I kept picking this one up at any opportunity, yet it has been a bit busy around here lately!! So this one took far longer to read than I thought it would - despite the flowing style of writing!I really did enjoy it but not necessarily at first...I didn't enjoy the narrator/guide that introduced readers to characters that weren't directly involved in the story itself...I pushed on regardless and really got into it, finding the remainder a reward for my perseverance! The guide/narrator finally disappeared and allowed me to fully dip into the book!I feel that when reading this one you can tell it is a modern author using a different era to place the characters in, I’m sure lots of research goes into books like this but never fully understand it when certain language is used throughout which is clearly of a modern nature!!!I did enjoy the characters a great deal that were introduced to me, from the old man in the wheel chair to the little girl, Sophie that springs up suddenly covered in blood...very dramatic introduction if you ask me! I liked that Faber didn't just stick with one character and get under their skin and gave us a perspective from the majority of the characters involved in the story line itself.And...as for the ending?! Loved it! It always works well to leave them all wanting more!!! The book has been in my head ever since i put it down...maybe, just maybe i'll find some answers in the apple?!...who knows!I really did find this a very different book to Under the Skin though, almost to the point that I started to wonder if Faber really wrote both!!...now I am very intrigued and want to read more Faber books to see how the style and story line changes with them!!!!

passed on to my mother

Discovered on my mother's bookcase...she had a duplicate of this so i decided it was time for this copy to go and explore the world :0) To be taken along to the Birmingham uncon for the book buffet.

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I stole this book twice in the Book Swap game! Looks good.

This took me ages to read, i kept it by my bed so that it would remain in good condition, plus it is a big book with small font. Worth the time taken.

A wishlist book travelling to my EU Secret Santa partner.

Hello!
If this is your introduction to Bookcrossing, welcome, and congratulations on finding this book! Enjoy reading the book,and I hope you will let us know what you thought. It is now yours to do with as you wish - keep it, pass it on, but please leave the label, so it can keep in touch with us. If you would like to know what happens to the book after it has left you, then do join - it's private and it's fun!
Happy Bookcrossing!

Thank you, poodlesister, for such a great Secret Santa package :-) I loved everything, especially the book "The Crimson Petal and the White", which I have been curious to read.

This is a book that takes a bit of time to read. Besides being over 800 pages, it is so detailed that you really have to take the time to savour the setting. Michel Faber did a very good job in recreating a true Victorian novel, with its cast of diverse characters, from the lowest parts of London to the upper crust.
I have to admit I felt a bit lost sometimes and the ending was not to my liking. But if you enjoy very detailed period dramas, this is a worthwhile read.