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A review by mweis
The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap
4.25
*I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
What an absolute delight! I admit that I was excited about this when I requested it, and then sort of lost interest by the time I actually received it so I did go in with middling expectations but I was pleasantly surprised by this. Set in 1828 Edinburgh during the Burke and Hare murders, The Resurrectionist follows James Willoughby, a second son determined to study surgery. He is naive and starts out feeling a bit like a wet blanket but I ultimately loved the journey we follow him on. The book feels a little young, as we are following a coming of age story and James is a student, but I love the way Dunlap wove together this coming of age story with gothic historical fiction and an almost true crime element. This feels quite reminiscent of Dana Schwartz's Anatomy: A Love Story, but where the romance felt flat for me in that one (which ultimately left me frustrated because it was marketed as a love story), I was living for this one. Though I am admittedly a sucker for a queer historical. I found the writing and setting very atmospheric which was refreshing after seeing some of books set in this era feel too modern. The writing is a bit more flowery than I generally prefer but it worked for me considering the time period of the setting. Overall, I think this was very much the right book at the right time for me, and I really enjoyed my experience. I'd be interested in seeing what Dunlap writes next.
What an absolute delight! I admit that I was excited about this when I requested it, and then sort of lost interest by the time I actually received it so I did go in with middling expectations but I was pleasantly surprised by this. Set in 1828 Edinburgh during the Burke and Hare murders, The Resurrectionist follows James Willoughby, a second son determined to study surgery. He is naive and starts out feeling a bit like a wet blanket but I ultimately loved the journey we follow him on. The book feels a little young, as we are following a coming of age story and James is a student, but I love the way Dunlap wove together this coming of age story with gothic historical fiction and an almost true crime element. This feels quite reminiscent of Dana Schwartz's Anatomy: A Love Story, but where the romance felt flat for me in that one (which ultimately left me frustrated because it was marketed as a love story), I was living for this one. Though I am admittedly a sucker for a queer historical. I found the writing and setting very atmospheric which was refreshing after seeing some of books set in this era feel too modern. The writing is a bit more flowery than I generally prefer but it worked for me considering the time period of the setting. Overall, I think this was very much the right book at the right time for me, and I really enjoyed my experience. I'd be interested in seeing what Dunlap writes next.