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A review by wordsofapaige
The Cottingley Cuckoo by A.J. Elwood
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
In all honestly several days after finishing this book I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it. It was a pretty speedy read for me, and I read it in only a couple of sittings, but I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed by the ending. I thought we were leading up to a big reveal of some sorts, but I actually just felt like I was left with a lot of questions and a somewhat disappointing finale.
The book almost entirely centres around the relationship between Charlotte and Rose. Charlotte being a resident at the care home that Rose works for. Rose is often described as a believer, but it's never quite explained as to why this is. Although it sets the story up for you to never know what is real and what is not. Rose allows everyone to walk all over her, and most infuriatingly she lets her boyfriend walk all over her the most. He's unemployed with no prospects while she works to keep their rent paid, and when he does attempt to get a job it's quickly made clear that he hates it and promptly leaves it. He's a pretty awful character and I spent most of the book hoping Rose would
come to her senses and leave him. Charlotte is a fairly inexplicable character, seemingly fine and with all her facilities she doesn't quite fit in the care home, she's generally mean to everyone there and seems to know a lot more than she should.
The interjection of the letters is somewhat of a highlight, and definitely what kept me reading. They're old letters from around the time of the Cottingley Fairy photos, and details an older man and his family as they find and detail their encounters with fairies. They're a great way of imparting fairy knowledge on the reader without them being patronised. The story from the letters would probably make for a great book in itself, as it's got a lot of intrigue and I still want to know exactly what was going on.
The end feels like its barrelling towards a spectacular finale. And yet somehow it suddenly just lost whatever magic I was feeling and provides no answers as to what was going on in the rest of the book. What was real, what was not, why certain things happen. I wasn't a fan of ambiguity and I have to say that sadly the ending was far too weak for me.
This is worth picking up if you're interested in the Cottingley Fairies.
The book almost entirely centres around the relationship between Charlotte and Rose. Charlotte being a resident at the care home that Rose works for. Rose is often described as a believer, but it's never quite explained as to why this is. Although it sets the story up for you to never know what is real and what is not. Rose allows everyone to walk all over her, and most infuriatingly she lets her boyfriend walk all over her the most. He's unemployed with no prospects while she works to keep their rent paid, and when he does attempt to get a job it's quickly made clear that he hates it and promptly leaves it. He's a pretty awful character and I spent most of the book hoping Rose would
come to her senses and leave him. Charlotte is a fairly inexplicable character, seemingly fine and with all her facilities she doesn't quite fit in the care home, she's generally mean to everyone there and seems to know a lot more than she should.
The interjection of the letters is somewhat of a highlight, and definitely what kept me reading. They're old letters from around the time of the Cottingley Fairy photos, and details an older man and his family as they find and detail their encounters with fairies. They're a great way of imparting fairy knowledge on the reader without them being patronised. The story from the letters would probably make for a great book in itself, as it's got a lot of intrigue and I still want to know exactly what was going on.
The end feels like its barrelling towards a spectacular finale. And yet somehow it suddenly just lost whatever magic I was feeling and provides no answers as to what was going on in the rest of the book. What was real, what was not, why certain things happen. I wasn't a fan of ambiguity and I have to say that sadly the ending was far too weak for me.
This is worth picking up if you're interested in the Cottingley Fairies.