The Essex Serpent in SpecFic Buddy Reads

Nov 10, 2016 Veronique rated it really liked it

Shelves: favourites, read2016

4.5

Yes, I’ll admit that the first thing that attracted me to this book was the incredible cover! I mean, as you can see, it is a work of beauty. Luckily, the interior is of the same quality.

Perry has an amazing writing style, very lyrical without being heavy or convoluted. On the contrary, it flows, meanders, while completely spellbinding you.

"Light picked out channels cut in crystal glasses and glossed the wood of the polished table, and Stella's forget-me-nots bloomed on their napkins.”

The au 4.5

Yes, I’ll admit that the first thing that attracted me to this book was the incredible cover! I mean, as you can see, it is a work of beauty. Luckily, the interior is of the same quality.

Perry has an amazing writing style, very lyrical without being heavy or convoluted. On the contrary, it flows, meanders, while completely spellbinding you.

"Light picked out channels cut in crystal glasses and glossed the wood of the polished table, and Stella's forget-me-nots bloomed on their napkins.”

The author packs so much in these pages that I’m not sure where to start. It is at the same time a gothic tale, a novel of ideas and a study of characters, combining eeriness with reason. Superstition, science and religion, which are often used in confrontation, are here entwined together in unison, and this is particularly visible in the figure of the serpent that permeates everything - from the mythical Essex serpent, embodying the fear of the unknown, the Caduceus of medicine, theories and discoveries forever pushing boundaries, to the biblical snake, symbol of temptation and sin. Everything seems to be connected to knowledge, or the lack thereof; even sin could be seen as acquirement of knowledge (think Pullman).

"There is nothing to be afraid of. Except ignorance. What seems frightening is just waiting for you to shine a light on it.”

The narrative travels between London and the marshes, two distinct worlds in this late Victorian era, following the uncompromising Cora Seaborne, recently widowed, and her ‘autistic’ son. Here is an amazing character (can’t seem able to stop using superlatives) that defies categorisation. From the first page, she shines. And it isn’t just her. Perry seems to be able to create complex and fascinating protagonists, ignoring whether they are main or secondary, and portraying all in strong and vivid strokes.

I could carry on waxing lyrical, analysing many other elements, but ultimately this is just a great read, immersive, engrossing and intelligent :O)
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Aug 04, 2017 Lata rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: x2017-read, auth-f

A beautiful cover attracted me to this novel. The often beautiful prose kept me to the end. The Essex serpent brings several characters together: Cora, whose abusive husband dies, freeing her to follow her own interests and inclinations, Martha, her companion and nanny to Cora's son, Will Ransome, a parson (or vicar, I can never get that right) to a small town in the region, his wife Stella, Luke Garrett, a surgeon enamoured of Cora, and Francis, Cora's son who's somewhere on the potentially aut ...more

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Feb 06, 2017 Viv JM rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction-historical, read-in-2017, z-2017-author-female, author-female, audio

3.5 stars, rounded up

I enjoyed this slice of Victorian life but unlike other reviewers, I didn't absolutely love it. The setting was beautifully described, and there was a marvellous cast of interesting characters. I thought it was a bit of a shame that (view spoiler) ...more

20 likes · Like · see review