Disappointing I think and regret

I’ve listened an hour or two writing this, and write with a heavy heart. The language is polished as you would expect. I’m sure the story and telling made sense to Jenni but it makes no sense to me, I fear. My fault more than the author, perhaps.... I think I might read for myself.

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3 people found this helpful

Beautifully written but a but a bit long winded

While the narration and quality of writing was wonderful (and at times even poetic), there was a tendency to go off into tangents with each character’s thoughts. This was an interesting way of story telling as it follows several characters and time lines surrounding this one area but some of these drag on a bit or don’t really go anywhere. With that said I’m satisfied with the main plot and how it all ends. If you’re looking for something a little outside the box then I’d recommend this, just be warned that while this is an average length for an audiobook, it can feel a lot longer with the pacing.

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Fantastically dark.

Another fantastic novel from Jenni Fagan (if you haven't already, listen to Panopticon and Sunlight Pilgrims, you don't be disappointed!). Luckenbooth is fantastically dark, and brings to life to undercurrent of Edinburgh, touching on all the best Scottish literary tropes. It's a fiery novel too, with strong political sentiment weaved through the characters lives. A very profound novel for the world we live in today.

The characters are strong and I feel as though I've met each one personally. The narration is great, with actors taking several characters each. This isn't an issue as the writing and performance set them apart. One of the Scottish accents is off which grates a bit, but thankfully it's not a main character, so we don't encounter much of it.

I highly recommend the book.

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9 people found this helpful

brilliantly written and performed

such a gripping book where the 9 storey building becomes a malevolent character in its own right

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1 person found this helpful

Worth a look

I struggled to get into this book at first, glad I persevered though, I think you have to really get the characters and then it makes a lot more sense and becomes absorbing!
The narrators were great I love a Scottish accent anyway, the American one less so but he wasn't irritating, the story still unfolded well in his chapters, however I really didn't rate his attempt at a Scottish accent 😆

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Another great story by Jenni.

A tale through Edinburgh time. Twisty, turny and weird as f. Really enjoyed this work. Would recommend to those looking for a journey into the strange.

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4 people found this helpful

Leaves you wanting more

The story left me wanting more, in a good way! I felt it was a snapshot into each character’s slice of time, and left me wanting to learn more about Jessie. I guess this might have been the author’s point - it was a life cut short and then decades, centuries move on… worked great as an audio book too!

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Weird. Intriguing. Dark.

I’d imagine this to be very Marmite: Some may love it; but too weird, complex and dark for me. Enjoyed the many references to Edinburgh though.

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A book that hooks into you.

The words come for you, let them in because you want the story as a companion. This book lifts time as a talisman. It cleaves across you, showing you how a place can huddle up, how it can be a hand me down. It is written as a winged beast for you to ride and hate dismouning from.

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Compelling, Unusual Story

I downloaded this book, as I had previously listened to The Panopticon, which I loved and as a consequence I have decided that, Jenni Fagan is one of my favourite discoveries.

This is a very unusual book, but beautifully written and performed, my only complaint is that there were a couple of very interesting characters who left the book without us finding out what happened to them. I imagine it was because there was so much going on, that some fell by the wayside?

Jenni Fagan doesn't shy away from foul language, or foul people, so probably not for the easily shocked.
For everyone else, give it a go, with an open mind.

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