ENCHANTRESS OF NUMBERS Written by Jennifer Chiaverini
December 2017; 446 Pages (Dutton)
Genre: historical fiction, history, biography, science/math
Listened to on Audio
(I received an ARC from the PUBLISHER via NETGALLEY)
RATING: 3 STARS
I have to admit that I became more interested in Ada Lovelace due to her father, Byron. I enjoyed Byron’s poetry and study him and his friends, Mary and Percy Shelley’s work for school. He is a fascinating person in literature history. He also sounds like a huge jerk to people around him. And, the whole thing with his sister is definitely…odd. Then I heard about Ada and all her accomplishments with math and science blew me away. It was so cool that a woman from her class and time was able to get so far. I was so happy to see that Chiaverini was writing a book on her. Chiaverini has most written about American historical figures, especially in the Civil War era. I was really interested in reading this one.
Chiaverini is a good writer and she was able to make Lovelace’s time period come alive. With the narrator’s accent and reading of it I felt like I was there. Chiaverini is great at descriptions and makes her books come alive. However, in that same vain, she is also too detailed. There are moments when it feels like a fact drop. While the time and place comes alive the characters sometimes become neglected as people and driven more by descriptions. The plot and story lines sometimes get lost and moments get dull. I think Chiaverini’s novels could be brilliant if there was a bit more editor input. This book did get me excited to learn more about Ada and Byron. It is hard to say if I recommend this novel.
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