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angeluslorelei's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
spectracommunist's review against another edition
2.0
Adela, Narogom and a bunch of lousy men. A novel set in plague but not a novel of the plague. The characters are utterly disappointing.
andrew_j_r's review
4.0
Company of Liars is a very dark book, but perhaps not in the way that I was expecting. Being sold as a “novel about the plague” in fact it is rather a novel that uses the plague as a backdrop, and whilst what is going on around the country influences the story, by the end in fact you realise that something else has been shaping the events of the story far more than the pestilence.
There are a very diverse group of characters that have been forced to travel together, each of them has their own secret, hence the name of the book. Some are obvious - by the time you know that everyone has a secret, you are looking for clues, and as there are very few red herrings dropped, so often you will find out that your hunch was right.
But this doesn’t detract from how powerful the story is. You get a real sense of a country decaying around you, and of how desperate everyone is becoming - both the nine travellers and the larger community. There are also a few pages at the back that explain what elements of the story are based on reality, and that is also fascinating. It is genuinely a cracking read, and I am fascinated to read other books by the same author.
There are a very diverse group of characters that have been forced to travel together, each of them has their own secret, hence the name of the book. Some are obvious - by the time you know that everyone has a secret, you are looking for clues, and as there are very few red herrings dropped, so often you will find out that your hunch was right.
But this doesn’t detract from how powerful the story is. You get a real sense of a country decaying around you, and of how desperate everyone is becoming - both the nine travellers and the larger community. There are also a few pages at the back that explain what elements of the story are based on reality, and that is also fascinating. It is genuinely a cracking read, and I am fascinated to read other books by the same author.
cathybruce208's review
4.0
This was a terrific book. I am so glad I live in the 21st century! This book's atmosphere seeps into your consciousness. I swear I felt cold, wet and hungry the whole time I read this book.
Each character is a mystery, and yet sympathetic in their own way. Despite the large cast of characters, the story moves along briskly. The interplay between the travelers is the heart of the book, but the author also vividly sketches the world they live in. Even her observational asides tend haunt you, as when the main character notices a boarded-up door on a plague house. The corner of the door had been splintered from the inside. Someone had been boarded up alive with the plague victims and had been trying to claw their way out. He/she hadn't made it.
The 14th century wasn't an easy era to live in even without plagues and famine. After reading this book, you can understand why the people then thought the whole world was ending. It puts our current national problems in perspective. Considering how hysterical the news about the current crises has gotten, that's a useful reminder.
Each character is a mystery, and yet sympathetic in their own way. Despite the large cast of characters, the story moves along briskly. The interplay between the travelers is the heart of the book, but the author also vividly sketches the world they live in. Even her observational asides tend haunt you, as when the main character notices a boarded-up door on a plague house. The corner of the door had been splintered from the inside. Someone had been boarded up alive with the plague victims and had been trying to claw their way out. He/she hadn't made it.
The 14th century wasn't an easy era to live in even without plagues and famine. After reading this book, you can understand why the people then thought the whole world was ending. It puts our current national problems in perspective. Considering how hysterical the news about the current crises has gotten, that's a useful reminder.
pythonesque's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
This book frustrates me. Is it a fantasy, or is it an apocalyptic thriller with heavily hallucinating vagabonds? Why does it have an open ending? Why the murderer has NO explanations to their deeds??
TW: graphic description of childbirth
TW: graphic description of childbirth
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Bullying, Homophobia, and Antisemitism
lindetiel's review against another edition
A rather mediocre novel that doesn't live up to its premise. Most of the plot twists, and 'lies' are rather obvious to the reader, which does not serve well the story. Company of Liars lack a good setting and the characters skim through the surrounding world without much explanation nor descripion (the Glossary at the end does not count, really). This in turn makes Plague in "the story about Plague" rather invisible and less threatening than the (not so) mysterious girl with her runes. Although the characters themselves are interesting and rather convincing, it's really hard to immerse in their struggles.