tanialazarus

It would be unfair to judge this book against its predecessor, but one can't help but do so; the original novel, World from Rough Stones, is such an extraordinarily powerful novel with so much drive and emotion I was breathless on every page. In the sequel, the odds are no longer so overwhelming, and even the author's efforts to make it so can't hide the fact that even if the lovely Stephensons are to go bankrupt, they will likely never see the abject poverty and starvation they struggled to break out of in book one. And though the sequel is easier to read without that charming, near-impossible dialect of the first book, and should be the more enjoyable for it, I found to my sadness that the richness of the historical ambience is harder to feel with the boring, well-spoken English of the upper class the Stephensons have made themselves to be. This isn't to say the book isn't good; it is. Just that one should let go of expectations the first book has created. Perhaps the best aspect of the book is simply a chance to enjoy the relationship of the Stephensons themselves. In this book, our hero, Mrs. Stephenson, begins to realize that even her progressive husband has limits to his imagination in the way he regards her because of her gender, and the crushing frustration of being a financial genius in an age when a woman could not even own property grows worse and worse. Suspicion of adultery, fiduciary infidelity, the terrifying reality of childbirth in the 19th century, and the deep, real love the Stephensons feel for one another despite their problems are beautifully done, and shows a real understanding of the ups and down of a lengthy marriage by two such dynamic people of this age. If I could give this book 3.5 stars, I would. As it is, I'll leave it 3, and note it's a book I wouldn't have missed.

2020-08-09 15:53