Rating: 
Summary: strong-hearted only need apply
Review: True enough, the language and imagery in this novel are graphic; nothing the slightest bit romantic here. Yes, the author uses some jarring techniques, where point of view is concerned. We don't know who's narrating for awhile; but whoever they are, they address both readers and characters in odd and disconcerting ways -- and they *do* seem pretty self-satisfied when they're doing it. Fact is, though, they have every reason to be that, I guess. I *did* care about the characters, and I think that the author did, too. I didn't find them stereotypical at all -- just very, very strange. But she's a great writer; and she has, herself, one very strong heart -- so her characters seem profoundly human to me not in spite of, but because of, their strangeness. I actually found myself thinking that the writer had a lot of guts; and a heart as open and compassionate as I can imagine a heart to be. One further word, I guess, on that odd point of view employed in this novel: no other point of view, in my opinion, could have so avoided facile ideological frames and so poignantly have taken us into certain corners of hell on earth, found and embraced the thing that makes us human, and given us so much reason to celebrate life. The "we" employed here seems pretentious and annoying to some readers, apparently; it did not seem so, to me.
Rating: 
Summary: Strong Stuff
Review: The story is of a pretty young prostitute who hires who hires a glamourous ballgown from a pimp to attract customers.She is the mother of a baby who was born with his heart outside his chest cavity.and attracts the attention of a young doctor who was involved in the infamous Burke and Hare scandal of body snatching and the murder of indigents to supply cadavers for medical schools.The prose is wonderful and the stench of filth,poverty and death remains in ones nostrils.This is life at its most degrading and the thought that people really lived like this is horrifying.You'll need a hot bath and a good hair scrub after reading this. This review previously earned 31 of 32 votes for me.
Rating:
Summary: Naked and Raw
Review: This is a story that has everything to do with life. Don't let the morbidity fool you; don't let the detail drag you down. Just take in the tale. By the stories' suprising end, your heart will be rapidly beating. And you will notice ... and be grateful.
Rating: 
Summary: If you are depressed, save this book for later!
Review: Cholera epidemic, poverty, prostitution, grave-robbing.... Could have been written by a deeply depressed Charles Dickens. However, this really was a very good book, difficult to put down. The prose is well done; it is obvious Holman was meticulous in her research of both historical and medical detail. The uniqueness of the plot will keep you reading in spite of its bleakness. This is not a light read, and as a caution to readers with sensitive natures, you really shouldn't read this if you aren't emotionally ready for it. It's humorless, but deep -- far from dull. Fans of historical settings and character analysis will appreciate this one.
Rating:
Summary: A different kind of book
Review: When I picked up this book I was actually looking for another book, but thought this my be a different kind of read. It certainly was. The writer has a unique style of writing that is both interesting and sometimes hard to follow. It is however a very clever story...it keeps drawing you back for more. A warning though...there are some parts in the novel that are not for the faint of heart so it is best to skip those pages.
Rating:
Summary: Middle of the road 3 stars
Review: I found this book interesting for the historical setting as well as the basic premise of the story-young dress lodger helps doctor procure bodies for anatomical study. Although the setting and storyline are mostly dark and dreary I did not find it to be an outright depressing book to read. I was disappointed in the story by the lack of character development; I never got a feel for who these characters really were, where they came from and what motivated them. I enjoyed the writing but the narrative bogged down in a few places. The narrator "themselves"-the dececrated dead- were an interesting avenue for the telling of the story but it would have been better if the reader could have completely understood at the beginning of the story who the narator was rather than having to wait until the end.
Rating: 
Summary: To call it mediocre would be a compliment!
Review: Some readers considered this a good historical novel. Obviously they appreciate neither literature nor history! "The Dress Lodger" perpetuates every stereotype of early-Victorian British working class misery, upper class indifference, and feminine Romanticism. It is "comic book" history. If you are interested in literature looking at this period, go directly to the sources. Read Wilkie Collins, Jane Austen and, yes, Dickens. Leave this pap to teenage girls. Someone at a publishing firm read this and approved it? What do editors do anymore?
Rating: 
Summary: Dismal, Pretentious, and Somewhat Incomplete
Review: I have to join the minority and admit that I found this book to be dark and self-consciously pretentious. The first two chapters trudge by slowly in absurdly circus-like narrative that ultimately has little to do with the main characters, though it causes the reader to desire more details about a lesser character named Fos. When you least expect or desire it in the ensuing chapters, the "come-hither, dear reader" narrator creeps back into the book. Although The Dress Lodger does become more readable and even somewhat intriguing if you can get past its beginning, the character development throughout seems odd and occasionally paradoxical. The historical elements are also incomplete. The Eye sparks some interest in the end -- a pity that the entire book and more wasn't written from her point-of-view. While this book does a good job of creating the bleak atmosphere of a lower-class community in 1800s England, the characters set in that environment are befuddling, utterly repellent and ultimately unmemorable.
Rating:
Summary: Death Sets the Tone
Review: While I foung the characters in this book interesting (their inner conflicts and character quirks made them truly human, not just stereotypes), the most prominent "character" was Death itself. It resides in the home, streets, the clothing of the people, the very air of the town. The voices of the dead speak clearly and are responded to. In their struggle to overcome grinding poverty and despair, the characters' primary battle is just to keep alive. Most of us who are fortunate enough to live comfortably, in this century, can't imagine the poverty the characters in this book experience, but Ms. Holman does a splendid job of describing their desperate lives to us. Each of the characters, including, and especially, Dr. Chiver, must grapple with his/her own conscience to determine how best to exist in the world of Victorian England in the midst of a cholera epidemic. The combination of satisfaction and pain Dr. Chiver feels upon obtaining a corpse for his anatomy students culminates in the horrifying final scene in which he must at last come to terms with, and face the consequences of, his own actions and attitudes. The gulf between the rich and the poor was wide and deep; neither understood the other, and we can see, in Chiver's fiancee, the forces that were at work to bridge that gulf. No one was portrayed as all bad or all good, and that was what made the people in this book so interesting to me. I found the subject and the plot fascinating and refreshingly different; however, the tidy ending left me dissatisfied. In my opinion, the ending weakened all that had gone before. Having said that, I still think it's a good read. Life vs. death, right vs. wrong, the gray areas that are reality are examined in a very interesting way in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Grim, Sad and Weird
Review: The plot description on the flyleaf of this book promised a fascinating story. It certainly was um...different. None of the characters was especially likeable. Certainly not Dr. Henry Chiver the body snatching anatomist plagued by his primal instincts and personal demons. He was, in a word, creepy. I couldn't help feeling sorry for his innocent bride-to-be, Audrey, who really, really didn't know this man! Gustine, the young prostitute who made a "deal with the Devil" helping Dr. Chiver procure bodies for autopsy in hopes he might one day learn enough from his studies of anatomy to cure her beloved son's birth defect was a pitiful creature. You couldn't help but sympathize with her miserable life circumstances yet the life itself gave her a contempt for human beings that was as chilling as Dr. Chivers'. I thought the wrap up of the story a little too pat and consequently disappointing. Did ALL of the subsidiary characters have to die of cholera? On the plus side I found Ms. Holman to be a very talented writer and think it's safe to say that future stories from her won't be cookie cutter tales we've all read before. If you like a walk on the darker, seamier side of human nature this one's for you.
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