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A review by unabridgedchick
The Exchange of Princesses by Chantal Thomas
DNF'ing. In a year when I'm hoping to get 25 books read, I can't waste time on ones that bore me. I'm pretending I might pick this one up again but I really ought to just call a spade a spade a move on.
My biggest problem is the narrative style is oddly choppy and reminds me a bit of Hilary Mantel. It doesn't land for me; I don't know if it works better in French but as it is translated, it just feels distant and disjointed. I don't feel anything for our child brides, the princesses being exchanged between Spain and France, and despite the promise made in the Foreward -- an exploration of the emotional abuse caused by flinging children into strange households -- the novel felt super clinical.
My biggest problem is the narrative style is oddly choppy and reminds me a bit of Hilary Mantel. It doesn't land for me; I don't know if it works better in French but as it is translated, it just feels distant and disjointed. I don't feel anything for our child brides, the princesses being exchanged between Spain and France, and despite the promise made in the Foreward -- an exploration of the emotional abuse caused by flinging children into strange households -- the novel felt super clinical.