Affinity
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Affinity
by Authors:
Sarah Waters
Released: 01 January, 2002
ISBN: 1573228737
Paperback
Sales Rank: 18,181
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List price:
$14.00
Our price:
$10.50
(You save: $3.5)
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| Book > Affinity > Customer Reviews: |
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Average Customer Rating: 
Affinity >
Customer Review #1:
 Fine Writing, Great Story
Waters successfully brings the Victorian era to life in this story of an emotionally vulnerable "spinster",Margaret Prior, who attempts to overcome the losses of loved ones by taking up charitable social work with the women of Millbank prison in London. Her relationship with Selina Dawes, a spiritualist imprisoned for fraud and assault, progresses from mere fascination to blind passion, and the reader is pulled along with her in her quest for love and purpose in a world which has deprived her of the opportunity to achieve either. The cold, damp and dreary setting of London and Millbank Prison is a fitting backdrop to this story of Margaret, who much like the women to whom she ministers, is herself imprisoned and nearly destroyed by the repressive social structures of her day. The book is written mostly as excerpts from Margarets diary. Interspersed among these are brief excerpts from the diary of Selina Dawes, the spiritualist. This technique works brilliantly, because it creates more of a challenge for the reader to distinguish between the inner reality of the characters and the objective reality of the story. It also makes the ending much more dramatic. Read it, by all means. Its a bit of a slow go at first, but the build up is necessary to the progression of the story.
Affinity >
Customer Review #2:
 Part Victorian with a Touch of Gothic
Sarah Waters Affinity is a beautiful novel. The author captures a time with tremondous skill and evokes a atmosphere, both Gothic and Victorian, until it is practically dripping from the page. Her real skill is in providing a story that is as absorbing as the atmosphere swirling around it. This woman visitor, Margaret Prior, to the womens ward of Millbank prison provides a character and a narrative voice to carry the reader through both the chill of cold horror and the warmth of her erotic tinglings with equal skill. The spiritualist prisoner she meets in prison, Selina Dawes, is a wonderful and original fictional creation that will haunt the reader as much as it does the lady visitor. A fine read.
Affinity >
Customer Review #3:
 Not as good as Fingersmith
I like Sarah Waters -- her writing is lovely and her characters are well-developed and interesting. Her ability to evoke 19th century England is fine and she sets the mood, often dark and eerie, rather well. This is a good book, and, like Fingersmith, contains a twist. Its not as interesting as Fingersmith, however; the story isnt as compelling, nor are the characters, and the twist isnt that surprising (the twist in Fingersmith literally made me yelp!). It is a tad slow as well. Its worth the read, but if read after Fingersmith this may disappoint a bit.
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Affinity >
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