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Summary: This is art in a rare and beautiful form.
Review: One cannot express a feeling so intense and poignant, as I have felt after reading this book. It is a beautiful, haunting tale that leaves you searching your own soul for answers and questions. I tought about it for days after reading it and remain to do so every now and then with the same vivid emotions. It left me emotionally drained, having run through the whole gamut during the reading, but also with a new knowledge of human character and of the human psyche. This is an absolute must read for one who appreciates beautiful language and a masterwork.
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Summary: Truly a work of art
Review: I read this book when I was hardly 12 years old. I found it in a second hand store on top of some dusty old boxes. The cover interested me because it was so new and seemingly untouched. I took it home and spent that entire summer reading it again and again, thoroughly emmersed in a world that changed my life. I learned to really read from this book. I learned what it meant to create and to become a writer myself because this book was a work of art I had never experienced before. It made me aware of the imagination and inspirations that surround us. Koen created this beatifully woven history and story and brought to life a time period that has long been past. It filled my life with a direction that is present today. I have since read countless short stories, novels, books and so on by great authors like Vonnegut and Faulkner. But none will ever mean as much to me as Koen. Thank you.
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Summary: An incredible author of romance and intrigue!
Review: Kathleen Koen intricately weaves a story capturing both your heart and imagination. She is a master at surprises and breaks your heart dealing with the bare truth. I have never, in my 40+ years of reading, enjoyed a novel this much.
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Summary: girl gets boy and suffers the consequences
Review: I first read this book about ten years ago, when I was not much older than the heroine. Since then I read it about once a year, and the subtle characterisation, wry observations on human nature, and lavish historical settings never fail to delight me.
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Summary: This is a true classic
Review: Karleen Koen has written a book that equals if not surpassing "Gone With The Wind". This is not your typical trivial romance novel. This novel is rife with emotions, intrigue and heartbreak. If you truly want a book to entertain you, then this is it. Thank you Karleen Koen.
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Summary: I NEVER RETURNED THIS BOOK TO THE LENDER
Review: This book was lent to me by a neighbor. I loved it so much I never returned it, later she said it was all right for me to keep it. Since 1995, I've read it over and over more than ten times. All the characters are very memorable, from the littlest baby, William Alderley to the heroine, Barbara Devane. I can't find the right words to write a review that is worth the beauty of this book.
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Summary: Koen's books are much meatier than the fluffy romance fare.
Review: On the surface, Karleen Koen's books may appear to be nothing more than historical romance fluff. You know, the typical muscle-clad hero meets independent but distressed damsel; the two parry and thrust (if you will excuse the phrase) and then, finally, succumb to the throes of passion. Natuarally, this all occurs in some exotic, historical loacle. Koen's books have the fluffy exterior but the interior is much,much meatier than any historical romance I have ever read. "Through a Glass Darkly" is set in 18th century England and France. The main character, or heroine, is a young girl in love with an older, fatherly type gentleman. As is the case with most young , headstrong girls, the heroine's passions rule her actions and cloud her judgement. After marrying the man of her dreams, she learns the shocking and devestating truth about his character. Because I hold this book in such I high esteem, and because I would like you to enjoy it as heartily as I did, I will not divulge any more of the plot. I will say that there are more turns and twists in this novel, and the sequel "Now Face To Face," than the most harrowing and breathtaking of rollercoaster rides! As trite as it may sound, expect the unexpected in these books. The hero and heroine's are not nearly as pretty, the locales not nearly as exotic. Nevertheless, there is more substance to this book than any fluffy Harelequin. If you love history, and Koen loads her books with fascinating historical anecdotes and trivia, then you will love these books. However, if you are looking for the formulaic boy meets girl and lives happily ever after in fairyland, don't even consider these books. The characters are colorful, diabolical, interesting, and admirable...far from formulaic.
Happy Reading. Let me know what you think
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Summary: Why Has It Taken Me So Long To Read This Book?
Review: I had heard about this book some time ago, but only just got around to reading it recently. Most likely because I have an unsatiable hunger for GOOD historical fiction. "Through A Glass Darkly" more than hits the mark for qualifying in this category. I found the beginning a bit slow, but it could have just taken me some time to get used to the large cast of characters. After that, the book just sails. At first, I found young Barbara's declared "love" for the much older Roger to be a bit much, too unbelievable by far. Of course, I realized it only adds to the degree of pain the heroine suffers when she discovers the hidden truth to Roger. Any experienced reader will be able to pick up the many clues to Roger's BIG SECRET which are peppered throughout the first half of the book, prior to it's revelation. A host of strong secondary characters play integral roles in moving this story forward. The Duchess, Barbara's grandmother is a fiesty old battle axe whose presence adds some humor to the tale. Barbara's mother, Diana , flawlessly plays the role of a woman who whores herself for her own selfish purposes . Diana's nemesis, her sister in law and Barbara's aunt Abigail is another humorous character; a busbody trying to advance the interests of her son Tony, the current Duke of Tamworth. At first Tony come off as a fat bumbling idiot, but by the end of the book he's a slim, dashing young man, who happens to be in love with his cousin Barbara. What a tangled web. I found myself rooting for Tony and Barbara to end up together. I was thrilled to learn of the sequel "Now Face To Face," in the hopes they may end up together yet. This book is more historical fiction than a true romance. It covers, in great detail, economics, politics and social mores of early 1700's England. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves big beefy works of historical fiction. It will not disappoint.
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Summary: Why Has It Taken Me So Long To Read This Book?
Review: I had heard about this book some time ago, but only just got around to reading it recently. Most likely because I have an unsatiable hunger for GOOD historical fiction. "Through A Glass Darkly" more than hits the mark for qualifying in this category. I found the beginning a bit slow, but it could have just taken me some time to get used to the large cast of characters. After that, the book just sails. At first, I found young Barbara's declared "love" for the much older Roger to be a bit much, too unbelievable by far. Of course, I realized it only adds to the degree of pain the heroine suffers when she discovers the hidden truth to Roger. Any experienced reader will be able to pick up the many clues to Roger's BIG SECRET which are peppered throughout the first half of the book, prior to it's revelation. A host of strong secondary characters play integral roles in moving this story forward. The Duchess, Barbara's grandmother is a fiesty old battle axe whose presence adds some humor to the tale. Barbara's mother, Diana , flawlessly plays the role of a woman who whores herself for her own selfish purposes . Diana's nemesis, her sister in law and Barbara's aunt Abigail is another humorous character; a busbody trying to advance the interests of her son Tony, the current Duke of Tamworth. At first Tony come off as a fat bumbling idiot, but by the end of the book he's a slim, dashing young man, who happens to be in love with his cousin Barbara. What a tangled web. I found myself rooting for Tony and Barbara to end up together. I was thrilled to learn of the sequel "Now Face To Face," in the hopes they may end up together yet. This book is more historical fiction than a true romance. It covers, in great detail, economics, politics and social mores of early 1700's England. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves big beefy works of historical fiction. It will not disappoint.
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Summary: Ten stars please
Review: This brilliant, if weighty novel made its appearance sometime around 1986. Lush and engrossing, it is truly like no other novel. A hybrid of romance, historical fact, and mystery (though not in the usual sense) it is difficult to write a compelling review of this work without giving away some of its secrets. And secrets it does possess. Perhaps the reason for my reticence will be explained when I describe the circumstances which first brought me to this work. Rifling though a bin at one of the major book retailers in Manhattan (the bin containing books with no jacket), this intriguing title caught my eye. With not inside flap to offer any description and no review blurbs on the back, I was at a loss as to what I was about to encounter. Finding the style easy and flowing, and the story interesting enough, I leisurely padded my way through the first several chapters. But then something happened. Call it a "hook," call it anything you will, but the can of worms Koen opened up with the development of the characters took hold and there was simply not putting this book down. Innocent, young and pretty Barbara Anderley has led a sheltered life. When she and her sister and brothers were abandoned by her courtesan mother, they were taken in by a doting grandmother. Life on their 18th century country estate was a somewhat isolated and protected one. We follow Barbara from age 15 up until she is 21, and if we thought her formative years were an education, what she learns about her husband, his peccadilloes, sex in general, and the world around her will make most heads spin. If you look up "dark secrets" in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of Barbara's husband, Roger. Suffice it to say the trials and tribulations of married life that Barbara goes through will leave you gasping for air. Through a Glass Darkly is filled with sex scenes, but the descriptions are anything but offensive and they are so well woven into the plot that you won't be able to imagine the book without them. What happens to Barbara, the protagonist in the novel, and how Koen keeps the tension up to the climax is sheer genius.
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