Fingersmith

By: Sarah Waters

Narrated by: Juanita McMahon

London 1862: Sue Trinder, orphaned at birth, grows up among petty thieves - fingersmiths - under the rough but loving care of Mrs Sucksby and her 'family'. But from the moment she draws breath, Sue's fate is linked to that of another orphan growing up in a gloomy mansion not too many miles away.

©2002 Sarah Waters (P)2002 W F Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

"Sarah Waters is one of the best storytellers alive today " Matt Thorne, ( Independent on Sunday)

"Intensely atmospheric, impeccably paced, and cunningly structured, this is that rarity in contemporary fiction: a deeply serious novel that is also a thumping great read" Douglas Kennedy, ( Mail on Sunday)

Beautifully Woven. The Power of Elite Writing

I love Sarah Waters and her writings. They’re all filled with melancholy, longing, and wits. I’ve read the book more than a decade ago, and I was amazed by how well crafted the point of views are. It created the visuals of what was truly going on. It was a perfect tool to use, because it is a reality that no one really knows anyone. The twists and turns are enhanced by how beautifully woven the writing is.

Also here, the main characters falling in love was both a hindrance and a solace. It created conflicts on their resolves and choices. Their difficulties though, were heavily affected by the machinations and the worth of the people around them.

Juanita McMahon gave great vocal impressions for our heroines, and I think, they fit perfectly.

Enjoyable gripping book, beautifully read

Exquisitely written story, descriptive and articulate. A gripping plot full of unexpected twists and colourful believable characters. Set in Victorian London, the author writes with empathy and compassion. The narrator was excellent and made this story a pleasure to listen to. Overall a gem!

Well crafted story, excellent narrator.

I loved the story and the way the tension was kept up all the way

An interesting story

An interesting story, mixture of mystery and queer romance. The narration was great as well.

A struggle

Well-written and poorly structured. Dragged on to the point that I finished it out of spite. The quality of the language is the only reason I continued.

I've been trying to read/listen to this for years based on good reviews and recs but never got very far. got COVID so finally just put it on and got through.

The reader does a good job, no complaints there.

The characters were neither very interesting nor sympathetic. I don't require characters to be both, but if you're rooting for no one in a book this long, it'd be nice to at least know why you should be invested in their stories. Nobody had a personality beyond Cackling Evil, Eternally Conflicted or Purposely Bland.

I hate Liar Revealed as a trope and this is a book with layers on layers of it.

There were also a number of disturbing passages that edged from commentary on mental illness in Victorian England to gratuitousness. these would have been, well, fine isn't really the word for it, but felt less exploitative if the characters felt like they developed because of their experiences.

My biggest issues with the books were not understanding anyone's motivations and the twist upon twist making it feel almost farcical. the first twist wasn't especially surprising but it was still good. It makes little sense, though, and goes from an already overcomplicated plot to something ridiculous and nonsensical. character motivation being unclear made this issue worse.

The book spends a third of the time repeating itself from a slightly different perspective, which was unnecessary and tiring.

Halfway through, I just read a synopsis. I finished listening mostly because I didn't want to have a half listened book banging around in my library.

Not brilliant.

I found this title when looking for recommended historic fiction in the same vein as Hilary Mantel. There was nothing in this information or in the precis here that let me know that this was queer fiction. Some rather ridiculous plot twists and flowery prose which probably listened better than it read. Set in the Dickens era but certainly this ain't no Dickens.