A few years ago I saw an adaptation of Fingersmith and I really like it. I always meant to read it and the other day I found it at the library.
There is quite a complicated plot and if I write too much I will spoil the story. This is what they say at the sarah waters website:
London 1862. Sue Trinder, orphaned at birth, grows up among petty thieves – fingersmiths – under the rough but loving care of Mrs Sucksby and her ‘family’. But from the moment she draws breath, Sue’s fate is linked to that of another orphan growing up in a gloomy mansion not too many miles away.
This novel has quite a Dickensian feel to it – sprawling story, Victorian squalor and descriptive names (Mrs Sucksby). The setting is very well described; I can imagine the kitchen in Lant St and the library at Briar. Susan and Maud both tell the story and this is an effective technique to keep up the suspense. In some places – where the story was retold from Maud’s point of view – I found it slow going (and I admit I did skip a few pages). I also found the end dragged a bit – perhaps a bit more editing?
However, I thought the story was fabulous and definitely worth reading.
Here are some more reviews:
http://anothercookiecrumbles.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/sarah-waters-fingersmith/
http://orangeprizeproject.blogspot.com/2009/07/fingersmith-by-sarah-waters-jill.html
Personally, I didn’t think the story dragged, but that might have something to do with not wanting the book to end. I was just drawn into the world, and the thought of leaving it depressed me.
I agree about the Dickensian feel – I thought the same, after reading only twenty odd pages, and it wasn’t to do with the opening scene of the book talking about Oliver Twist.
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