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The Archaeology of Writing
All over the world, but not of it. Hemisphere-hopping wife, mother, author, angler, and seminary graduate. Represented by Books & Such Literary Agency.
Currently reading
The Luminaries
America's Great Game: The CIA’s Secret Arabists and the Shaping of the Modern Middle East
Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune
Blood and Beauty
The Last Camellia
Vienna Nocturne: A Novel
FIrst, I am not a historical novel reader. That disclaimer aside, I enjoy history and have a working knowledge of it. Once I made the transition from the more clipped writing style of the suspense I normally read (such as Daniel Silva) and adjusted to a more florid, flowery style of prose, I enjoyed this novel. Ms. Shotwell obviously knows European history, and I appreciate the way she depicts historic personalities in this work. Her characters interact believably and in ways that advance her story to climax consistently with the historic record. I also appreciate that this was longer than many new releases; I was able to "stay in the story" over several evenings, instead of buzzing through the book in one or two.
Recommeded.