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emmamolyneux's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
sar_p's review
3.0
So much eye rolling at Brittain's heavy handedness with her characters. Much like her Victorian predecessors who like to present paragons of Victorian femininity (think Esther in Bleak House), Brittain presents the paragon of the women's right's activist pre- and post-WWI. Her characters aren't complicated: they are either bad, like Mr. Rutherford; perfect, like Ruth; or simply sympathetic, like Denis. It's difficult to disassociate her from Ruth so it felt like she was trying to present herself as a perfect, intellectual socialist pacifist. Bottom line, eye rolling.
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