| The Resurrectionist | 
 enlarge | Author: James Bradley
Publisher: Faber and Faber
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £0.01
You Save: £7.98 (100%)
New (49) from £0.22
Avg. Customer Rating:  61 reviews
Sales Rank: 8231
Media: Paperback
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 1
ISBN: 0571232760
EAN: 9780571232765
ASIN: 0571232760
Publication Date: June 19, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Great subject matter, pity about the narrative October 26, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Having recently read Druin Burch's wonderful biography of the world's first famous surgeon, Astley Cooper (1768-1841), I was rather looking forward to a fictionalised account of the men from the same era who robbed graves to supply the medical profession with fresh corpses to study.
Billed as an historical thriller, The Resurrectionist, by Australian author James Bradley, was chosen as one of Richard and Judy's summer reads, so perhaps I should have known that this would not bode well -- I have never had much luck enjoying anything that this duo has chosen for promotion. Still, because I was fascinated by the subject matter, I was prepared to give it a try.
However, I struggled to enjoy the storyline, not because it wasn't well written -- the prose style is superb -- but because it lacked narrative drive. The best books are the ones that pose a question in the reader's mind at the outset, forcing you to read on in order to discover the answer, usually at the end. But in Bradley's Gothic novel I really had no reason to keep reading because I wasn't sure what it was I wanted to find out, in other words, no question had been posed at the start unless, of course, I missed it.
As much as the setting is wonderfully evocative and atmospheric (it would be a very poor writer indeed who could not describe London in the early 19th century as such), and the subject matter intriguing (how could the trade in stolen bodies not be?), I failed to identify with the main character, Gabriel Swift.
Mr Swift is a young assistant to Edwin Poll, the greatest of the city's anatomists, a privileged position that could see him make a name for himself as a surgeon at a later date. Instead, he succumbs to the charms of Poll's nemesis, the vampire-like Lucan, a resurrectionist who rules the trade in stolen bodies. From there it's pretty much a downward spiral into crime and opium-addiction.
Later, the book makes an initially unexplained leap to the antipodes where Swift now resides, which made me wonder if I was reading the same book.
Still, I can't say I hated The Resurrectionist. It's got all the right elements for a good read -- fascinating subject, interesting characters, great prose -- but it lacks pace and, most importantly of all for a thriller, suspense, and for that reason I can't give it more than a two-star rating. Others, I am sure, will disagree.
 Not as bad as all that? October 21, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The reviews here are universally pretty awful. I don't think this book deserved more than three stars, but it was OK. It took me about 50 pages to get into it, and the plot did desert me at some points, but there was quite a twist towards the end.
By about half way through, I'd switched from forcing myself to read it to wanting to finish it and know the ending. In addition, the writing towards the end (I think because we are in the author's native territory) was quite moving. It certainly lives up to the term 'gothic', though - I got chills up my spine at some of the descriptions of the trade they were involved in!
 twaddle October 21, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'm just fascinated to find out how this turkey got onto any list? Some poor soul has recommended it? As what? Kleenex is cheaper, softer, and is conveniently perforated.
Can I give it no stars? October 21, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
It came well reviewed by the literary crowd but what a let down. Every character was indistinguishable from the other. The " hero " was the most unlikeable of the lot. What a pity he couldn't stay buried. The book would have finished, eighty pages earlier.
The convention of using short chapters beaks up any attempt to create rounded characters producing a series of vignettes rather than a crafted narrative. I couldn't decide whether the author wanted a novel that was a "cracking,gothic yarn" or beautifully portrayed characters. The best authors can do both. James Bradley does neither.
What a let down! October 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The cover of this novel promises many things, and "Gothic" is one of them, particularly as bodysnatching is its main theme, but I found it a complete disappointment. The writing is disjointed, characters are not developed, and there are umpteen "snapshots" of various people passing through the novel. Also, what I found completely baffling was that it was a Richard and Judy Summer Read choice. The novel is hardly one you would read on the beach, as it is more appropriate for autumn/winter!
Perhaps James Bradley had an impatient editor? I think so, as the book may have been initially a longer one, but has suffered because of excessive editing. Bradley's descriptions of early 19th century London are excellent: its cruelty, poverty and general throwaway attitude to life, but the novel is totall lacking in soul and depth.
I found The Resurrectionist in a local charity shop and thought it might be worth reading. I was wrong. A pity, as the novel could have been so much better.
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