This book has taken me YEARS to finish. Okay, more specifically, half a year, but for me, that is equivalent to ETERNITY. I have already posted a shorter review on Goodreads (and now I'll give a nice little plug HERE), but I thought this is great material for a cheeky little post!
Backdrop: Picture me ten months ago wandering around one of my favorite sites in London, Daunt Books, and passing by this book multiple times, though the enticing front cover kept catching my eye. I ended up purchasing it in October while my parents were visiting me, though I didn't really start the book until December because it was too thick to travel with. After I returned home, I spent most of Christmas break on my couch staring at the ceiling in grief of being back in America, and I didn't really get very far. Then, I went back to my home college, got swept up in scholarly and sorority life and, well....I never read for pleasure during the semester. Thus, the book got stalled until I returned home for the summer.............and then it took me an entire month to finish. How ridiculous is that?! I, the acclaimed reader (and FAST reader, mind you) could neither finish this book nor give up on it.
Without indulging into too many spoilers, the book starts out following a few minor characters in the Victorian streets of London (with lovely, enticing imagery, by the way), and eventually remains on Sugar, who is a prostitute willing to do anything her customers want. She is fascinating, for as she smiles prettily and obeys, once the men leave she is furiously writing down a hate book against men and studying literature. I was compelled by her character and wanted to see her succeed. The story follows her rise in society, from a prostitute on the streets to a personal mistress to a governess. However, after a whopping 830-some pages (and SIX MONTHS), the book just...ends. While there is some resolution among the minor characters, the narration shifts from Sugar's POV and we only hear about her escape through the other main character, William. We never know what truly happened to his wife, and the narrator ends with a brief, sad sigh of "oh well, sometimes life just ends." Seriously? This book had so much potential and I feel like it just fell flat.
Alas, I'm glad I can at least say that I read it all the way through, even though I wish there was more...
Any new book recommendations? xx
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