Litsy

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I was initially drawn to this book because of the beautiful cover but luckily it‘s also fantastic historical fiction.
Taking place in the late 1890s, we meet newly widowed, Cora, who is ready to embrace her new freedom and, inspired by Mary Anning, explore the world around her. Tales of a killer sea serpent are at the center of the story. There were so many characters I grew to love.
Read if you like strong female mc bucking the norm.
🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉

PaperbackPirate Thank you @Librarybelle for hosting the #literarycrew #buddyread! 2mo

Librarybelle Thanks for joining! I am very drawn to the cover too! 2mo

batsy It's a good one! So glad I read it too. 2mo

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PaperbackPirate

The Essex Serpent | Sarah Perry

I was so close to reaching my #FabulousFebruary #20in4 Readathon goal!
219/251 pages
Falling asleep during a readathon is my downfall too often.
But I loved this book and the motivation the readathon gave me to read a little more every day!
Thank you @Andrew65 !
#bookly

Andrew65 Well done 👏👏👏🙌🎉🎊🥳 1mo

40 likes1 comment

BookWrym

The Essex Serpent | Sarah Perry

pick

Interesting story about a mythical serpent, about starting afresh, about finding true friendship, about finding yourself and moving on with life.

I like the balance between mythology and science and how certain things in the story can be interpreted either way depending on the reader.

Great descriptions of Essex and the landscape made you feel you were really there.

Librarybelle Great review! 2mo

batsy I really liked it, too! 2mo

8 likes2 comments

BookwormAHN

The Essex Serpent | Sarah Perry

pick

I enjoyed this book and would have enjoyed it more if the narration had been better. This book is about Cora, who is recently widowed, heads to Essex to find their legendary serpent.
#LiteraryCrew @Librarybelle
#WickedWords #Lake @AsYouWish
#Litsylove

Librarybelle Glad you enjoyed it! 2mo

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I love this cover 💚💛💚💛 2mo

47 likes2 comments

Librarybelle

The Essex Serpent | Sarah Perry

#LiteraryCrew friends: it‘s time for the discussion! I have 8 questions posted as spoilers. You may find them on my feed, the book‘s feed, or searching for #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead .

While I try not to post too many questions with big spoilers within the question, this time there are a few. Fair warning, in case you haven‘t finished the book but wish to preview the questions!

Our March book is Hour of the Witch. I‘ll post a reminder tomorrow!

rubyslippersreads, LaraReads, mjdowens, melissajayne, Jerdencon, Crazeedi, tpixie, IMASLOWREADER, Cuilin, PurpleyPumpkin, Deblovestoread, batsy, BookwormM, Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks, Bluebird, rwmg, CatLass007, Mollyanna, BookwormAHN, PaperbackPirate, Sargar114, emz711, KristiAhlers, PageShifter, julieclair, AllDebooks, willaful

julieclair Not finished yet. Thanks for the heads up about the spoilers! 2mo

IMASLOWREADER same…life got in the way 😢 2mo

willaful I couldn't get past the first page. :-( Very rough month for me and I couldn't concentrate. 2mo

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Sargar114 I started but don‘t know if I‘ll be able to finish. I may bail and try next months, the subject matter seems real interesting 2mo

rubyslippersreads I‘m way behind, but I‘ll come back to the discussion when I‘m done. 2mo

PurpleyPumpkin I‘m still reading it and finding it very interesting! I‘ll be sure to circle back to the discussion when I‘m finished. 👍🏽 2mo

Librarybelle No worries at all! Finish when you can, or #HailTheBail ! @julieclair @IMASLOWREADER @willaful @Sargar114 @rubyslippersreads @PurpleyPumpkin 2mo

BookWrym I have just finished will look for the questions still learning my way round Litsy 2mo

Librarybelle @BookWrym Welcome to Litsy! I see you found the questions…hooray! Thanks for joining! 2mo

BookWrym @Librarybelle thanks for the welcome 😀 2mo

PaperbackPirate I loved it! Thank you for hosting! 🐉 2mo

Librarybelle Thanks for joining, @PaperbackPirate ! 2mo

Crazeedi @Librarybelle I've been MIA, so bust, I'll look for the questions later today , thanks Jess 2mo

Librarybelle No worries, @Crazeedi ! 2mo

53 likes14 comments

Librarybelle

The Essex Serpent | Sarah Perry

This post contains spoilers

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3. “I‘ll fill your wounds with gold”, Michael says. He means both literally that he will make sure Cora is financially comfortable during their marriage in exchange for the pleasure of hurting her, but also that he will remake her as something more beautiful & interesting than she was before. Cora survived her marriage, but was damaged by it. What do you think the seams of gold are in Cora‘s character? ~from RGG #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead

BookwormAHN I think it was her intelligence. 2mo

tpixie Not an answer to this question, but I had just read in another book recently about how the Japanese fix their pottery pieces with gold to make them even stronger. The coinkydink Of seeing this in one of my next books read was intriguing. It‘s funny how things happen sometimes. I did think her husband showed how cruel he was when he said that. 2mo

batsy I don't think that his statement had anything to do with Cora, but was just a reflection of a man who couldn't love something that he didn't break and put back together again. But perhaps it's Cora's curiosity and the sense of autonomy that stems from that. He wanted to break it. I'm not sure if that answers the question. 2mo

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Cuilin You know I‘d like to believe Cora had gold running through her before she met her husband. I think he tried to break her but was unsuccessful. Like @Batsy said it was a reflection on him and his cruelty. She was always going to survive. 2mo

BookWrym I am not sure about this Cora survives and thrives but how much of that is due to his repairing is beyond me I think you need to be strong yourself to survive this. 2mo

PaperbackPirate Her gold is being free from him and finally living life on her terms. 2mo

emz711 I think it's hard to know because we didn't know much about her character before marriage. 3w

10 likes7 comments

Librarybelle

The Essex Serpent | Sarah Perry

This post contains spoilers

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2. Many comparisons have been drawn between Sarah Perry‘s writing and the Victorian novelists who were writing at the time the book was set, including Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins. Do you think this book feels Victorian, or contemporary feel when she effectively provides hope in the form of bread each day? ~from Reading Group Guides #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead

BookwormAHN I haven't read Collins but I can see a little bit of Dickens in her writing style and in some of her characters. 2mo

batsy I think it did feel Victorian but also modern, in a sense. Although their styles are very different, this book reminded me of how Hilary Mantel does historical fiction. It doesn't just immerse you in another time and place, there's a kind of tension between old and new. Haven't read enough Dickens (shameful, I know 😁) but it didn't remind me of Wilkie Collins, who is someone I also enjoy. It feels like its own thing. 2mo

BookWrym To me it had a modern feeling I think the attitude and freedoms that Cora has are more modern than Victorian. I didn‘t see Dickens or Collins in the writing. 2mo

emz711 I can see the Wilkie Collins comparison, having just read him.
I'm not sure what kind of narration this is where you know what everyone is thinking and the view changes paragraph to paragraph. I thought I'd have a tougher time keeping track but it seemed to work okay. 3w

10 likes4 comments

Librarybelle

The Essex Serpent | Sarah Perry

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1. We're traveling to Essex this month for the book! I cannot help but think, as a lover of gothic stories myself (albeit very British-based gothic stories), that the setting is perfect. Have you ever visited Essex? Have you visited a place with a potential “sea monster“ lurking in the waters?

To get us in the location mood, here's a site that will take us to Essex: https://www.visitessex.com/

#LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead

batsy I have not been to Essex and I'd love to. Perry is a descriptive writer and I thought she set up the atmosphere so well. I've been looking up pictures and started watching the TV adaptation of the book, which is set in some areas in Essex that beautifully depict the marshes. 2mo

Jerdencon I haven‘t been to Essex but I was near where the Loch Ness monster was on a gloomy day - def sets the mood. 2mo

BookwormAHN I haven't been to Essex, but living in Louisiana I think a lake monster/Lake Placid sized alligator is very possible. 2mo

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Cuilin Not been to Essex, yet!! Though have been in many atmospheric coastal locations in Ireland where the mythology leaches into earth. 2mo

BookWrym Not been to Essex or anywhere with a water monster now I feel I need to. @BookwormAHN Lake Placid is one of my favourite films!! 2mo

BookwormAHN @Bookwyrm Mine too! 2mo

PaperbackPirate Funny coincidence: while reading this book I just traced my ancestry back to a man living in Essex in the 1500s so yes I would love to go there! It was already on my to-see list because I‘m a Mary Anning fan. 2mo

10 likes7 comments

PaperbackPirate

The Essex Serpent | Sarah Perry

#20in4 #FabulousFebruary update!
I‘ve read 128/251 pages so far with Bombadil‘s help.

I‘m going to make it @Librarybelle and @Andrew65 !#LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead

#DogsOfLitsy #TomBombadil

Jari-chan Aww 🥰😍 2mo

batsy Bombadil is too cute! 🖤 2mo

Librarybelle Hooray! And our pet families help us a lot with reading! ❤️ 2mo

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BookmarkTavern What a sweetheart! 💕 (edited) 2mo

AnnCrystal 💕😍🐶💝. 2mo

Traci1 Aww. I love that little face. ❤️ 2mo

dabbe That face! 🤩🖤🐾🖤🤩 2mo

Gissy 🐶😍❤️❤️❤️ 2mo

Andrew65 Well done 🎉🎉🎉 2mo

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batsy

The Essex Serpent | Sarah Perry

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I've been meaning to read this for years & I'm glad #LiteraryCrew gave me the push I needed. I greatly enjoyed it. Perry's writing is exquisite; loved her eye for detail & the lush, abundant descriptions of nature. I appreciated the complex characters & how invested I was in how things turned out for them. I loved the chilly beauty of Aldwinter & the strange sense of unease that permeates the book. All of it was right up my street. @Librarybelle

Librarybelle Beautiful review! So glad you were able to join us this month! 2mo

erzascarletbookgasm It‘s been on my shelf for a long time. Glad you enjoyed it! 2mo

Tamra I enjoyed the audio version. 😄 2mo

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batsy @Librarybelle Thank you for the opportunity! It's such a nice feeling to read something I already own 😆 and to find that I really like it. 2mo

batsy @erzascarletbookgasm I hope you like it when you get to it. A slow burn and a moody kind of book, but a good one imo 🙂 2mo

batsy @Tamra Nice! 2mo

Balibee146 This has been waiting and looking gorgeous in my shelves for years also. 2mo

LeahBergen I liked this one, too! 2mo

Centique I really enjoyed this too! And i may have already mentioned that the tv adaptation is worth watching as well 😍 2mo

batsy @Balibee146 It's a pretty book, isnt it 🙂 2mo

batsy @LeahBergen I am looking forward to checking out her other books! 2mo

batsy @Centique Yes, I remember! I'm hoping to be able to watch it. I want to remain in that world a little longer... 2mo

Cathythoughts Great review ❤️ The tv series is good too. 2mo

batsy @Cathythoughts Thank you, Cathy! I'm excited to check out the series 🤩 2mo

Rissreads What a gorgeous cover! 💛💚 2mo

batsy @Rissreads It's very pretty 😍 2mo

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