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onespaceymother's review against another edition
5.0
The author (by his own admission) works in greater service to the fictional mystery than to actual history, but for history nerds it’s super fun to recognize the relationship between characters, time periods, and events. This is a fun and complex mystery but still has moments of poignant insight. A great read!
wanderlustqueen's review against another edition
1.0
This book was so poorly written that I couldn't finish it. A shame, because the premise had potential, had it been better executed.
mwgerard's review against another edition
3.0
In the muddy, soot-blackened days of early Manhattan, a tiny cabal of scientists pushes for the advancement of medicine and anatomical understanding. A smaller group runs a dangerous underground business in procuring dead bodies. And the general public is disgusted by them all.
Read my full review here: http://mwgerard.com/review-speakers-of-the-dead/
Read my full review here: http://mwgerard.com/review-speakers-of-the-dead/
blodeuedd's review against another edition
3.0
I do not know a lot about Walt Whitman, poet, American, and then my knowledge ends. Sorry Walt, but you might have been mentioned or not. All I remember from that poetry class I took is Rochester, and my lovely WW1 poets. But never mind that! In this fictional story that blends fact with fiction we get to see him when he was a journalist and struggling writer, and not the famous man he will be later on.
New York, the 1840s. A time of immigration, cholera, a police force not always doing police work, a time of lynch mobs (those are so scary). Not a time of justice.
What we then get in this book is a mystery, Walt's friend is hanged for the murder of her husband. He refuses to believe it (and she is obviously framed is my first thought too.) He tries to get to the bottom of this and believes it has to do with the corpse business. Medical school needs corpses, corpses are dug up from graves. A nasty business.
Then we also have the Women's Medical school where it all happened, and the struggles women went through to be taken seriously. A woman doctor, madness!
It all blends together in a well written interesting historical mystery. A great era. A dangerous era for asking questions. But Walt was never afraid of getting to the truth of things.
New York, the 1840s. A time of immigration, cholera, a police force not always doing police work, a time of lynch mobs (those are so scary). Not a time of justice.
What we then get in this book is a mystery, Walt's friend is hanged for the murder of her husband. He refuses to believe it (and she is obviously framed is my first thought too.) He tries to get to the bottom of this and believes it has to do with the corpse business. Medical school needs corpses, corpses are dug up from graves. A nasty business.
Then we also have the Women's Medical school where it all happened, and the struggles women went through to be taken seriously. A woman doctor, madness!
It all blends together in a well written interesting historical mystery. A great era. A dangerous era for asking questions. But Walt was never afraid of getting to the truth of things.
in_libris_speramus's review against another edition
3.0
This is a crime-lite novel that mixes up historical facts with fiction to put famous poet Walt Whitman in the position of a crime fighting journalist. It's a great concept, so if more novels come out in this vein, I'd probably pick them up.
mollymctouch's review against another edition
5.0
Speakers of the Dead absolutely sucks you in from the very first page. Read it, read it, read it! Aaron Sanders brings Walt Whitman to life deeply and fully in this brilliant, fast-paced mystery. In it, we follow a young Whitman as he investigates a body snatching ring and tries to clear the name of his friend, who was executed in the heart-wrenching first pages for the murder of her husband.
Sanders cleverly weaves in hints of Whitman’s poetry, which lends a dreamy quality to the novel that still somehow also manages to ground us in the reality of the work. I really believed I was walking with Whitman the entire novel. There isn’t a false note. It's so well-done, in fact, that I had to go looking for my own copy of Leaves of Grass because once I finished the book, I needed more Whitman.
The world of 19th century New York City, so vividly wrought, must have been painstakingly researched, but the writing is so fine that at no point does this novel feel like a history lesson. It is, quite simply, Walt Whitman’s world--and yours, as Sanders takes you for the ride. I am already looking forward to the next installment.
Sanders cleverly weaves in hints of Whitman’s poetry, which lends a dreamy quality to the novel that still somehow also manages to ground us in the reality of the work. I really believed I was walking with Whitman the entire novel. There isn’t a false note. It's so well-done, in fact, that I had to go looking for my own copy of Leaves of Grass because once I finished the book, I needed more Whitman.
The world of 19th century New York City, so vividly wrought, must have been painstakingly researched, but the writing is so fine that at no point does this novel feel like a history lesson. It is, quite simply, Walt Whitman’s world--and yours, as Sanders takes you for the ride. I am already looking forward to the next installment.
eerupps's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating subject matter in a time in history that I know very little about. I think the author did a wonderful job in his fictionalization of real people. I'll definitely read another installment of a story in which Walt Whitman is a super sleuth!
charlotte_owl's review against another edition
5.0
This book deserves the honor of being a Lambda Literary Award winner. Walt Whitman, who is normally remembered as being a famous American poet, is shown here in his younger years before he developed into a famous man. He works as a reporter, and this story is his attempt to exonerate his friends for the crimes they did not commit, and to investigate who really committed them. It delves into the world of crime and cadaver-snatchers, and the story does a very good job at bringing the setting of 1843 New York City to life. I was drawn into the plot, and had a difficult time putting it down. Also, while the LGBT+ aspects were not a heavy part of the story, it was very nice to see.
lgiegerich's review against another edition
2.0
I suppose I shouldn't have expected much from a novel that is basically "Walt Whitman & his boyfriend solve murders invoking grave robbers," but I did! & I was disappointed. The plot was honestly hard to follow, there was not enough Walt Whitman & his boyfriend, & there was really no characterization to speak of. Sad!