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The Winter Rose
Jennifer Donnelly
Hyperion
January 2008
ISBN#: 978-1401301033
Historical
Please visit Jennifer Donnelly's
website
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Synopsis:
The Winter Rose, second book in The Tea Rose trilogy, reunites readers with
the much-loved Finnegan family. Beginning where The Tea Rose ended, on the
river Thames, the novel follows the story of Charlie Finnegan – now Sid
Malone – and an intriguing new female character – India Selwyn Jones.
The year is 1900 and the dangerous streets of East London are no place for a
wellbred woman. But India Selwyn Jones is headstrong: she has trained as one
of a new breed, a woman doctor, and is determined to practice where the need
is greatest.
It is on these grim streets where India meets – and saves the life of –
London’s most notorious gangster, Sid Malone. Hard, violent, devastatingly
attractive, Malone is the opposite of India’s cool, aristocratic fiancé, a
rising star in the House of Commons. Though Malone represents all she
despises, India finds herself unwillingly drawn ever closer to him – enticed
by his charm, intrigued by his hidden, mysterious past.
The Winter Rose brings the beginning of the turbulent twentieth century
vividly to life, drawing the reader into its wretched underworld, its
privileged society, and the shadowland between the two, where the strict
rules of the time blur into secret passions.
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SRR GRADE: A
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Initially, when the opportunity came up for me to read
and review this book I felt like the book was calling to me, choosing me. It
was anything but my normal kind of read. But I'd heard many great things
about Jennifer Donnelly's previous works, so I figured "what the heck". I
chose the book. Then it arrived and I saw how enormous it was (707 pages, to
be exact), and I started second guessing myself. What if the book was so out
of my comfort zone that I couldn't get in to it no matter how hard I tried?
What if I'd made a mistake in asking for it? Had the book really chosen me
after all, instead of the other way around? I decided to put it off for a
couple of days while I mulled it over in my head and worked on gaining the
courage to tackle it. There it sat on my desk like a huge white elephant in
the room, screaming at me until I could ignore it no longer. I finally
picked it up- I chose it, and that's when the magic began.
The Winter Rose gripped me in such an explosive way. There were times
I laughed, times I was literally shouting at the book and shaking my fists
at the characters' stupidity, while at other times I could almost feel my
heart breaking for them. They were so real- the characters, the setting, the
story. I loved the way there were several different stories all going on
parallel to one another, but how they only intersected when the time was
just right. There was such a smooth and consistent flow from one scene and
storyline to the next, that I never found it hard to keep track of who was
who or what was what. And Donnelly's descriptions were so incredibly
poignant that I couldn't help but feel transported in to another era and
place. I'll be the first person to admit that history was never my strong
suit in school. Yet when I was reading this, it felt like the historical
background was secure. It felt like the author had thoroughly researched her
history to hit the details surrounding this time period spot on. Granted any
good author would, but just the attention to detail and how she left no
little thing untouched upon was amazing. I actually feel like I know more
about the early 1900's after reading this book than I did before I started.
In the end, if I was to have any complaints at all about this book I would
only be able to come up with one. That is, I think that after spending
several hundred pages building the story up, perhaps the author might have
rushed the last part just a teeny tiny bit. It wasn't a bad ending by any
means; however, it seemed like so much time was spent on Parts One and Two
that by the time Part Three rolled around things just happened a little
faster than I would have expected. Still a great story and ending though.
Additionally, I have to say that this is a book I would just love to see
adapted in to a screenplay. Lately there seem to have been quite a few
period pieces come to the big screen, and I can totally see The Winter
Rose showing there along side them. What a wonderful movie that would
be.
So, I started out not knowing if I chose the book or the book chose me, but
then it dawned on me. In the end it really doesn't matter who chose who.
What matters is whether you liked each other. And in this case, we most
certainly did.
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~Reviewed by Rebekah
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The Winter Rose |
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