Trespass

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The argument ran that this tendency has in some cases become so extreme that one would wonder if the protagonist is even a functional human being. I am not going to argue that protagonists be perfect, but I agree with the blog author's argument that all too often main characters are *uninterestingly* flawed. The flaw (or flaws) neither helps develop the story in a useful way and/or it is too extreme for words. The story is compelling; I couldn't put it down, reading well into the night to see how it would resolve itself. I felt a great appreciation for being born in a time and a place where a young woman has choices in life, as Eliza struggles with the limitations of 18th Century society. As a teenager, Tess falls into environmental activism – and the arms of a charismatic older protester. When he suddenly disappears, leaving her pregnant and alone, her happiness is shattered. Slowly, though, she rebuilds a life for herself and her daughter Mia.

Trespass by Clare Clark | Goodreads Trespass by Clare Clark | Goodreads

Condition: Like New. Publisher: Harvest/Harcourt, NY, 2006. First Softcover Edition, First Printing. FINE softcover book in pictorial/illustrated wraps, as issued. Not remainder marked. Not a book club edition. Not an ex-library copy.

Ugaz’s case is all too familiar in Peru, where powerful groups regularly use the courts to silence journalists by fabricating criminal allegations against them.’ Anche la cupola di St. Paul, anche se di sfondo alle riflessioni della protagonista, viene personificata più volte: prima paragonata a una donna incita con la cupola protesa come un pancione, in seguito assume quasi il ruolo di giudice divino, pronta a giudicare gli atti di Eliza quando deve compiere una decisione.

Trespass by Clare Clark | Waterstones Trespass by Clare Clark | Waterstones

Other problems with this book: unlikeable characters (the annoying heroine feels sorry enough for herself so we don't have to), overwrought descriptions, and a few more I might find if I ever bother to read the second half of the book (fat chance!) This book really really was a doozy. When I first began reading, I thought for sure it would be a 2 star, or possibly a low 3. I actually contemplated giving this one a 4, but the slow beginning made me round down. This is a fascinating, but at times very dry, piece of historical fiction that delves into the dark space that exists between medicine and science and mythology and superstition that existed in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. As a young woman, Tess falls into activism and the influence of a charismatic environmental protester. She has never been happier. When he suddenly disappears, leaving her pregnant and alone, she is devastated. Gradually Tess rebuilds her life with her baby daughter Mia. William, an emotionally scarred veteran of the Crimean War, throws himself into this work, hoping to quiet the memories of that ghastly military adventure. He reminds himself again and again that a successful engineer is "regular in his habits, steady, disciplined, methodical in his problem-solving." William is ordinarily a paragon of those virtues, but when the pressure of maintaining that regulated life becomes too much for him, he slinks deep into the sewer to slash his arms and thighs with a knife.

I wish that we could give half stars, because I would rather give this one 4.5 stars instead of 5 because I could have done without all of the references to body fluids. Is it really necessary to know how the main characters urinate, defecate, vomit or bleed? The story would have been just as good without all of that. Which is why I would say this book is not for everybody. It is certainly not for the faint of heart.

Trespass by Clare Clark | Hachette UK Trespass by Clare Clark | Hachette UK

Clark has created a tragic, deeply sympathetic man, incapable of reconciling the horrors of his battle experience with the prim regularity of Victorian life. At home, he's a gentle husband to his ferociously cheery wife; at the office, he's an aloof but brilliant engineer. But sometimes -- oh, sometimes -- the strain is overwhelming, and only the knife can relieve him, make him feel alive, provide him with a pain "on the outside . . . something he could hold on to, something he could control." The wincing detail of these self-mutilation scenes raises the novel's pitch -- which is always high -- to a shriek. It's a fast read, but the prose gets tedious quite fast too. I understand that the author is a history expert of some sort, and that the early 18th century setting of the story calls for a style of writing that matches the time. But it seems unbelievable that a book written from the point of view of a midwife's daughter should contain ample servings of similes, metaphors, and an extensive vocabulary! The author goes overboard with her descriptions and prose, perhaps because of a deep love for that period in London's history. I can understand that. So I soldiered on until halfway through when I got to this sentence: "I swallowed a blade of dread so sharp that it seemed to pierce my gullet." That was all I could take. These midwives' daughters, they really should learn the meaning of restraint. The Nature of Monsters is told by Eliza Tally, a coarse (hence the language), headstrong young woman living in England in the early 1700's. The question you consider throughout the book is what really makes a monster? Is it a child born deformed mentally or physically? Is it a mother's self-serving actions to promote herself at her child's expense? Is it a young woman's bad choices that brand her a harlot? It it a man's quest to do evil in the name of God? Is it standing by while someone is hurt and you do nothing? Like her other novel, The Nature of Monsters, Clare Clark accomplishes two things with The Great Stink. One, is a powerful (and queasily wonderful) evocation of the sights, sounds and smells of a by-gone London. In this case, the city of the Victorian Age c. 1860. The greatest city in the world is drowning in its own filth, and Parliament has reluctantly begun funding an enormous public works project that will modernize the capital's sewers. Say what you like about Clark's other qualities as a writer but even her harshest critics must admit to a marvelous facility for describing urban life that is vivid and economical - using just the correct amount of adjective and simile to create 19th century London (at least the London that existed for most of its inhabitants - unhealthy, foul, and full of men and women brutalized almost beyond humanity by the misery of their lives).This was a most unusual book. A murder mystery set in Victorian England does not invoke anything out of the ordinary but... this story revolves around the woefully inadequate sewage system and an engineer who was chosen to assist in the design to modernize it. The main character, William May, is a truly disturbed man whose effort to tame his demons, within the literal bowels of the great city, fails him on every level. They drove through a pine wood for a long time, then down a narrow lane with long grass like a mohawk in the middle that rustled against the belly of the car. Halfway down, where the lane turned sharply, her mum stopped the car.

Trespass by Clare Clark | Waterstones

I read the comments of other Goodreads followers only after I had got about halfway through the book, some I agree with, others, I can see their point of view as I don't enjoy everything that I read either! This book fell into the very enjoyable category which surprised me as it is totally out if my normal reading genre. I really enjoyed these characters,especially Long Arm Tom and his relationship with Lady, the dog. I thought the details were wonderful, the intrigue or mystery part of the story was well done and I liked the resolution of the story. All in all I was very pleased with this book and I'm looking forward to reading more from Clare Clark. Clark also seems to equate a dark, Gothic story with description upon description of bad smells, human feces (don't forget consistency and color), urine, chamber pots, and any other grotesque flavor of 18th Century London she could imagine. There are flowers in the memorial vase, bright splats of red and pink and orange like a kid’s painting. Zinnias. He has always hated zinnias. The sun blazes against the dark granite of the head-stone, making the gold letters gleam.Set in the 1700’s. The book starts out with a woman fleeing from a devastating fire. Then it jumps ahead 50 or so years and we meet Eliza who is a young woman all worked up over a sexy young man. The opening scene was something akin to an erotica novel but you won’t hear me complain. Eliza’s mother is the local midwife but fears being accused of witchcraft and wants to have her daughter safely wed to someone with lots of cash and property before it happens. Thus she encourages her daughter towards the wealthy and randy young fellow and performs a hand fasting ceremony. Pregnancy immediately follows and once the dupe realizes he isn’t legally wed he hightails it out of there and she’s left penniless, ruined and nauseous because of the “worm” in her belly. Ah, the best laid plans.