Monday, November 09, 2009

REVIEW: The Bride's Farewell by Meg Rosoff


I'm still not sure what to make of this one. I picked up The Bride's Farewell because I've read some of Meg Rosoff's other books and were very pleasantly surprised (haven't yet read What I Was). I didn't know anything about the story and hadn't remembered reading anything about the book before I picked it up. I was relying entirely on Rosoff's beautiful writing to carry me through this one. And it worked. Up to a point. Meg Rosoff does write beautifully and I love how very different each of her books have been. But when I finished this book (fairly quickly, it's quite short) I was left with this feeling of .. 'well, that's finished. I don't know where to go from here.' Thinking about it now, more than a week later, and I begin to appreciate more of the story. It's all very subtle.

Pell Ridley wakes up on the morning of her wedding, and runs away with her horse and her mute little brother, Bean. She's determined not to be married and instead plans to make her own way in the world. The story is set in 1850s England and things do not go as planned. I don't want to ruin the rest of the story, I think it was better for me to not know much of the plot beforehand.

I did love Pell's character. She's very strong and independent. I love that she has this special knowledge of horses. She doesn't walk down the easy path in life and she does suffer for it in this book. Even though I loved Pell (and Bean), the way in which everything in the book is connected in a roundabout way, Meg Rosoff's beautiful writing, and the unconventional romance, something was missing from this book. I did enjoy it, but there was no lasting emotional response when I was finished.

No matter. I'm still a fan of Meg Rosoff and will continue reading her books.


Other opinions:

So Many Books, So Little Time
My Friend Amy
Bibliophile by the Sea
Oops...Wrong Cookie
Sassymonkey Reads

3 comments:

  1. I nearly picked up a Meg Rosoff one the other day. Her name keeps popping up in the blogging world. Which of her books would you recommend?

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  2. I see your having a site makerover? very pretty!

    I'll ahve to try and get this next time I'm at the library

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