Stack of Spines

I loved the imagery in Kate Morton’s The House at Riverton.  There were so many beautiful relationships and wonderful characters.  They felt real and genuine and I was transported back to WWI and then the 1920s time period with ease.  The character of Grace was my favorite, not because she was the most prominent, but because she was the most intriguing.  Her servant relationship with Hannah and her life with her family were at such odds, and combine that with her adult life and retrospective wit, and I was puzzled enough by her to want to finish.

I think writing in flashbacks can be hit or miss.  Occasionally it is confusing and it can be difficult to relay a full picture of a character to a reader when you see glimpses of their lives at different points.  I didn’t mind the shifts in House at Riverton but was disappointed when one storyline was seemingly abandoned for another less interesting one.

The book jacket took entirely too much away from the story.  I could have done without about 200 pages in the middle.  Have you ever been in the middle of a book and it just drags on and on and you get stuck?  You think of five other things you could be doing rather than read it?  Unfortunately, that experience with this book really tainted my appreciation of it.

I had many moments where the book reminded me very much of The Thirteenth Tale, and since I loved that book so much, I felt disappointed with The House at Riverton.  Though the concept and imagery was well done, I felt let down overall.  I have to say though, if they made a movie, I’d see it just for the costumes.