Published in
1986 by Random House Publishing, Through a Glass Darkly by Karleen Koen
is filled with intrigue, betrayal, romance, tragedy, heartbreak and the hope
for redemption.
Fifteen-year-old
Barbara Alderley has always been secretly in love with the older and more
sophisticated Roger MontGeoffry, and when her scheming mother arranges a
marriage between the two, Barbara couldn’t be happier. She adores Roger and it becomes her goal in
life to make him love her as much as she loves him. Roger takes his young wife to Paris to
purchase furnishings for their soon to be built home, and it is there that
young Barbara begins to grow up and realize that people and relationships are
not always what they seem. Disillusioned
by the licentious Parisian court, Barbara must find the strength to keep her
heart amidst all the scandal, betrayal and tragedy that surrounds her life.
Ugh. This was a Nook Book Free Friday selection,
and I am glad for that. I am glad I did
not pay for this. I was so
disappointed. The description of the
story sounded interesting enough that I gave it a go, but it was so not what I
was expecting. I usually love the
historical fiction/romance genre, but this book was a trial to read. I honestly thought about stopping around 200
pages, I wish I would have. It plays out
like a soap opera, with not much happening, dragging storylines out way too
much and exhausting all angles of a story until you as the reader are
thoroughly exhausted as well.
First off,
the author spends way too much time describing houses and landscapes and
clothing that is not necessary to the overall plot. I understand historical fiction adds in
descriptions and scenes of the times to make the story seem more real, but this
book was way over the top. For example;
Koen wastes several paragraphs quoting and describing the life and times of
poet John Donne. If I wanted to learn
about John Donne, I would read his biography.
She also wastes an entire chapter (albeit a short one, but still) to
illustrate a sexually explicit and perverse dinner party held by the Duc
D’Orleans in Paris. Why? None of the main characters were involved at
that particular party, so there was no need to include this in the book. It’s like it was just there for shock factor
at the immorality of 18th Century Parisian nobles. Weaving in little nuggets of historical fact
to enhance the fiction is fine and dandy, but most of the history added into
this story was so unnecessary that it bogged down the story instead of
developing the fictional storyline.
Secondly,
about ninety-five percent of the characters in this book are so unlikeable; I
really didn’t care what happened to any of them. In fact, when I was debating whether or not
to keep reading this book, my main reason for continuing was because I wanted
to see if these spoiled, selfish and basically depraved individuals got what
they deserved. Barbara is young and
innocent, and whiny and selfish to go along with being extremely naïve and
stupid. Roger seems charming and
sophisticated, but really he’s a womanizer and a cad when no one else is
looking. I still can’t figure out why
Barbara thought she loved him so much, he’s vain and arrogant but I suppose
Barbara’s naivety made her think he was wonderful and handsome. And those are just the main characters; all
the secondary characters are the same way.
Yes we all have flaws and sins, but it was excessive in this book. Everyone was unfaithful and awful and I felt
that this was more about the sexual exploits of the characters instead of some
historical romance. This is not
historical romance, it’s more like historical perversion and I feel slightly
ashamed that I kept reading about these wicked people.
Thirdly, there
are way too many characters to keep track of.
And not just the amount of characters, but amount of different points of
view as well. The narration is so
befuddled it makes it hard to read. In
one paragraph it will be Barbara’s point of view, and then the next paragraph
is Roger’s point of view, and back and forth and back again. It’s really annoying to read like that. So many characters seem to have their own
point of view it really distracts from the overall story. Off the top of my head; Barbara, Roger, Diana
(Barbara’s mom), Jane (Barbara’s friend), the Duchess (Barb’s grandma), Philippe
(Roger’s “friend”), Therese (Barb’s maid), Abigail (Barb’s aunt), Harry (Barb’s
brother), Caesar (Roger’s employee), Richelieu (a Parisian nobleman), and some
countess I can’t remember her name all have their point of views expressed at
one time or another in this book. It’s
overwhelming. It’s like a cross between
first person and third person narration, with all of these characters getting
into the first person narration at some point.
I didn’t like the format this book was written in at all. I really can’t think of anything good to say about this book. It was a total bust in so many ways for me. Even the ending was unsatisfactory. It’s like it just ends with no real conclusion to anything. I realize there is a sequel and that’s probably why it just ends, but to drag on for some 700 pages and not even offer a bit of completion at the end makes me feel cheated. Well, I didn’t pay for this book so not really cheated out of money, more like cheated out of several days I wasted with this book when I could’ve been reading something much more enjoyable. I give this book a D grade. It’s long and boorish with a predictable story. There’s a lot of adult content so it isn’t suitable for younger readers. Well, I don’t think it’s really suitable for readers of any age. I do not recommend at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment