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Title: A Respectable Trade
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Manufacturer: Touchstone
List Price: $16.00
Our Price: $8.70
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| Customer Reviews: |
| A Respectable Trade by Touchstone Very sad...but ultimately, silly | As an African-American woman, I found parts of this book absolutely painful to read. I was alternately in tears and furiously angry at Gregory's unflinching portrayal of the horrors of the slave trade and the racist attitudes of those who profited from it. I knew there could be no "happy ending" in which the slave trade did not continue, and I was sad to note that some racist attitudes are still prevalent today. As a result, I almost did not finish the book.
However, the book quickly segued into a regular old Harlequin romance - improbable at best, and as one previous reviewer noted, with far too many loose ends. I finished it, and learned from it, but I was only entertained by it in the most eye-rolling of ways. | | A Respectable Trade by Touchstone I couldn't finish the book... | | I got through half of the book before I became so bored that I read the last chapter to find out what happens to the characters. The whole premise of European brutality towards African slaves becomes mundane repitition and nothing new or insightful is brought to light through the experiences of either Francis or Mehuru. It comes as no surprise that they fall in love nor is it the least bit interesting to read in light that the whole black man/woman smart, insightful slave and uncaring, raping, brutal white slaver stereotype is definitely overplayed. | | A Respectable Trade by Touchstone not of of Phillipa's best | | This book was not one of Phillipa's best novels. I was a little disappointed in it. | | A Respectable Trade by Touchstone snore...zzzzz...snore | Ok, I'm a true Gregory fan. I always have been since "Wideacre" but I mean...come on!
Her other books were exciting and made me want to keep reading! This one...it fell very, very short. I just couldn't bring myself to care about any of the characters. Yes, reading about how all the slaves were treated was heart-wrenching, but I get it. I would like to have some sort of plot to go along with that.
When I did get a plot, it was a slow moving and dull one. I knew what was going to happen before it did and that just made it even more boring. Gregory used to have such flare! What happened here? | | A Respectable Trade by Touchstone Not Up to Her Usual Standards | I am a big fan of Gregory's novels written about the Tudor period and the Virgin Earth books. So, I was desperate to read more of her sweeping historical dramas and feverishly began to read this book. I soon realized that there was something missing in the pages. Gregory seems to falter here with her rendering of characters. I agree with other reviewers who are mystified as to why Mehuru, whose noble character and pedigree Gregory takes great pains to make the reader understand, would ever fall in love with such a simpering, weak and bland woman. She has Mehuru paint Frances in such unflattering terms when he first comes to her house, and he never really refutes his original opinion of her. Why on earth would a man so confident and dignified love a woman with no redeeming characteristics?
Gregory usually does a great job of creating her characters with all their charms and follies, so that you can't help but like (if not exactly loathe) even the most debased or wicked. It almost feels like she plotted out this book and sold the concept, but when it came to write it, she lost her stride or interest in telling a compelling story.
If you are new to Philippa Gregory, don't start with this book or you might not want to move on to her better novels -- which are not to be missed by anyone who enjoys reading historical fiction. | | A Respectable Trade by Touchstone Product Description | | Bristol in 1787 is booming, a city where power beckons those who dare to take risks. Josiah Cole, a small dockside trader, is prepared to gamble everything to join the big players of the city. But he needs capital and a well-connected wife. Marriage to Frances Scott is a mutually convenient solution. Trading her social contacts for Josiah's protection, Frances finds her life and fortune dependent on the respectable trade of sugar, rum, and slaves. Into her new world comes Mehuru, once a priest in the ancient African kingdom of Yoruba, now a slave in England. From opposite ends of the earth, despite the difference in status, Mehuru and Frances confront each other and their need for love and liberty. |
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