Published: March 31, 2015 by Random House Crown
(Amazon / Goodreads)
Synopsis: When she was just fifteen, smart, sensitive Jane Standen lived through a nightmare: she lost the sweet five-year-old girl she was minding during a walk in the woods. The little girl was never found, leaving her family, and Jane, devastated.
Now the grown-up Jane is an archivist at a small London museum that is about to close for lack of funding. As her one last project, she is searching the archives for scraps of information related to another missing person--a woman who disappeared some 125 years ago from a Victorian asylum. As the novel moves back and forth between the museum in contemporary London, the Victorian asylum, and a dilapidated country house that seems to connect both missing people, it unforgettably explores the repercussions of small acts, the power of affection, and the irrepressible vitality of everyday objects and events.
Here is a riveting, gorgeously written novel that powerfully reminds us of the possibility that we are less alone than we might think
Synopsis: When she was just fifteen, smart, sensitive Jane Standen lived through a nightmare: she lost the sweet five-year-old girl she was minding during a walk in the woods. The little girl was never found, leaving her family, and Jane, devastated.
Now the grown-up Jane is an archivist at a small London museum that is about to close for lack of funding. As her one last project, she is searching the archives for scraps of information related to another missing person--a woman who disappeared some 125 years ago from a Victorian asylum. As the novel moves back and forth between the museum in contemporary London, the Victorian asylum, and a dilapidated country house that seems to connect both missing people, it unforgettably explores the repercussions of small acts, the power of affection, and the irrepressible vitality of everyday objects and events.
Here is a riveting, gorgeously written novel that powerfully reminds us of the possibility that we are less alone than we might think
I really wanted to like The World Before Us. It sounded like a total me book. Historical mystery, complex and a little on the darker side. Unfortunately it didn't quite work for me. While it was on the interesting side with complex and likable characters, the slower pace and muddled plot development prevented me from really enjoying the book

But perhaps it didn't have that strong an ending for me because the pacing was problematic. And while it took me so much longer to read this book than I expected, The World Around Us is the rare occasion where the book could have been longer. Or maybe it was just a little too front-loaded. I felt like the beginning if the book was just filled with exposition. The author had to establish two different storylines, and she may have gotten a little carried away. By the end it seemed hard to reel things in. It kept plotting along adding new wrinkles to the story but then it just abruptly ended. It didn't have a strong climax with falling action to wrap things up.
What The World Before Us really proved to me is that I am a much bigger fan of plot-driven stories. It's books with a strong and engaging storyline that steadily builds to something thrilling that I typically enjoy. A book can have great characters but if those characters are the ones that move things along then it's not going to be a book that I will love. I think that's a little bit what happened here. It's not a bad book, it's just not the book for me despite the really great concept.
Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow. If you are reading this and thinking, I love really character-driven historical fantasies where there is a lot going on then definitely check this book out. If you don't mind a more slower paced atmospheric read then invest the time in this one.
Have you read The World Before Us? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!
What The World Before Us really proved to me is that I am a much bigger fan of plot-driven stories. It's books with a strong and engaging storyline that steadily builds to something thrilling that I typically enjoy. A book can have great characters but if those characters are the ones that move things along then it's not going to be a book that I will love. I think that's a little bit what happened here. It's not a bad book, it's just not the book for me despite the really great concept.
I give The World Before Us by Aislin Hunter 7 out of 10
Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Borrow. If you are reading this and thinking, I love really character-driven historical fantasies where there is a lot going on then definitely check this book out. If you don't mind a more slower paced atmospheric read then invest the time in this one.
Have you read The World Before Us? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!
I'm not much in historical fiction but this sounds pretty interesting. Great review, again! :)
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't my favorite. I wish the ending left me as satisfied as the beginning. In general it just fizzled out for me. If you check it out I hope you enjoy it.
Delete