The Doll Factory by Elizabeth MacNeal

Title: The Doll Factory

Author: Elizabeth MacNeal

Read by:  Tuppence Middleton

Publisher: Simon & Shuster Audio

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 55 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Shuster Audio.  Thank-you!

The Doll Factory is a perfect read for this time of year.  It is the perfect combination of the realism of Victorian England of a Charles Dicken novel with the creepy obsessions of You by Caroline Kepnes.  The Doll Factory is set in 1851 London with the building of the Exhibition in Hyde Park as part of the background of the story.

Iris and her twin sister Rose work in a “doll factory” making dolls for wealthy clients that look like their children – dead or alive.  Iris dreams of breaking fee and becoming an artist in her own right.  When Louis Frost, a member of the pre-Raphaelites asks her to be his model, Iris feels that she has finally found a way out of the doll factory.

Albie is a young orphan who lives with her sister, a teenage prostitute.  He makes money by sewing doll clothes for Iris and finding dead animals for Silas.  Silas is a taxidermist who takes great pride in his work.  He has dreams of having his specimens being shown at the great exhibition.  When he sees Iris one day, he falls in love.  How will the ambitions of all be filled?

This was an intriguing audiobook to listen to and Tuppence Middleton was a wonderful expressive narrator.  I especially loved the author interview that was included at the end of the audiobook.  I hope more audiobooks start to do this!

I loved the descriptions in this novel of the dark depths of Victorian London.  The poverty, filth, and the limited possibilities juxtaposed with the glory, wealthy, and splendor of the Great Exhibition were fascinating to read.

My favorite part of the novel was the journey of Iris.  She wanted to live her dream and have a fulfilling artistic live – which is hard for a woman in Victorian London.  So many people wanted her to be the doll, a beautiful creature to look at, but not to live her own life.   The dolls, butterflies trapped in glass, and women in the paintings carried this same theme through the novel.  I also loved that she was a part of the pre-Raphaelite art movement, which I have read about in the past.  Her and Louis were placed among the real historical painters and I found it fascinating.

I loved how the story opened slowly over time revealing bits and pieces until you can put together the true arc.  I had some items figured out early, but was still surprised by the story.  I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say I found the ending to be immensely satisfying. 

Overall, The Doll Factory was an immensely satisfying tale that perfectly blended suspense, the dark depths of Victorian London, and one woman’s journey to artistic fulfillment.

Laura’s Top Ten Books of 2014

I read a lot of wonderful books every year.  When I first started this blog, I used to do a top ten books list each year.  I have such lists for 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 but then I started my new job as an instructor at NWTC and I fell off the list making wagon.  I decided this year, no matter how late in 2015 it became I would have my top ten list again!

When I make my top ten list, it is not of books published in 2014, but of books I read in 2014.  It also only includes books (or audiobooks) that I have read for the first time.  For example, I read A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich for maybe the sixth or so time this past year.  It’s one of my all-time favorite novels, but I’ve read it before so it won’t be on this list.   I had a hard time narrowing down my favorites this year – but here goes in no particular order.

1.       The Husband’s Secret Liane Moriarty – We read this for my book club, but sadly I had to miss the book club and discussion that month.  Moriarty wrote a fabulous multi-faceted novel that keep you intrigued and involved in the lives of all of the characters.

2.      The Innovators by Walter Isaacson – The Best Non-fiction book of the year for me.  I was fascinated by the lives of all of the individuals who through sacrifice, hard work, and a bit of luck were able to make the technology we take for granted today possibly.  This is a must read.

3.      You by Caroline Kepnes – I am still a little frightened thinking about this book.  The main narrator makes his love and the psychopathic choices he makes for this love seem like they make sense.  This is how a good love story can go very, very wrong.

4.      Divergent & Insurgent by Veronica Roth – Stay up all night to read kind of books.  Divergent and Insurgent were exciting adventures.  I just read the third book Allegiant in 2015. . . it was not nearly so good.

5.      Written in My Own Heart’s Blood by Diana Gabaldon – Gabaldon is a master story teller and her books defy genres.  I loved getting to read more of Jamie and Claire’s tale, but yearn for more.  If you haven’t read this series, start with book one, Outlander.  You will not be sorry!

6.      Silent Spring by Rachel Carson – Even though I am an environmental engineer, I have never read this classic.  The disturbing part about reading it was discovering that although a lot has changed for the good since the 1960’s, a lot still hasn’t changed.  It was eye opening and still very relevant to today’s world.

7.      The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd – A great historical fiction novel about a real historical abolitionist that I had never heard of and the relationship with her slave.  Riveting and a great book club selection.

8.      The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert – Another great historical fiction novel, I loved the depths, the botany, and the struggle for a woman to find herself in middle age.  This was a great adventure and absorbing read.

9.      Me Before You by JoJo Moyes – Another book club favorite from 2014.  We still talk about this book and I still think about the ethical and emotional discussions it led to.  It was a wonderful love story, but so much more.  It really brought about a great discussion on what makes life worth living.  I really need to read more books by this author.  I read a lot of books last year, but I’ll admit that this was my favorite.

10.  The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness – I loved Deborah Harkness’s All Souls Trilogy.  This final book in the trilogy was very satisfying.  The trilogy has historical fiction, time travel, witches, vampires, demons, and how to accept that we are all different but from the same fabric of life.  A great fantasy romance.

Some other fantastic books I read this year that wanted to be in my top ten, but didn’t quite make it were A Good Marriage by Stephen King, A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold, The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman, Netherwood and Ravenscliffe by Jane Sanderson, After I’m Gone by Laura Lippman, and Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield.

What were your favorite books of 2014?  Did you enjoy any of the selections above?

You by Caroline Kepnes

Title: You
Author: Caroline Kepnes
Read by:  Santino Fontana
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: 13 hours (11 CDs)
Source:  Review Copy from Simon & Schuster – Thanks!

You was an audiobook that I couldn’t stop listening too.  I’ve been very busy working and feeling tired, but I haven’t been worried about my drive home as the story kept me riveted.  It is a unique story about one man’s love, or rather obsession, for a woman.  The man is Joe Goldberg and he works at a bookstore.  One day the perfect woman stops by the bookstore, Guinevere Beck, and Joe is hooked.  He wants to know more about her so starts to look for her online and soon is hanging outside her apartment to learn her movements and more about her.  How can he orchestrate the perfect meet cute?

I first must say that this book is quite vulgar so if that is something that offends you, this isn’t the book for you.  The vulgarity is in character as the book is through the viewpoint of Joe and what he is thinking.  And what he is thinking is about sex with Beck pretty much constantly.  I grew concerned as I listened on – do men really think about sex this much?  I was turned off by the vulgarity at first, but grew so interested in the story I forgot about it.

I thought the book was very interesting as a look at the other side of a typical romance novel or movie, can what people think of as romance actually be the work of a creepy stalker?  I thought about popular books such as Twilight.  Edward is thought of as romantic, but he is in Bella’s room watching her when she sleeps, etc.  Even Edward Rochester in Jane Eyre does strange things like dress up as an old Gypsy woman so he can be alone with Jane, touch her hand, and try to manipulate her.  Don’t get me started on Fifty Shades of Grey.  What is all stories thought of as a romance by ladies were really on the other side really a story of a creepy stalker?

You had pop culture references on books and movies sprinkled throughout – I highly enjoyed them although I hadn’t quite read all of the books or watched all of the movies.  It showed how Joe is highly self-educated and aware of the world around him.  He also hated “phonies” just like Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye, yet he seemed to long for their world and a sense of belonging like Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby.  I thought this juxtaposition was interesting.

This book worked well as an audiobook. Santino Fontana is Joe to me.  It was almost creepier hearing Joe tell his own story.

This book is rather horrifying, and I wondered what it said about me and the author that I thought this creepy stalker was identifiable and funny at times.  This was very well written and it definitely made me think.  It’s not a book I will soon forget.  I highly recommend it.