Unfortunately, I found this novel confusing
beyond all measure. I restarted my
reading three – yes three – times convinced I had missed some important
item. It was not until the last eleven
pages, which comprise chapters 30 and 31, did I come to understand the
relationships of the characters. This
turned the novel into a “who dun it” a genre I have never cared to read. I sensed it was an example of “magic
realism,” which I greatly admire. Now, I
am not so sure.
The characters are equally confusing. Three Japanese men, Mori, Ito, and Yuki, and Thaniel,
a telegraphic clerk turned spy, the daughter of a nobleman, Grace and a man named Spindle, all serve to increase
my confusion. In addition, I noticed a
number of grammar errors in the text.
For example, Thaniel expects an event, and he is looking on a balcony,
when Grace appears next to him. Pulley
writes, “‘I upset you before, didn’t I?’ she said. ‘Because of the trees.’ / ‘No. Leaving home jitters is all.’ / She
paused. ‘Mori still won’t come?’ / ‘He
won’t come.’ / He looked side on a her.”
Another example occurs when Ito talks to
Mori. “Mori was in greys and old tweed
and looking as usual, chronically unofficial. / ‘It’s white tie. I did tell you, ten or twelve times.’ / ‘I
would have if you hadn’t had one of your aides bring one for me’” (215). On page 158, she writes, “He retreated and
was about [to] fetch Mori.”
She also has a habit of explaining a bit too
many things, for example, Grace visits Thaniel, and she says, “‘Good God, I
feel like Cassandra! I’ve been making
true prophecies and still you don’t believe me’” (265). This is only a minor annoyance, nevertheless,
I am annoyed. Pulley also mentions an
“antique ticket inspector” (291). Was
Pulley referring to a person who sold “antique tickets”? Or was he an elderly man who inspected old
tickets?
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Perhaps it was my state of mind, perhaps it
was some careless reading. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by
Natasha Pulley is an odd and confusing novel, but I am going to withhold the
award of stars until I can find a block of time to try it again.
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