You know when you’re playing Uno with friends, and you put down an Uno Reverse, and then the person next to you puts down an Uno Reverse, and then the NEXT person puts down an Uno Reverse Draw 4, and suddenly everyone is angry and screaming at each other? That’s this book. I am irate that I read this long-winded torture porn. I think I finished it out of spite, more than anything.
The first 30% was pretty good! We had the gothic setting, a sapphic romance, an interesting dilemma. I definitely saw the plot twist coming (seriously, who grows up among thieves and would be stupid enough to think Gentleman wouldn’t pull a fast one?), but I was enjoying it.
Then we get to Maud’s POV. UgHhGhhhhh…
I did not need the entire first third of the novel repeated from her perspective. It also just got so weird. Like yes, her life was creepy and tragic and abusive, but it was so heavy-handed. Half the time I couldn’t take it seriously, the other half I just felt like I needed a shower.
And then the plot twists kept coming! Sucksby was the mastermind! Susan and Maud were switched at birth! Maud was really Sucksby’s daughter! Except I could barely enjoy the drama of all the twists because I was so hung up on how contrived and nonsensical the whole scheme was. Like, was it really necessary to throw Sue in the madhouse? She was utterly devoted to Sucksby and would’ve gladly shared the fortune. It just seems like they did that for the sake of the plot.
I could go on, but I won’t, because unlike this book, I do not need 600 pages to get my point across.
by IndigoBlueBird
1 Comment
Yeah, I found the book very contrived. I think it was trying to be a bit Victorian and melodramatic but I don’t know how well it came across.
The Korean adaptation of it, The Handmaiden, is probably one of my pinnacle examples of the movie being better than the book!