Anna Furtado

As historical fiction, this novel did not ring true to me. In fact the whole thing felt kind of stilted and forced, from the writing style to the dialogue. It did not have that natural feel of stepping back in time and being immersed in a real past that good historical fiction writers have mastered. Rather, this had the feel that the narrator and the characters were forcing the style and dialogue. Historical accuracy and description also seemed a little off, such as describing the society changing innovation of the printing press as new, when they had been around for nearly 20 years at the time the book was set, which would be akin to describing a mobile phone as new technology today. Or the description of a building as "twig and mud", which puzzled me for a moment until I realised the author meant wattle and daub. All of these things meant that the book lacked heart and I could not become immersed in the world the author was trying to create at all. I am a strong believer that when someone reads a novel, particularly historical fiction, they should be transported and feel like a fly on the wall peering in to the lives of the characters. I did not get this at all from this book, so I'll not be reading any more in the series.… (mais)