The Kingdoms
Author: Natasha Pulley
Published by: Bloomsbury
Pages: 438
Format: Paperback Proof copy
My Rating ★★★
Author: Natasha Pulley
Published by: Bloomsbury
Pages: 438
Format: Paperback Proof copy
My Rating ★★★
Joe Tournier has never left French-occupied London. He is a British slave, one of thousands throughout the French Empire. He has a job, a wife, a baby daughter. But he also has flashes of a life he cannot remember and a world that never existed.
And now he has a postcard that has been held at the sorting office for ninety-one years, waiting to be delivered. On the front is a remote Scottish lighthouse. It reads:
Dearest Joe,
Come home, if you remember.
And now he has a postcard that has been held at the sorting office for ninety-one years, waiting to be delivered. On the front is a remote Scottish lighthouse. It reads:
Dearest Joe,
Come home, if you remember.
My thoughts:
The Kingdoms is an intricate and complex read, blending time slip and historical fiction to create an intriguing exploration of the power of memory and love.
Joe Tournier has a bad case of amnesia. His first memory is of stepping off a train in the nineteenth-century French colony of England. The only clue Joe has about his identity is a century-old postcard of a Scottish lighthouse that arrives in London the same month he does.
Joe has a job, a wife, a baby daughter. But he also has flashes of a life he cannot remember and of a world that never existed - a world where English is spoken in England, and not French. And now he has a postcard of a lighthouse built just six months ago, that was first written nearly one hundred years ago, by a stranger who seems to know him very well.
Joe's journey to unravel the truth takes him from French-occupied London to a remote Scottish island, and back through time itself as he battles for his life - and for a very different future.
The world building is interesting, and I was very quickly drawn into Joe’s world, but I felt that not enough exposition was given, the framework was loose and I could only guess about the political and societal details Joe woke up in. There are a lot of gaps to fill and I struggled with the lack of significant connectivity from scene to scene.
Natasha Pulley’s writing is good, but extremely wordy and a little tedious at times, and at many points the narrative seemed to drag.
When I first heard about this novel, I must admit that the mention of time travel was what stood out to me the most. Almost all I wanted to read about was the time slip and the story was barely about that, focusing mostly on war and battle.
There were points where I definitely found The Kingdoms kind of slow. It is much heavier on the reflective, atmospheric and emotional side than the adventurous one, though there is plenty of gore in the scenes at sea. I feel I can only offer a fairly lukewarm review about this one, because overall I found it a little hard to connect with.
However, if you like historical fiction and you're looking for something with alternate timelines, plenty of boats and a dash of romance, then you should absolutely pre-order this one now. The Kingdoms hits shelves on May 27th here in the UK. Thank you again to Bloomsbury for kindly sending me out an advanced copy of the book.
Overall reaction:
The Kingdoms is an intricate and complex read, blending time slip and historical fiction to create an intriguing exploration of the power of memory and love.
Joe Tournier has a bad case of amnesia. His first memory is of stepping off a train in the nineteenth-century French colony of England. The only clue Joe has about his identity is a century-old postcard of a Scottish lighthouse that arrives in London the same month he does.
Joe has a job, a wife, a baby daughter. But he also has flashes of a life he cannot remember and of a world that never existed - a world where English is spoken in England, and not French. And now he has a postcard of a lighthouse built just six months ago, that was first written nearly one hundred years ago, by a stranger who seems to know him very well.
Joe's journey to unravel the truth takes him from French-occupied London to a remote Scottish island, and back through time itself as he battles for his life - and for a very different future.
The world building is interesting, and I was very quickly drawn into Joe’s world, but I felt that not enough exposition was given, the framework was loose and I could only guess about the political and societal details Joe woke up in. There are a lot of gaps to fill and I struggled with the lack of significant connectivity from scene to scene.
Natasha Pulley’s writing is good, but extremely wordy and a little tedious at times, and at many points the narrative seemed to drag.
When I first heard about this novel, I must admit that the mention of time travel was what stood out to me the most. Almost all I wanted to read about was the time slip and the story was barely about that, focusing mostly on war and battle.
There were points where I definitely found The Kingdoms kind of slow. It is much heavier on the reflective, atmospheric and emotional side than the adventurous one, though there is plenty of gore in the scenes at sea. I feel I can only offer a fairly lukewarm review about this one, because overall I found it a little hard to connect with.
However, if you like historical fiction and you're looking for something with alternate timelines, plenty of boats and a dash of romance, then you should absolutely pre-order this one now. The Kingdoms hits shelves on May 27th here in the UK. Thank you again to Bloomsbury for kindly sending me out an advanced copy of the book.
Overall reaction: