Book Review : The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal

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Title : The Doll Factory

Author : Elizabeth Macneal

Genre : Thriller


I have been pretty erratic about my book reviewing for past one month due to excess travelling that I have been making the entire month, though I did make sure my book reading abilities do not take a toll and one of the books that did make it in the list was 'The Doll Factory' by Elizabeth Macneal. What attracted me to this book was the era the book was based on. Last year I had come across another book from the same era 'The Silent Companions' and that book haunted me for quite a while. So, I finally picked up this one and this is my take on it.

My Take on the Novel

The book pretty much revolves around three major characters. Iris, a small time worker at a Doll Factory who is an apprentice along with her sister, Rose. She gets noticed by an upcoming painter Louis Frost who wants her to model for his latest painting. Their lives are connected to Silas who is known to make stuffed figurines using carcasses of unique animals. Silas is reminded of his past flame when he comes across Iris and how his obsession for her to bring her into his life forms the major part of the story.
The book pretty much nails it when it comes to bringing out the characters and the setting of the Victorian Era. The language and the various props that one comes across the entire novel pretty much transports you to those times and the author in her debut novel nailed it quite perfectly.

But with such an amazing setup, the novel for some reason didn't quite work well for me. For one, almost till you reach the last quarter of the book, we do not get to understand what the authors and the characters are trying to tell us in the entire story. Yes, we do get to see their past and present lives but they hardly add much value to the entire plot. Except for maybe the obsession of Silas, you do not get much involved in the story though you do keep turning pages to find out what happens next. Yes, the book does lift up when you reach the last quarter of the story, but personally, I felt it did lose the essence by then.

So would I recommend this book? I might say I would advice you to pick it up if you are looking for a novel that is set in Victorian Era and you love the idea of it. For a debut novel, the author is quite promising when it comes to writing and I'm looking forward to her next book but for this one, it was mere passable.

My Rating : 🌟🌟 1/2 (2.5 stars out of 5)

Tl;dr : Strong Setting yet Weak Plot

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