Hermione Eyre

I was looking forward to reading this as I thought it sounded so interesting and was a bit of a change of pace from my typical reading. I just didn't get it. It is based on true events and real people but the mix of fantasy was just way too much for me to accept and I found it way to confusing. It was a real struggle for me to finish and if the book just focused on the two main characters instead of straying with the fantasy I might have enjoyed it more. The cover is gorgeous and the pictures were nice but that is about all I can say about that.… (mehr)

This is a *weird* book - mostly historical fiction about Venetia, Lady Digby, wife of Sir Kenelm Digby, an alchemist of the court of King Charles I. But it reaches the level of experimental fiction (I can't quite say historical fantasy) in the way it takes Kenelm's alchemy seriously and rewards him with visions of the future, flashes of insight from modern times, scattered anachronisms throughout the text. And yet it never quite becomes one of those books where you feel like you know less about history because of the anachronisms: the narrator's voice is strong enough for that, at least. This is definitely not a book for everyone, but I found I enjoyed it quite a lot.… (mehr)