2 stars I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. It had some really good reviews and sounded like it would be quite interesting. It was interesting, but it wasn’t very well written. I finished it, only because it wasn’t too long, but I feel like I wasted my time. Perhaps I would enjoy the original writings of Isabella Bird, but I'm inclined to think not. My biggest complaint about the book is the lack of consistency in verb usage. It would switch from past tense to present tense without any apparent explanations. This was jarring every time it happened and left me beyond frustrated. It completely hampered my ability to enjoy the story. There were also so abrupt interruptions in the timeline (moving from one scene to another without clear transitions). The other thing that bothered me, although I can’t really criticize the book for this, was the violence. I admit I can be squeamish, and it bothers me more than most when I read about people or animals being hurt. Descriptions of hunting, Mountain Jim’s encounter with a bear, even the treatment of the horses by the Hawaiians… All of it bothered me. And when I read descriptions of Miss Bird’s travels, I honestly had trouble believing they were not embellished. Some of it was just too fantastical. Believe it or not, this ties into my complaint about violence, because Miss Bird was in so many situations which should have gravely injured her, but she continued to put herself in these situations again and again, with no hesitancy. To me, they were cringe-worth. As I mentioned earlier, I didn’t enjoy the book and I don’t feel I gained much from reading it, other than knowing about another feminist from the annals of history who did remarkable things. I don’t know if this book was the best source for that information, but it’s where I learned about it, so I must give it credit for that. I think I would advise anyone interested in the content to look for the original writings of Isabella Lucy Bird. And because I don’t want to leave this review without any compliments for the author, I did enjoy the phrase used to describe prostitutes: ladies of negotiable affections. June 27, 2022
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Elizabeth J ConnorWriter. Editor. Proofreader. Archives
September 2022
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