My final book of 2014 was The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. This is not my usual sort of book, because it's a murder mystery set in 1950s England with an 11 year old protagonist. As you probably know, I mostly read SFF books, and indeed I received a number of big, heavy fantasy and science fiction novels for Christmas. But for some reason I wasn't really in the mood to start on any of those over the holidays, so I decided to leave them until January and pick up something light and fun to finish off the year. This is a book that I had only heard a little bit about, but I thought it sounded ideal.The main character is 11 year old Flavia de Luce. She lives with her widowed father and her two older sisters in a large country house in rural England in the 1950s. Her whole family is fairly eccentric and that applies to double to Flavia. She is passionate about chemistry and has her own chemistry laboratory where she concocts deadly poisons just for fun. Then one day she discovers a corpse in the garden and of course she has to investigate.I really enjoyed this book, it was a lot of fun to read. The mystery plot itself was really intriguing, there were a few twists and turns to the plot and I liked the way that it was written. The main highlight of the book for me was Flavia, who is a wonderful character. She's so precocious and funny, and I loved her enthusiasm for chemistry and poison, and her perspective on the world, it was just wonderfully entertaining to read this mystery from her point of view. Overall this book was exactly what I wanted, something light and fun and entertaining, and it was a really enjoyable read. I am definitely planning to continue with the series when I want something a bit different to pick up between bigger, more serious books. I liked it. I really did. The writing was eloquently beautiful and had a deep wit to it that kept your brain thinking. The mystery was great and kept me on my toes. Flavia is a hoot, and amazingly was a very believable and endearing 11 year old genius. But I just couldn't get into the book as a whole. I wasn't ever on the edge of my toes waiting until I could pick up the book and read it again. When I did pick it up again (after a few days or even a week because I had forgotten I was even in the middle of reading a book) the flowery language made it impossible to figure out where the heck I was in the story, so I ended up reading the same chapter several times before I had time to progress anywhere. I really did love the beautiful and detailed descriptions (it was enchanting, you felt like you were really there), however, they also greatly detracted from the pace of the story. Sometimes I could care less how many flowers there were on the curtains in the room, or how many nose hairs were poking out of someones nose (I kid), I just wanted her to find the stinkin stamp and get out of there! Here we were in the middle of a murder mystery, and we were finally getting somewhere, and then you have an entire chapter dedicated to a nonsense dream or some incredibly random and not-plot-crucial memory about her sisters that slowed down the pace again. But perhaps that is just the mind of an 11 year old.I have this strange quirk that I can't read more than one book at a time, so I was a bit bitter that it took me over two months to finish this book. I wasted so much time on it! I think I might have enjoyed this book more if I was in the mood for a slow paced book and didn't have a million other books I was waiting to read, because truly, the world is enchanting. And I liked it enough to read more, so I guess that says something. I just need to make sure I'm in the right mood.
What do You think about Slast Na Dnu Pite (2009)?
I liked it. I really did. The writing was eloquently beautiful and had a deep wit to it that kept your brain thinking. The mystery was great and kept me on my toes. Flavia is a hoot, and amazingly was a very believable and endearing 11 year old genius. But I just couldn't get into the book as a whole. I wasn't ever on the edge of my toes waiting until I could pick up the book and read it again. When I did pick it up again (after a few days or even a week because I had forgotten I was even in the middle of reading a book) the flowery language made it impossible to figure out where the heck I was in the story, so I ended up reading the same chapter several times before I had time to progress anywhere. I really did love the beautiful and detailed descriptions (it was enchanting, you felt like you were really there), however, they also greatly detracted from the pace of the story. Sometimes I could care less how many flowers there were on the curtains in the room, or how many nose hairs were poking out of someones nose (I kid), I just wanted her to find the stinkin stamp and get out of there! Here we were in the middle of a murder mystery, and we were finally getting somewhere, and then you have an entire chapter dedicated to a nonsense dream or some incredibly random and not-plot-crucial memory about her sisters that slowed down the pace again. But perhaps that is just the mind of an 11 year old.I have this strange quirk that I can't read more than one book at a time, so I was a bit bitter that it took me over two months to finish this book. I wasted so much time on it! I think I might have enjoyed this book more if I was in the mood for a slow paced book and didn't have a million other books I was waiting to read, because truly, the world is enchanting. And I liked it enough to read more, so I guess that says something. I just need to make sure I'm in the right mood.
—iiMerc
I enjoyed this, enough that I'll read the next one if it comes into my path, though I probably won't seek it out. Flavia is funny but not very likable half the time. I especially liked the many, many funny lines, too many to quote, and the English country house setting that felt very I Capture the Castle, though it was kind of confusing to read this at the same time as watching a season of Downton Abbey.
—calirae
Really loved this book. A wonderful voice.
—luna1234
Really loved this book. A wonderful voice.
—thalythaly
