The Watchmaker of Filigree Street

While it’s not the best book I read in 2016 (thought it in the top 3) it definitely the one that touched me the most. It was lovely, charming story of how important it is to be with the person who makes the best of you. I read it following the recommendation of one of my favorite authors, but it seemed she (and some other reviewers) were taken aback by lack of mystery/adventure plot. I actually loved the book this way. It’s a story about the most ordinary things: love, choices we make, choices that made for us and the hope that the most unlikely dream can and will come true. This book is 100% about human relationship. There is no villain here, no masterplan, no fight for the Forces of Light. Just characters – lonely, beautiful, bright, strong yet flawed characters with their hopes and agendas. They have their own truths and goals, and I was delighted that in the end every each of them was granted their own HEA. Even Grace, whom I never hated, but only pitied, because it’s overwhelming how stupid an educated person can get sometimes. Thaniel and Mori I adored. Their affaire was one of the sweatiest in a long time. I almost cried when Thaniel realized that his random decision robed his beloved of precious happiness. I definitely cried (and I really don’t cry from reading) when Mori’s accent changed… And I was smiling like a Cheshire cat when everything worked out for everyone. Great book that I will gladly recommend.

I was enamoured with this book as soon as I read it. Years later, it is still genuinely one of my favorite reads. I reread it every once in a while, but regularly return to read my favorite parts when I'm feeling down. Some reviewers seem to find the book slow, but I respectfully suggest that they probably aren't paying close enough attention. I find Watchmaker to be incredibly nuanced and clever, with so many details woven in throughout and such clever foreshadowing that I never get bored of revisiting it. Sure, it isn't terribly action-heavy until the end, but that's not the point. The point is the characters, their relationships, and their motivations.

Also, mild spoilers ahead, the fact that the story evolved to include a gay relationship was absolutely thrilling to me. A couple reviewers have said they thought the relationship came out of nowhere, but I did not find that to be so. I had already latched onto the chemistry between the two, but as a queer person who has all too often been let down, thought it overly optimistic to hope for anything to come of it. Natasha Pulley, to my surprise and delight, did not disappoint. Neither do any of her other books, so if you're in the mood for some delightful, clever historical fiction with a touching, gentle gay romance that is refreshingly NOT about coming out, read her books.

This is a quiet historical fantasy that sank deep under my skin. I wanted so much for the characters to reach a happy ending that the last stretch of the novel was notably stressful. I loved the central character, Thaniel, and loved, too, the watchmaker he encounters, Keita Mori, and I loved Katsu the octopus, and the period details of London in the late nineteenth century: telegraph operators, clockwork, experiments to prove the existence of ether, the underground. The novel contains several points of view (though Thaniel is central) and several chapters in Japan. Though the pervading tone is quiet, there are conventional high stakes (bomb threats) as well as emotional stakes.

It might be possible to pull apart the logic of the plot, the feasibility of predictions made across a decade in a world where chance can interfere, but I didn't read the book analytically, I read it immersed in the characters. I was captivated.

Five out of five clockwork stars.

About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).

I have a personal rule that I do not re-read or re-watch anything because there are too many other things to read and watch as it is. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street made me break my rule. I waited all of 3 days before I gave up and started it again.

I'm not going to lie, even as I read the story, I had no idea what the plot was. I'm not entirely sure I do still. At first I didn't know what to make of the book but it held my attention enough to keep me going. The story, to me, seemed to meander and then rushed ahead, and then ended. And as I learned things along the way I started to question earlier things in the book so I'm starting over again.

The characters are charming, and writing is quirky. If breaking grammar rules really bothers you then you probably don't want to start reading this. However, if you can overlook that sort of thing you'll hopefully find the characters as interesting as I did.

I had to marinate on this review for awhile. just what is this book? Historical Fiction? Fantasy? Detective story? Steampunk? YES. Somehow it weaves it's way thru all these genre's and more. in lesser hands this could be a mess, but Pulley manages to thread all these elements into an utterly charming and deeply moving tale. all the more impressive for a 1st time author. consider this passage: "Thaniel listened for a while longer, because the silence was so deep and clear that he could hear ghosts of the thirty-six of thirty-seven possible worlds in which Grace had not won at the roulette, and not stepped backward into him. He wished then that he could go back and that the ball had landed on another number. He would be none the wiser and he would be staying at Filigree Street, probably for years, still happy, and he wouldn't have stolen those years from a lonely man who was too decent to mention that they were missing". whoa. At it's heart it is foremost a mystery involving the story's 3 main characters whose lives are intertwined in ways I don't think I could begin to explain. lets just say that the story and their lives unfold together with thought provoking questions about free will, fate, and predestination. The story starts with a slow burn, but stay with it. soon we will literally see the choices and resulting consequences our characters make take shape before our eyes. motives are unclear and if you are like me will soon trust no-one. but you can trust that this is truly pleasurable reading. However, for a story that deliberately takes it's time, the ending felt rushed. and as charming as it can be, it is almost too cute and overly whimsical for it's own good. That said a solid 4 1/2 star read and highly recommended.

First off, let me take a second to tell you how I came to purchase this novel. Our local bookstore in Doylestown, PA was doing a promotion called something to the effect of "Blind Date with a Book" as part of a Valentine's Day giveaway and promotion. They wrapped books in thick brown butcher paper, tied it with twine, and bullet-pointed keywords describing the books. So without even knowing what the title was, I was intrigued and took a chance. When I opened to packaging, I assumed (from the absinthe colored Cthulhu on the cover, copper gears, and Victorian setting) that it would have a nice element of steampunk—which I enjoy. It didn't. But that's okay, because it was still an entertaining read and I'm glad I took a blind chance on this book. There was still plenty of clockwork mastery to enthrall your average steampunk enthusiast.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street is a solid enough novel. It was compelling and the major characters, at least two of them anyway, were very endearing. At first, I was disappointed that source of the 'temporal mysteries' were not settled or explained, but the more I think about it, the more appropriate it is that they were not. The fact that one of the characters, Grace, is trying to prove the existence of 'Ether' and it's effect on such things means that explaining concepts like precognition, string theory, or what ever the case may be, in a contemporary way to the reader would be out of place. That being said...I'm still not sure I liked the ending. But I'm not going to ruin that for you with my opinion—read the book for yourself and form your own.

If there would ever be a sequel to this book, I would read it. When the author publishes her next book, I will check it out. There is a lot to enjoy about this book with very little downside.

This is a very accomplished first novel: strong and unusual characters, set into skillfully drawn historical backgrounds. There is a fantasy element, especially toward the end, but that doesn't make it a "fantasy novel" in any stereotypical way. Perhaps "magic realism" would be a better genre description.

Most of it is set in Victorian London -- although it is a Victorian London made somewhat more familiar to contemporary readers by the strongly-felt presence of terrorist bombings, something you don't get much of in, say, Anthony Trollope stories. Parts of the story take place in Japan, as it makes begins the difficult transition from feudalism to a modern, centralized form of imperial government. Pulley mentions in an afterward that she lived in Japan as preparation for writing those sections; I'm not sure it was entirely necessary for her to do so, as they could have been imagined almost as well from an armchair in a good library. But they work just fine.

I won't bother describing the plot for you; other reviewers usually do that, and it's pretty complicated. But I do want to say that Pulley's prose, like her pacing and plot, is quite strong, with precious little showing off or self-indulgence. You would not think that this was a first novel.

this starts out as if it's about unraveling the mystery of a bombing, but that's mostly just there to orchestrate a meet-cute between thaniel and mori--two of the three principal characters. the third is grace, and good lord is she awful. she's selfish, spiteful, and is the epitome of a pick-me. any time a chapter focusing on her came up, i had to force myself to keep going. "oh i don't think women should be allowed to vote because i'm the only smart one"--girl, bye. the rest of the book is mostly about thaniel and mori just vibing until grace decides to be a complete lunatic about everything.

basically, this is a pretty run of the mill historical romance in the guise of a mystery, with some vaguely magical elements thrown in. i probably would have enjoyed it more if grace was a better character or if there was more of a strong plot. and that's not even touching on the pervasive "period typical" racism against asians and the irish. alas! here's to hoping for better from the sequel.

I loved the way Natasha Pulley writes. She is descriptive without being boring, and has a hint of wry humor that reminds me a little of J.K. Rowling. So many things about the world she created for this book are interesting and unexpected, and the plot starts off with a compelling mystery. So far, so good.

The final quarter of the book, however, doesn't fit the rest. (mild spoilers ahead) While you spend most of the story thinking the characters are embroiled in some nefarious international plot, the whole thing fizzles at the end and becomes a big nothing. One character makes a despicable choice that destroys property and nearly kills people, and no one says boo about it, not to mention it's a decision totally out of line with the character to that point. I'm really disappointed because I loved the set up so much and the ending just didn't carry it off.

I was looking for a good literary, historical novel. One set in late 19th century England with elements of magical realism seemed ideal. Immediately I found myself getting somewhat fed-up with passages. This is a very SLOW read. The author goes on and on about inane details that do little to enhance the story. What kept me going was the premise which was interesting. The main character is an average guy, a clerk working in London. A beautiful watch suddenly appears in his rented room. He thinks his sister sent it to him. The watch suddenly emits a loud alarm one day at precisely the moment that the IRA bombs a section of London where the government has offices, including the office where our main character works. He goes in search of the watchmaker and finds an Anglophile Japanese Londoner living alone. This is our second major character. This guy is brilliant, lonely and a bit odd because he can sense things that will happen or are likely to happen before they occur. One of his watches is owned by our third most important character, a young woman studying at Oxford. She is a cliche. She is a woman ahead of her time, ridiculously modern and suffering and chaffing in a patriarchal society. This kind of character has been over-done in historical literature. The author might know this because oddly she makes this character not very sympathetic with the women's suffrage movement.

Add to these three some other fairly minor characters who help move the story along, a story that usually takes place in late 19th century London but sometimes goes to an earlier period in time in Japan to give us background to our Japanese watchmaker and you have the idea of how this story moves along. It is insufferably slow and methodical. Many of the details that drag out the story do little or nothing to help the story move along at a good clip.

The characters awkwardly develop relationships with one another. Our clerk decides to rent a spare room at the watchmaker's house. He and the watchmaker become good friends even though his employer has him spying on the watchmaker in an effort to determine whether or not the watchmaker is involved with the previous bombing. Our Oxford student, the third most important character, literally bumps into our clerk at a party and they are brought together. They become friends and then they agree to marry one another. This is to be a kind of "business arrangement" but you get the distinct impression that it could be something more.....until the story suddenly and without warning veers in another direction.

When our clerk and Oxford student are married, he leaves their marital suite at their hotel to return to his watchmaker friend. Suddenly they are in an embrace and sharing a kiss. The story did not lead up to this development at all. There was no mention of the Victorian LGBT community or any aspect of it prior to this although the story is primarily taking place in London, which must have been the center of LGBT England at that time. The clerk and the Oxford student seem to be developing their relationship into something more than a "business arrangement". The clerk and the watchmaker seem to have a tutor & mentor relationship. There isn't anything in either of their back stories that would give one a clue that they were gay. In other words, the author does nothing to develop this theme prior to this section of the story and the sudden romantic relationship between these two characters does not tie in with the developments that have already taken place. It is as if the author decided to simply toss this in to fall into one more genre.

I was already irritated with the story and when the author decided to change course several hours into the story; I gave up. Seldom do I refuse to finish a story, but I couldn't finish this one.