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Fingersmith

By Sarah Waters

(66)

| Hardcover | 9781860498824

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17 Reviews

1 person find this helpful

Avevo già letto la versione italiana (Ladra), poi mi è venuta la curiosità di vedere com'è il testo originale e ho scoperto un libro diverso e migliore, chiarendo alcuni passaggi che la traduzione aveva reso incomprensibile.

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― Axel Heyst said on Dec 1, 2009 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

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*** This comment contains spoilers! ***

我一邊讀一邊覺得作者Sarah Waters一定受過文學訓練。
Fingersmith不僅僅是一本女女戀情的小說，還是一本充滿政治性的女女戀情小說。如果不是女人，大概很難寫出女性位置的微妙、女性心機的狠毒、女性受迫的無助。一個一個，她們會變。不像一般的女性描寫總是扁平的神女／聖女兩極化，她們可以是神女也可以是聖女：她們是真正的女人。
女女情慾的描寫深沉直接，愛就是愛，性就是性，我喜歡。
最後一定要說，本書根本就是"Mad Woman in the Attic"的文學再現，也請搭配傅柯《規訊與懲罰》、《瘋癲與文明》服用，精彩加倍！

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― Sophie said on Mar 25, 2009 about the Paperback edition | 2 feedbacks

1 person find this helpful

What a great read! Sarah Waters' previous Booker Prize-shortlisted fiction is full of so many twists and turns that it kept me gasp for breath as I read along.
Set in the 19th-century England, Fingersmith is about the lives of two seemingly unrelated teen-aged girls whose lives were brought t ... (continue)

What a great read! Sarah Waters' previous Booker Prize-shortlisted fiction is full of so many twists and turns that it kept me gasp for breath as I read along.
Set in the 19th-century England, Fingersmith is about the lives of two seemingly unrelated teen-aged girls whose lives were brought together by fate. Susan was raised by a bunch of thieves in London, while Maud lived with her uncle in a gloomy big mansion in the countryside. Susan took part in a scam and served as a maid to Maud. Readers are then taken through a roller-coaster ride through the shocking events, surprises and climaxes as the story unfolds.
Sarah Waters has not only conceived a marvellous plot, but also created a number of memorable characters, most of whom however had a troubled, tormented or twisted mind. The malevolence, vileness and ill-will of the villains in the story are really an eye-opener for me. The fact that people could be so malicious and inflict so much harm and pain on others is beyond my imagination.
A crime fiction cum psychological thriller, Fingersmith will keep you awake all night.

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― Tracy W said on Nov 23, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

A much more exciting read than anticipated!

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― Lindyloumac said on Sep 27, 2009 | Add your feedback

This book came very highly recommended and I have to say I did enjoy it. I think it is by far the best of Sarah Water’s books that I’ve read so far. I found the characters interesting, the plot engaging and enjoyed the way it was told.
On the whole it did seem much more Victorian and much les ... (continue)

This book came very highly recommended and I have to say I did enjoy it. I think it is by far the best of Sarah Water’s books that I’ve read so far. I found the characters interesting, the plot engaging and enjoyed the way it was told.
On the whole it did seem much more Victorian and much less fanciful than Tipping the Velvet. But I did think the Uncle’s library and attitude towards it and Maud to be quite fanciful however. I just can’t picture anyone that obsessed with porn that didn’t have a reaction to it. Why make a young girl do that instead of a clerk if he wasn’t getting any gratification from it? It just all seemed a bit too much of a stretch. At least the pornographers in London seemed more believable.
I also found the modern style to be rather disappointing. There wasn’t really much about the way it was written that grabbed me. I did like the differences between the two narration styles, and I think Maud’s was much more eloquent while Sue’s was much more honest, though neither sounded particularly Victorian to me.
But those points aside the plot was lots of fun with lots of twists and turns. I’d seen the BBC adaptation of the story a few years ago so remembered the more relevant ones but the last third seemed different, it also seemed the weakest part of the story. I thought it was a very claustrophobic tale, one that really illustrated the lack of choices for women during that time.
I also liked the fact that in this book the main characters fell in love without any huge ramifications or issues of lesbian-self-hatred. There was mention of the “shame” they imagined the other feeling, and there was reference to the “abnormal” desires in relation to the mental hospital. But in their actual narration neither of the women mentioned any feelings of surprise, shame or anything to indicate that falling in love with another woman was anything out of the ordinary and that I really liked.
I was half way through this when I bought a copy of Affinity. And I think I will definitely buy myself a copy of Waters latest. While her writing strikes me as contemporary rather than historical she writes an interesting story with complicated characters. And as I said at the start I think this is definitely the best of hers I’ve read so far.

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― Robot-mel said on Sep 2, 2009 | Add your feedback

*** This comment contains spoilers! ***

Well written - very British. It starts slowly, and then explodes. I rushed through the second part, couldn't stop reading. The third part, however, was not as good; I got the impression the writer started losing grip over the characters, whose reasons and moods often didn't come through as clearly a ... (continue)

Well written - very British. It starts slowly, and then explodes. I rushed through the second part, couldn't stop reading. The third part, however, was not as good; I got the impression the writer started losing grip over the characters, whose reasons and moods often didn't come through as clearly as before - but I guess it's hard to make the reader believe the true colours of a characters who has been lying throughout the whole book.
Overall, a pretty good book, which unfortunately veers slightly towards a "soap-opera feel" in the end.

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― Ficie said on Aug 8, 2009 | Add your feedback

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Book Details

Rating:
(66)
- 4 stars
- 3 stars
- 2 stars
- 1 star
English Books
Hardcover 416 Pages
ISBN-10: 1860498825
ISBN-13: 9781860498824
Publisher: Time Warner Books Uk
Pub date: Jan 31, 2002
Also available as: Paperback and Others
In other languages:
- 荊棘之城
  (繁體書)
- Solange du luegst.
  (Deutsche Bücher)
- FALSA IDENTIDAD
  (Libros en Español)
- Ladra
  (Libri Italiani)