3.5*
This book was nothing like what I expected. The first part, set in 1914, is written from the perspective of Mr. Sitwell and explains how he became the Rib King. Some found this part to be a bit slow, but I didn't. I enjoyed the teasing snippets about his life before coming to work at the Barclays, as well as the interplay between him and the other employees at the Barclay home. I enjoyed Mr. Sitwell. I found him to be an endearing character, kind and caring and a little awkward. Which made the second part of the book a bit brow raising for me. The second part of the book, set 10 years later and after a violent act put an end to the Barclays' employment of Sitwell, Jennie, and the rest. This part is written from Jennie's point of view and reveals how that one violent act has reverberated throughout her life and continued to impact it in ways both subtle and profound. The portrayal of Mr. Sitwell (by now the Rib King) in the second part was a bit hard to connect to the kindly man in part one, concerned about the orphans' futures and the cook's successes.
The writing in this book is superb and I found myself engrossed, passing time without realizing it. However, there were a few issues that niggled at the back of my mind, preventing me from rating this book higher. The two parts felt a bit disjointed to me, and I didn't feel enough of a thread of connection for it to flow smoothly. They are very much two distinct stories, even down to the manner in which the characters are depicted. There is A LOT going on in the second part, almost feels like too much at times. Something else that caught my attention is that I found it hard to link these stories to a place in time. I knew it was set in the early 1900s because the book told me so, but I didn't really get a feel for that period while I was reading. The other thing that I struggled with was the ending. This book was so well written and so engrossing and then ....Bam! It just ended. It felt forced and rushed and was completely out of line with the rest of the book.
All in all, this was a really great book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I do think there were a couple of places it could have been a bit better.
This book was nothing like what I expected. The first part, set in 1914, is written from the perspective of Mr. Sitwell and explains how he became the Rib King. Some found this part to be a bit slow, but I didn't. I enjoyed the teasing snippets about his life before coming to work at the Barclays, as well as the interplay between him and the other employees at the Barclay home. I enjoyed Mr. Sitwell. I found him to be an endearing character, kind and caring and a little awkward. Which made the second part of the book a bit brow raising for me. The second part of the book, set 10 years later and after a violent act put an end to the Barclays' employment of Sitwell, Jennie, and the rest. This part is written from Jennie's point of view and reveals how that one violent act has reverberated throughout her life and continued to impact it in ways both subtle and profound. The portrayal of Mr. Sitwell (by now the Rib King) in the second part was a bit hard to connect to the kindly man in part one, concerned about the orphans' futures and the cook's successes.
The writing in this book is superb and I found myself engrossed, passing time without realizing it. However, there were a few issues that niggled at the back of my mind, preventing me from rating this book higher. The two parts felt a bit disjointed to me, and I didn't feel enough of a thread of connection for it to flow smoothly. They are very much two distinct stories, even down to the manner in which the characters are depicted. There is A LOT going on in the second part, almost feels like too much at times. Something else that caught my attention is that I found it hard to link these stories to a place in time. I knew it was set in the early 1900s because the book told me so, but I didn't really get a feel for that period while I was reading. The other thing that I struggled with was the ending. This book was so well written and so engrossing and then ....Bam! It just ended. It felt forced and rushed and was completely out of line with the rest of the book.
All in all, this was a really great book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I do think there were a couple of places it could have been a bit better.