I reread this book because it was much too saccharine for me when I read it in 2017, and yet I wanted to get on the Louise Penny bandwagon. It’s nice to be emotionally invested in a good series.
I enjoyed the book quite a bit more in 2026. It was quite riveting, even though the writing at this stage of her career was a bit unpolished. I can definitely now see the appeal of her books.
This book was quite the slog, and I did not enjoy parts of it because it was filled with unkind people. But Dickens handled the material more gently than a modern writer would have, and for that, I was grateful. The book is dated, of course, in its treatment of women. I was impressed with Dickens’ creation, Ria, the Jewish “fake usurer”, who turned out to be very kind and wise. And it was amusing to have 2 con artists marry each other, expecting that the other had money. Some of the language in this book was incomprehensible to me… I don’t remember having that problem with Dickens.
I absolutely detest Michaels' writing style. It is much too poetic and not enough story based. Eva told me it did not have much to do with holocaust misery. My reading of the book is that's all it was about. And then, of course, there was redemption from the psychological misery.
It was nice hearing about Biskupin, Poland, since I actually visited the place. I skimmed the last sections of the book because I hated it so much.
