Recently LindyLouMac posted a list of the top ten books of the decade here. I loved the list! It included quite a few of my absolute favorites. It also had a few books I may not have loved, but that led me to read more from the author and find ones that I did love. Falling Angels is a perfect example of this. I read The Girl With the Pearl Earrings, but didn't love it. I was intrigued by the style, which led me to Chevalier's Falling Angels, which I did love.
The story is set in Edwardian London between 1901 and 1910 and follows the interconnected worlds of two families. The Waterhouses are a conventional middle-class family and the Colemans are from a more privileged class. The two daughters from these families, Lavinia Waterhouse and Maude Coleman, become friends despite their differences. Maude's mother Kitty sits at the heart of the novel. She's dissatisfied with her life and eventually gets involved with the Suffragette movement.
Chevalier rotates the narrative between the many characters, giving the reader a chance to see how everyone is affected by the decisions of others. Though the plot sounds simple enough, it's the characters I became attached to. Through their eyes we learn about the power of friendship, love, class distinctions, neglectful parenting, and so much more. It's by far my favorite from Chevalier.
6 comments:
Thankyou so much for linking to my post on the top ten books of the decade and I am delighted it tempted you to read another title from Tracy Chevalier.
I was so interested to read your thoughts on Falling Angels. I have pasted here the link to my review for you.
http://lindyloumacbookreviews.blogspot.com/2009/05/falling-angels-tracy-chevalier.html
I actually read it back in 2004, but your list of top ten books reminded me of how much I had loved it. I've read all of her books (except the newest release) but that one has remained my favorite. Your list has encouraged me to pick up Small Island as soon as possible though.
So far I have read Burning Bright and Pearl Earring and loved them both! I have Falling Angels but haven't read it yet. I think I'll read Virgin Blue for the color challenge.
Edwardian London hey? I like the sound of that!
I look forward to your review for 'Small Island'
Captain- I enjoyed all of those, because I like her style, but Falling Angels stood apart for me. Can't wait to hear what you think of it whenever you read it.
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