue, I recommend this book very much.
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