#13 Farthing by Jo Walton
Lucy Kahn has done the unforgivable in marrying David, a Jewish man. That’s why Lucy and David are surprised when the two are 
invited to a weekend at Lucy’s family’s estate. Know as “the farthing set,” Lucy’s family is one of the most influential in England. Things take a dark turn when one of the guests, Sir James Thirkie, is found murdered with a Jewish star pinned to his chest. Suspicion is immediately thrown upon David due to his heritage. Did the true murderer place the star their to draw attention towards David, and who would do such a thing?
After hearing good things about Farthing from other book blogs, I decided to give it a try. This is partially based on the fact that it is an alternate history novel, which is a genre that I would like to explore a bit more. One aspect of the novel that I ended up finding interesting is how the alternate history aspects snuck up on the reader. At first, the novel appears to be an Agatha Christie-like murder mystery with a colorful cast of characters. When you learn that Sir James Thirkie is famous for negotiating peace with Hitler, it becomes apparent that this 1940s England is not the one that we’re familiar with. The author does a really good job of balancing these two genres. As the mystery becomes more complex, the curtain is drawn backfurther on the alternate history elements as this England continues to diverge from ours. This results in a satisfying amount of tension that builds over time. You want to know who the murderer is, as well as how things will end for Lucy and David.
Farthing utilizes two different narrators. Lucy Kahn is the obvious protagonist of the novel, but many of the mystery elements are spearheaded by Inspector Carmichael of Scotland Yard. Both characters come off as quite likable, as well as end up as more as they seem as first. Lucy can appear very young at the beginning, but when it counts, she comes off as quite competent. One thing I enjoyed about Carmichael was the fact that out of all of the policemen we meet during the novel, he is the only one that is able to consider all possibilities, instead of relying on knee jerk reactions. There is a twist involving his character that I saw coming, but that didn’t make it any less satisfying. I felt that both main characters were realistically drawn, and that the same can be said for much of the rest of the cast.
Farthing is a satisfying novel that examines murder, and prejudice during an alternate England during World War II. It is also the first novel in a trilogy. Given how certain events ended, I’m quite curious to see how the series will continue. I chose to listen to Farthing as an audiobook, which was exceptionally well done. Different narrators were chosen for each protagonist, and both of them did a very good job in bringing the story to life.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: the print version is 320 pahes
Source: audible
Other books I've read by this author: this is my first
Next I will be reviewing Running the Books by Avi Steinberg
xposted to temporaryworlds, bookish, and goodreads
invited to a weekend at Lucy’s family’s estate. Know as “the farthing set,” Lucy’s family is one of the most influential in England. Things take a dark turn when one of the guests, Sir James Thirkie, is found murdered with a Jewish star pinned to his chest. Suspicion is immediately thrown upon David due to his heritage. Did the true murderer place the star their to draw attention towards David, and who would do such a thing?
After hearing good things about Farthing from other book blogs, I decided to give it a try. This is partially based on the fact that it is an alternate history novel, which is a genre that I would like to explore a bit more. One aspect of the novel that I ended up finding interesting is how the alternate history aspects snuck up on the reader. At first, the novel appears to be an Agatha Christie-like murder mystery with a colorful cast of characters. When you learn that Sir James Thirkie is famous for negotiating peace with Hitler, it becomes apparent that this 1940s England is not the one that we’re familiar with. The author does a really good job of balancing these two genres. As the mystery becomes more complex, the curtain is drawn backfurther on the alternate history elements as this England continues to diverge from ours. This results in a satisfying amount of tension that builds over time. You want to know who the murderer is, as well as how things will end for Lucy and David.
Farthing utilizes two different narrators. Lucy Kahn is the obvious protagonist of the novel, but many of the mystery elements are spearheaded by Inspector Carmichael of Scotland Yard. Both characters come off as quite likable, as well as end up as more as they seem as first. Lucy can appear very young at the beginning, but when it counts, she comes off as quite competent. One thing I enjoyed about Carmichael was the fact that out of all of the policemen we meet during the novel, he is the only one that is able to consider all possibilities, instead of relying on knee jerk reactions. There is a twist involving his character that I saw coming, but that didn’t make it any less satisfying. I felt that both main characters were realistically drawn, and that the same can be said for much of the rest of the cast.
Farthing is a satisfying novel that examines murder, and prejudice during an alternate England during World War II. It is also the first novel in a trilogy. Given how certain events ended, I’m quite curious to see how the series will continue. I chose to listen to Farthing as an audiobook, which was exceptionally well done. Different narrators were chosen for each protagonist, and both of them did a very good job in bringing the story to life.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: the print version is 320 pahes
Source: audible
Other books I've read by this author: this is my first
Next I will be reviewing Running the Books by Avi Steinberg
xposted to temporaryworlds, bookish, and goodreads