Rating: 
Summary: awesome
Review: In a novel whose plot revolves around a spisterish lady in 19th century England who visits prisoners at the goal (prison), Waters shines as an author. Margaret Prior visits those lonely souls at the gaol in Victorian England where she meets Selina Dawes, a self-professed medium/spiritualist in prison for doing harm to a young girl and causing the death of her hostess. Reading this book I wondered to myself if Sarah Waters hadn't perhaps been in communication or channeling the spirits of Anne Radcliffe and/or Jane Austin as she was writing. Affintity is a sensous novel delicately written in a hybrid of gothic and Victorian styles with the sensibility of the 21st century. Waters' writing style is beautiful, her prose luminescent and descriptive without being overly descriptive as to take away from the plot. This novel is creepy, with high tension without being melodramatic or artificial. In short I happily recommend this novel to readers no matter what their tastes normally run to, it is suitable and appealing on many levels, to an eclectic audience. So if you're looking for a good Victorian novel but have read all the Bronte Sisters' and Austin's not to mention many other fine female novelists of the period go read AFFINITY.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautifully Written
Review: Reading this book was like riding a smooth roller coaster. It told you a beautiful story and gave you a punch in the end that would make Saki smile. This story can be read on several levels, like many readers have discovered. I don't however, consider it to be "lesbian" fiction. It is purely about passion and goes beyond gender, like Selena's spirit friends. The story is quite simple really, Selena Dawes is in prison for fraud and assault. When she was free she used to be a spiritualist and had a control spirit, Peter Quick, who hurt a young girl. Margaret Prior is a visitor to the prison, a lady who talks to the prisoners to make them "better", to teach them how to be a lady like her. Margaret falls in love with Selena, but a conspiracy is already brewing and Margaret is the perfect pawn for Selena and her key to freedom beyond the dreary prison walls. The story is a mystery, a one-sided romance, a love triangle, a passionate depiction of the Victorian world seen from the prison walls. By the end of the story, the reader gets the feeling, that Selena took Margaret's identity, while Margaret became a prisoner herself. Amazingly written, this story demands attention, respect and complete loyalty. I couldn't stop reading it and I couldn't find flaws with it, I was swept away into a strange world, where the people are caught in strange dealings, but the emotions are the same as yours and mine. A worthy read.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: Having already read and fallen in love with Waters' first novel "Tipping the Velvet," I must admit I expected more of the same when I picked up "Affinity." Boy, was I wrong!Waters has proven herself as a masterful storyteller, crafting tales that draw the reader in and do not let go. I found myself reading at all hours of the day and night, unable to stop turning the pages, absolutely absorbed in the tale unfolding before me. As I read this novel, I found myself falling in love with Selina Dawes, my heart broken by the dark story behind Margaret Prior's stint as a Lady Visitor, and so desperate to know what happens that by the end my head was spinning. My husband sat and just watched me read, my reactions so visceral that I was gripping the book, grimacing in ache and surprise as the story unfolded, and breathing raggedly, wildly, as I rushed headlong to the astounding ending. This is not your run-of-the-mill mystery, gothic or otherwise. It is sensual, dark and entrancing, and I highly recommend "Affinity" to anyone looking for a good yarn. I have "Fingersmith" waiting to be read, but am enduring a torturous wait before diving into it, desperate to know what fabulous tale Ms. Waters has prepared for me, but painfully aware that once I have devoured it, there will be no more to sate my desire for this woman's fabulous work... And so I wait...
Rating:
Summary: Wow, what a book!
Review: A thriller set in Victorian England, I stayed up late into the night finishing this one. There were many twists & turns and the ending was a total surprise, the ending actually left me feeling outraged. I will read this again sometime soon to see what little details along the way I missed the first time. The story is of a high-strung spinster who becomes a regular "visitor" to a women's prison where the conditions are wretched. She meets a woman inmate who was a practicing spiritualist before being imprisoned and is still apparently in touch with the world of spirits. I have also read Sarah Waters' "Tipping the Velvet" and enjoyed that as well, another Victorian setting, but more "bawdy", a lesbian coming out story. "Affinity" is for anyone who enjoys occult thrillers, historical novels or the spiritualist period in Victorian England.
Rating: 
Summary: slow-paced; poorly written; unsexy
Review: I picked this up at my local library after reading heaps of praise for Sarah Waters and her three books: Tipping the Velvet, Affinity, and Fingersmith. I just wanted a good, well-written, engrossing novel featuring juicy lesbian interaction and a perhaps enlightening Victorian slice of life. Seems reasonable, right? Wrong. I consider myself a fairly literate person but I could barely get through Affinity. Picking up this book became a chore- not that it's written with difficult or esoteric verbage...it's just simple-minded, clumsy, and BORING. Sarah Waters employs the device of storytelling via diary entries...current ones from the heroine, Margaret, and ones from a few years back from her would-be lover, Selina...Having to constantly flashback several years becomes maddening as Margaret's entries are far more interesting and contains much more "voice" than the drab Selina's. As for the book's lesbian content... Not hot, sorry. For instance, Waters (through Margaret) continually describes Selina- the supposed [symbol of sex] and object of desire- as waifish, homely, greasy-haired, and with cracked lips and red hands...Who the heck knows why Margaret or anyone else would find this woman attractive or potential romance with her enticing. Margaret's physical appearance is never described and since she is your typical "plucky" outspoken type (her public behavior, by the way, is completely out of time in Victorian England, I might add) I had no sense of her being attractive or interesting. There is no heat to this book. It is chilly and cold as the jail cells in which it takes place. I'd also like to add that the "twist" at the end is laughably bad.
Rating:
Summary: SPIRITUALISM AND VICTORIAN GAOLS
Review: Arguably, Sarah Waters is one of the most prolific contemporary authors of Victorian fiction. She has a gift of creating realistic and three-dimensional female protagonists immersed in a Victorian London setting that comes alive. In AFFINITY Margaret, a young spinster, is battling many personal demons. Her beloved father recently passed away, her secret lover chose her brother over her, and her overbearing mother is treating her like a child. Margaret's world takes a turn when she volunteers as a Lady Visitor for Millbank, a London gaol set along the banks of the Thames. As she immerses herself into the lives of the female prisoners Margaret becomes enchanted with one particular prisoner named Selena who is incarcerated for fraud and assault during one of her spiritualist sittings. The relationship between Margaret and Selena develops into deep friendship and love containing aspects of spiritualism that threatens the well being of both women. Similar to FINGERSMITH, Sarah Waters provides enough plot twists and turns to keep the reader's attention along with an unanticipated ending. It was truly difficult for me to put this book down as I simply had to know what was going to happen next. Thinner than her two other novels, AFFINITY still packs a punch by providing an enduring plot with insightful characters. Despite my enjoyment, my main complaint centers on Waters' consistent use (or lack thereof) of quotation marks and punctuation. This aspect often interrupted my flow of reading and soon became a distraction. In addition, the narration often jumped from first to third person and it was somewhat too jolting for my comfort in many sections of the book. Despite these technical qualms I recommend AFFINITY to those who enjoyed her other books (FINGERSMITH and TIPPING THE VELVET) and by fans of Victorian fiction in general.
Rating:
Summary: Part Victorian with a Touch of Gothic
Review: Sarah Waters' Affinity is a beautiful novel. The author captures a time with tremondous skill and evokes a atmosphere, both Gothic and Victorian, until it is practically dripping from the page. Her real skill is in providing a story that is as absorbing as the atmosphere swirling around it. This woman visitor, Margaret Prior, to the women's ward of Millbank prison provides a character and a narrative voice to carry the reader through both the chill of cold horror and the warmth of her erotic tinglings with equal skill. The spiritualist prisoner she meets in prison, Selina Dawes, is a wonderful and original fictional creation that will haunt the reader as much as it does the lady visitor. A fine read.
Rating:
Summary: Great...for any other author
Review: This is a tough review. I have read both of Ms. Waters other books, 'Fingersmith' which is fantastic and 'Tipping the Velvet' which is very good. 'Affinity' is her third and latest book. And its good well written etc but there's the rub for me, the style is there but not the substance. Maybe its the style of writing, diary entries back and forth or something, the book just does not seem to flow as well as the others to me. Ms. Waters' books are very character driven and I just did not 'connect' to either of the characters in this one. As always the surroundings and feel of the period are there but in this book that almost overwhelms the characters themselves.
But again this is a good book. Its a good read..an afternoon into the evening type thats hard to put down. Four stars, to me, mean a better then average read and this book clearly is that. Its just not as great as her other two books in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: Having already read and fallen in love with Waters' first novel "Tipping the Velvet," I must admit I expected more of the same when I picked up "Affinity." Boy, was I wrong! Waters has proven herself as a masterful storyteller, crafting tales that draw the reader in and do not let go. I found myself reading at all hours of the day and night, unable to stop turning the pages, absolutely absorbed in the tale unfolding before me. As I read this novel, I found myself falling in love with Selina Dawes, my heart broken by the dark story behind Margaret Prior's stint as a Lady Visitor, and so desperate to know what happens that by the end my head was spinning. My husband sat and just watched me read, my reactions so visceral that I was gripping the book, grimacing in ache and surprise as the story unfolded, and breathing raggedly, wildly, as I rushed headlong to the astounding ending. This is not your run-of-the-mill mystery, gothic or otherwise. It is sensual, dark and entrancing, and I highly recommend "Affinity" to anyone looking for a good yarn. I have "Fingersmith" waiting to be read, but am enduring a torturous wait before diving into it, desperate to know what fabulous tale Ms. Waters has prepared for me, but painfully aware that once I have devoured it, there will be no more to sate my desire for this woman's fabulous work... And so I wait...
Rating:
Summary: SUPERB!!!
Review: Without going into a lot of detail, I just feel the need to express how wonderfully written and suspensful this was. It seemed to take a little while to get to the action, but every page and description is necessary to draw you ever deeper into the story and for the characters to become fully developed. The ending will mesmerize you and while the twist is not wholly unpredictable, it is the passion with which it is told that will move you. Give it a try!
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