Reviews

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

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ninaheinmann's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

maggiebook's review against another edition

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4.0

This is the first book I have read from Sarah Waters. I found her writing very vivid and beautiful. She has a knack of putting you in the place and the mood of the chapters. So much so that I felt at time that I was walking through London during the Blitz.
Her characters are very well developed and believable. She gives you their strengths and flaws without judgement.
The story is very open in that it takes you backwards from 1947 to 1944 to 1941 so you don't get a tied up ending. It is just a glimpse into 4 people's lives for a brief time and how their lives are affected by war, relationships and society.
I was engrossed from the beginning. Recommend this book for people who appreciate well researched historical fiction and complex, well-developed characters.

patiolinguist's review against another edition

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4.0

I've loved all of Sarah Waters' books, and I enjoyed this one thoroughly. Waters certainly knows how to paint a vivid picture and communicate to the reader the atmosphere of wartime London. Even so, I couldn't help but feel a bit cheated at the end - I really wanted the narrative to jump back into the year 1947 because I felt that that would all tie up nicely, and also I was curious to know what happens to the characters. Really, I was looking forward to an ending that would do justice to the characters but instead was left with a whole lot of loose ends.

spongebobnopantss's review

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

abbieleigh85's review

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

amlema's review against another edition

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tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

While I loved Fingersmith and rated it 5 stars, this book was a bit of a drag I felt. The parts with Duncan were especially rather dull to me unfortunately. It was fine overall but it lacked some depth because there were so many storylines