DNF Review - Poor Things by Alasdair Gray

 

 

 

Title: Poor Things

Author: Alasdair Gray

Pages: 339

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Release Date: 1st August 2024

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

 One of Alasdair Gray's most brilliant creations, Poor Things is a postmodern revision of Frankenstein that replaces the traditional monster with Bella Baxter - a beautiful young erotomaniac brought back to life with the brain of an infant. Godwin Baxter's scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realized when he finds the drowned body of Bella, but his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless's jealous love for Baxter's creation.

The hilarious tale of love and scandal that ensues would be "the whole story" in the hands of a lesser author (which in fact it is, for this account is actually written by Dr. McCandless). For Gray, though, this is only half the story, after which Bella (a.k.a. Victoria McCandless) has her own say in the matter. Satirizing the classic Victorian novel, Poor Things is a hilarious political allegory and a thought-provoking duel between the desires of men and the independence of women, from one of Scotland's most accomplished author.

  

 Goodreads | Storygraph | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Bookshop

 

 

 

 

My Review: 

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ)*

 

- DNF at 42% -

Doctor Godwin Baxter revives the body of a dead woman using the brain of her unborn baby, and names her Bella Baxter.

Godwin's friend Doctor McCandless meets Bella and instantly falls in love with her.

Both Godwin and McCandless have plans for Bella, but those are torn up when Bella takes matters into her own hands.

I hadn't heard of this book prior to the film adaptation, and while the concept is somewhat disturbing, I was intrigued to see what would happen. Unfortunately, I ended up not enjoying it and did stop reading at 42%.

Part of the book is told from the perspective of McCandless, who I didn't like - the first time he saw Bella he supposedly fell instantly in love with her and wanted to marry her. He knew nothing about Bella except what Godwin had told him.

I felt sorry for Bella, and the circumstances of her creation.

The Victorian setting was interesting.

The book is told from several perspectives and with some very long letters interspersed between these. It was during one of these long letters that I began to skim read. Not invested and uninterested in what was happening, I decided to stop reading. I don't think the writing style helped, as I didn't find it engaging.

I'm disappointed that I didn't enjoy this, but it really bothered me the way Bella was treated and portrayed.

Overall, this was not an enjoyable read.

 

 

Review - Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall

 

 

 

Title: Mortal Follies

Author: Alexis Hall

Pages: 400

Publisher: Del Rey

Release Date: 6th June 2023

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

 A young noblewoman must join forces with a rumoured witch to conquer an ancient curse in this devilishly funny and heartwarming sapphic Regency romantasy from TikTok titan and bestselling author of Boyfriend Material Alexis Hall.

It is the year 1814 and Miss Maelys Mitchelmore finds her entry into the highest society of Bath hindered by an irritating curse. It begins innocuously enough, with her dress slowly unmaking itself over the course of an evening at the ball of the season, a scandal she only narrowly manages to escape.

However, as the curse progresses to more fatal proportions, she realises she must seek out urgent assistance, even if that means mixing with the most undesirable company-and there are few less desirable allies than the brooding Lady Georgiana Landrake-who may or may not have murdered her own father and brothers to inherit their fortune.

If one is to believe the gossip, she might be some kind of malign enchantress.
Then again, a malign enchantress might be exactly what Miss Mitchelmore needs.

 

Goodreads | Storygraph | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Bookshop

 

 

 

 

My Review:

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley*

Maelys Mitchelmore is a young lady enjoying her time in Bath society when strange things begin to happen to her. Maelys learns that someone has put a curse on her, and she must work with her friends to undo the curse before it is too late.

Maelys finds unexpected, and somewhat reluctant, help from Lady Georgiana Landrake, a young woman people avoid due to the strange deaths of Lady Georgiana's brothers and father, that rumour has it she caused.

Can Maelys undo the curse?

The premise for this book intrigued me, as I liked the mix of the historical setting with magic and a sapphic romance thrown in (this is not a spoiler as the book is promoted as a sapphic romantasy). However, I ended up being disappointed.

Maelys was an okay protagonist. I liked her for the most part, but I didn't feel that I really got to know her and she felt very flat to me.

I didn't like Lady Georgiana very much. I understand that she acted the way she did because of things that had happened to her in the past, but that didn't absolve her for me, even with the things Georgiana did to help Maelys.

Miss Bickle was probably my favourite character, although she did feel a bit like the comic relief at times.

The romance felt forced to me, and I couldn't feel the connection between the characters.

The story is told from the perspective of a hobgoblin, which was unique. However, this did make it hard to connect with the characters and with what was happening as it felt like I was on the outside, and clearly being told what was happening, instead of experiencing events with the characters.

The plot was mixed - I enjoyed it to begin with, but then I found myself losing interest. The pacing was a big problem for me, because something happened around halfway through that I was expecting to happen towards the end. Unfortunately, not much seemed to happen after that, and I did find myself skim reading a little to try and get to the end, as I was bored and not invested in the plot or characters at all.

I was disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more.

Overall, this was a mixed read.