Bingo Square: Backlog This is far from the book that has been in my to read pile longest when all my books are taken into consideration but purely from a Kindle/e-book perspective, it’s definitely towards the bottom of my library. Since I am so late to the game, I doubt there is much I can add to the discussion at this point. The novel is yet another spin on Pride and Prejudice, but instead of telling the story of Elizabeth and Darcy with a new […]
Put up a barrier, she thought, and people gather.
My last review was of a book that everyone loved and I did not. This time around, I find myself surprised by the abundance of 2 1/2 star reviews for a book I thought was awesome. As far as Google can tell, this has not yet been reviewed by any Cannonballers so I feel it is my duty to set the record straight and hope that some of you give this one a go. I have read several Jo Baker novels, Longbourn being the favorite […]
It is a truth, universally ignored, that servants have lives too.
Longbourn joins the very long tradition of auxiliary Jane Austen novels and deftly moves to the head of the class. It is one of the better ones out there and MILES ahead of the hated “Austen novel tittle and monster X” books. The book succeeds largely because Jo Baker doesn’t try to ape Austen’s style or plot, she simply tells a story around the narrative structure of Pride and Prejudice. It’s a fairly compelling book that details the lives of the servants to the Bennet family. […]
Run away with us for the summer, let’s go upstate
I spent most of this book being bummed out or annoyed at the protagonist (which hasn’t happened since Atonement YEARS AGO, yaaaaaay), so I was as surprised as anyone when the ending snuck up on me and brought some tears with it, even though SURPRISE EMOTIONS ARE THE WORST. Longbourn focuses on those who were left out of Pride & Prejudice, the servants. Mr. and Mrs. Hill are in charge (well, Mrs. Hill is in charge), and Sarah and Polly, the two housemaids, round out […]