Anyone here read Sarah Water's Fingersmith or Tipping the Velvet?

[Lex]

I read Tipping the Velvet several years ago and liked it pretty well.

I just finished Fingersmith and thought it was really one of the best books I'd read. Maybe now on my own Top 10 list.

Both are set in London and environs circa 1880 and have well-designed plots and the author does an amazing job of putting you right there in a very realistic way.

[Der Blaue Engel]

1. Yes, Sarah Waters is wonderful

I've also read her third novel, Affinity, set in the same time. I think Fingersmith is my favorite of the three.

There's also an excellent BBC mini-series of Tipping the Velvet on DVD.

[Lex]

4. I did see Tipping the Velvet on DVD and thought it was great!

Fortunately I had read the book first and found it more enjoyable.

I understand that Fingersmith is now out on DVD as well?

[Boomer]

6. Just watched Fingersmith tonight

The adaptation has a more linear narrative structure, but captures the characters very well and tells the essential story in an engaging manner. Good production values and a first-class cast make the best of the script.

The DVD also includes a short feature on the making of the film on a day in which Sarah Waters was present. It's obvious that the cast and crew were having a great time with the drama.

I was quite delighted (and relieved) that the movie was done so well. I've read Fingersmith three times, so I'm what you would call a die-hard Waters fan.

[Lex]

8. You know what's kind of crazy---

my neighbors are apparently friends of Ms. Waters and they are given a thank you in the front of Fingersmith. (Names are Herrup and Bennett.)

Anyway, it gave me quite a start to see their names there in the front after I had already read the book.

I'll have to ask them how they know her and tell them I've read the book and absolutely fell in love with it.

[Boomer]

7. Affinity was her second novel...

...and Fingersmith was her third.

With Fingersmith, Waters pulls together all the elements that she explored with the earlier two books and integrates them into a smashing story.

Tipping the Velvet had a fast-paced, riotous, and deliciously naughty plot, with vivid characters and a happy ending, but the narrative structure was strictly linear. With Affinity, Waters does an about face -- plot is subservient to mood and inner diaologue, the narrative is a twisted braid of two timelines, and the tone is very dark indeed. The ending is bleak and emotionally devastating. Affinity is a deeper, more complex, better-written book (in terms of technique), but not as much "fun" as Tipping the Velvet.

Fingersmith strikes a balance between those two extremes. The narrative structure is non-linear, but it keeps the strong forward momentum that made TtV such a great romp. The tone is darkly-tinged (especially the mad house scenes) but without the unrelenting despair of the women's prison in Affinity. And the ending is hopeful, rather than happy, another more satisfactory compromise between the breezy Velvet ending and the tragedy of Affinity's end.

All that being said, I'm delighted to hear that Waters' next book will be set in another era entirely. Fingersmith really did seem to sum up everything she had to say about Victorian England, and like the truly great writer she is, Waters is moving on to break fresh ground. The wait is killing me!

[drpdx]

2. She's amazing

I read all her books a few years ago; thought Affinity was the weakest but likes them all.

[Boomer]

9. I beg to differ

Although I would probably give Fingersmith the edge as the best of the three, Affinity is a stronger novel (in terms of craft) than Tipping the Velvet. It's just not as enjoyable to read, which makes it my least favorite of the three. I've only read it twice, as opposed to the three or four times for the other titles.

But how much one likes a book is not equivalent to its merits as a piece of literature. Emma was Jane Austen's last and best novel, but you'll find precious few readers who would claim to like it half as much as Pride & Prejudice or Sense & Sensibility.

My second read of Affinity (just a few months ago) reminded me, though, of just how beautifully Waters mined the metaphors of prison and madness and class, and I saw how she began to dabble with revealing essential plot points through non-linear narrative structure and with creating a much more subtle mood and tone than she had tapped in Tipping the Velvet.

There are still aspects of her portrayal of the protagonist that I think are much richer and powerful than any other of her character studies. One of the few ways in which Fingersmith falls short of Affinity's emotional depth is by dividing the main protagonist into two personas of equal weight. Granted, that's the central metaphor -- the same woman reflected in two different fates determined by class and the whims of fate -- but it does lose some of its emotional impact with that dual focus.

So while I would easily agree that Affinity will always remain the least popular of Waters novels, I'd argue vigorously against considering it the weakest of the three. And I would give some credence to anyone who proposed it was actually the best written.

[jannyk]

3. Yes, I've read all her books

and I adored Fingersmith too.

If you haven't already read them, Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue and The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman are both fabulous books in the same vein. They are both historical novels, set in England and show what life was like for women and children on the bottom of the social/economic ladder.

They aired Tipping the Velvet on BBC America a year or two ago.

[Lex]

5. Thank you . . .

for those other recommendations. I'll certainly check them out too.

[abluelady]

10. Have Only Read Tipping the Velvet

Will add Fingersmith to my "to read" list. Thanks for reminding me of Sarah Water.

[Lex]

11. I just want to correct my opening post to say: Sarah Waters

is her name.

Later I looked back and noticed I screwed up my apostrophe. Argggh.

I should said Sarah Waters' novels. I didn't proofread my thread title.

*sigh*

[Lucy - Claire]

12. No but I saw that adapted drama's on TV.......

I will get around to reading her books but I haven't just yet. :blush:

[Lex]

13. Waters has a brand new novel out on March 23rd

and I can't wait to read it.

It's called "The Night Watch" and is described as:

"A novel of relationships set in 1940s London that brims with vivid historical detail, thrilling coincidences, and psychological complexity, by the author of the Booker Prize finalist Fingersmith."

[Lex]

14. I just finished reading "The Night Watch" and really enjoyed it.

If you like Sarah Waters, you'll certainly like this book. As usual, Waters does her homework on the period detail in her books--and in a compelling way, weaving those details into the story flawlessly.

I have to say that plot-wise it wasn't as good as "Tipping the Velvet" or "Fingersmith" (imho).

But it's a really enjoyable read. Anyone else read it yet?