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| Bitter Greens |
Title: Bitter Greens
Author: Kate Forsyth
Publication Date: 9/23/14
Pages: 496
How I Found It: I can't remember.
Date Completed: 6/2/18
Summary: A retelling of Rapunzel, with two quasi-related plots woven in as well.
What I Thought: I've had this book on my TBR list for a very, very long time. I've known it was a retelling of Rapunzel, but not much more than that. It ended up being much more detailed and involved than I expected.
Forsyth weaves together the stories of three women across decades of Italian and French history. It takes a while to understand their connection to each other. Admittedly, this grated on me a bit in the beginning. Even though I knew Forsyth would likely bring them together in the end - and she did - I struggled to build connection with three separate sets of characters and plot lines.
The book is also a lot longer than I expected. Because I was reading a digital version, it wasn't until about a third of the way through that I really looked at the length. It clocks in at nearly 500 pages and it felt it to me. Not in a bad way, necessarily, but having three full stories in one book does feel long. It wasn't until the last 100 pages or so that the stories started to really coalesce and the pace picked up.
I did enjoy the book. I appreciate when authors doing a retelling of a fairy tale add so much depth and substance to it. While I think Forsyth maybe did a little too much backstory, I appreciate that she didn't shirk on details or character building. I also really enjoyed how she brought real history into the story. Not so much that I get annoyed at historical inaccuracy (which you know I often do!), but enough to keep the story tied to historical reality.
I can think of so many different types of readers who would enjoy this book. Historical fiction, fairy tale, strong, complex female protagonists...it hits so many markers.
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| This book is part of my 2018 TBR Challenge! |
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Will I Re-Read: Probably not.
A Reduced Review: Wonderful historical fiction with the magic of fairy tale retelling woven in as well.
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