Fingersmith

4.5! The Handmaiden is one of my absolute favorite movies, and despite knowing all the twists already (or so I thought) the book was still gripping and surprising and kept me on my toes. Drags a bit in part 3 but the ending saves it. Lesbian Charles Dickens indeed!

Since “Fingersmith” was published over two decades ago, the folded white gloves gleaming from a rich brocade table have both beckoned and dismissed me. Sometimes, I build up a book in my head when I should just pick it up and read it. So, now that it has been a few years since cozying up with a nice Victorian book, I finally decided to open up “Fingersmith” this cold, snowy January. I was hooked in almost right away by the unusual favor shown young Susan Trinder, by the warm and riotous kitchen at Mrs. Sucksby's ramshackle London house, and by the colorful language. Relatively quickly, we learn that Susan is to be involved in a carefully-laid swindle and that she must throw off her coddled upbringing and try to act. From there, Waters leads us in and and out of winding passageways, streets, and roads, winding up more than one delightful twist. You know an author has you in the palm of their hand when you put down a book after you've been shocked by a turn of events. The real fingersmith is Sarah Waters herself, tricking you with slights of hand.

Recently, I have been oppressed by authors who throw in point-of-view changes to try to make the plot or characters more interesting, but fail by creating fluffy filler often devoid of a true, separate voice and mind. Fingersmith is a great example of how multiple points-of-view ought to be done; Waters knows how to situate the reader in more than one character's head, even if I was jarred each time there was a switch.

Waters states quite clearly that the basic plot of “Fingersmith” was stolen (her words!) from Wilkie Collins' wonderful and, at the time it came out, sensational “The Woman in White.” Waters has expanded the story to a delightful level, weaving in more characters and taking us into places “TWIW” did not. And the author has given us the true point of view of women of the time, who were often pawns and had little power of their own, who often had to wait seemingly interminable amounts of time, which many modern readers cannot fathom. And, intentionally, Waters brings us into the feelings and thoughts of women who love another woman at a time it was not allowed. To show the reader often-ignored lesbian history.

Now. Let's say you have never read Dickens or “The Woman in White.” This book is just as enjoyable a romp through grimy 1860s London and out to a crumbling country estate, which we learn is more of a prison than the relative poverty and constant grift of the house of a band of thieves.

Booker interview with Sarah Waters 20 years after publication with interesting peaks into her writing process, inspiration, and even discarded story ideas: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/fingersmith-at-20-inside-the-archive-with-sarah-waters

I could not put this down. I literally spent all day on 12/30 just reading this. 400+ pages in one day, because I couldn't bear to part with it (thank you, Xmas/NYE vacation for giving me the slack to do it!).

This is hard to describe, and I want to avoid spoilers. I can say that it starts in a Dickensian setting, has a Gothic, crumbling mansion, a Victorian madhouse, a love story, and plenty of twists & turns. Even when I kind of knew where it was going, it was thrilling to see things play out! Sometimes it dealt with some disturbing content (child abuse, conditions in the asylum, etc.), but it was worth toughing it out!

Overall, it was an extremely satisfying read, Sarah Waters is a genius, and I can't wait to read her other stuff.

(Also, I had the lovely surprise of thinking, “Man, they need to make a movie of this,” only to find it has been adapted TWICE - a BBC miniseries and a Korean film by Park Chan-wook!)