Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
Riverhead Books, 2002

Overview: Orphan Sue Trinder agrees, at the urging of the woman who raised her, to pose as a servant in order to cheat the heiress Maud Lilly out of her inheritance, but finds herself increasingly attracted to her victim.

My Reaction: If you like a book that keeps you guessing what will happen next, I have good news for you: Fingersmith has enough plot twists to make Dickens proud. As The Bookwhisperer can attest, our apartment was often filled with my outraged exclamations or squeaks of surprise as I slowly made my way through this most excellent novel. I say slowly for a reason, though, since it's not easy going. Perhaps I am particularly sensitive, but I often had difficulty getting past the excess of human suffering and unfairness of the world that Sue and Maud inhabit and had to put the book down to recover for a while. We had planned to do a "Sarah Waters Week" last week, but I couldn't get through my contribution in time - we'll have to make it a two week celebration, which is what this talented author deserves anyway.

Despite the sometimes overwhelming plot, I can't help but recommend this book for its beautiful writing and strong sense of place that is present in all of Waters' other work.

Seven Moves by Carol Anshaw

Seven Moves by Carol Anshaw

Mariner Books, 1997

Overview: Chris and her lover Taylor have built a comfortable life for themselves, with a dog, a house, and a mostly solid four-year relationship. Chris works as a psychologist, Taylor as a photographer who is often abroad completing a series of feminist travel guides. But after a seemingly inconsequential argument, Taylor disappears, forcing Chris to reexamine her own life and the picture she has constructed of the woman she loves.

My Reaction: If you are looking for a feel-good, happy-go-lucky love story, this book is not for you. I'll be the first to admit that I struggled at points, trying not to get bogged down in Chris' dark, emotional journey. Sometimes, reading felt like a fast-paced slog through a swamp, like I had to wade through the story as quickly as possible to find some relief on the other side, even if I still ended covered with mud. I think this is exactly what Anshaw, master of the beautifully-written downer, wanted the reader to experience.

Reading Seven Moves was also a little like eavesdropping on someone else's therapy session. Chris is a psychologist, goes to see a psychologist, and does a lot of self- examination. Her moods, up and down, felt real and wholly described, continuously evolving as the novel progressed. Anshaw has a talent for making the most mundane occurrences, like cleaning a flooded basement and taking a shower, significant and interesting, pieces of a larger puzzle. Maybe because I recently read it and it's fresh in my mind, I think Seven Moves has many of the same appeals as Gone Girl by Gilliam Flynn; a person goes missing, and the story draws the reader along by slowly revealing the characters until we are left with a completely transformed picture of them at the novel's conclusion (though Chris and Taylor are certainly not sociopaths along the lines of Nick and Amy, and I felt the author chose the narrative style not so much to trick the reader, but to show the way in which the characters trick themselves). The novel left me feeling emotionally drained, but not in a way that made me regret reading it - a kind of cleansing catharsis.

I have a hard time saying that I liked Seven Moves, but if you feel up to an emotional read, you would be hard-pressed to find a psychological suspense novel that deals with difficult feelings more authentically and compassionately.