Demelza

For a few days after I finished this book, I was surprised that I wasn't still reading it. Part of my brain was still living in Cornwall in the 1790s. Which I suppose speaks to how engrossing the book actually was and my desire to find out what happens next to Ross, Demelza, Verity, Elizabeth and all the rest. This isn't my usual fare, but it's definitely growing on me.

I appreciated Graham's prose in this book more than the first one, which I think speaks more to my frame of mind than the writing itself. In the last few weeks, I've been feeling my brain turn back on and I'm starting to appreciate more complicated writing again instead of just gorging on lighter, fluffy stuff. This book requires a bit more attention than I was initially expecting, but it rewards it. That said, I still struggled with the crowd scenes - Graham tends to jump around a room and require his reader to follow three or four distinct conversations at once. I'm also having a hard time keeping up with the enormous cast.

But those complaints are minor. As I get farther from this book, I find myself liking it more and more. The good bits are sticking in my mind. And a lot of that is Demelza, who has evolved into an incredibly fun character. I'm still a bit daunted by the length of this series (says the woman who read The Wheel of Time in a year), but I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next.

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