If you’ve read other books by this author, how do they compare to this one? How, in your opinion, does his writing bring to life the intersection of chance and choice?
I’ve read seven other books by Chris Bohjalian, including Buffalo Soldiers, Midwives, Before You Know Kindness, and most recently The Lioness, and have several more on my TBR, including Hour of the Witch and The Princess of Las Vegas. In my experience you can’t go wrong with a book by Bohjalian, but I wouldn’t rank The Jackal’s Mistress with my favorites. I hadn’t thought about how his writing brings life to the intersection of chance and choice, but will definitely be considering that as I read more of his works, and I am interested in hearing the thoughts of other readers.
I’ve read 16 of Chris Bohjalian’s books now and I usually run hot or cold on them. This one didn’t quite match the suspense of The Lioness, but I feel that this is one of his better ones.
Wow, @Deborah_C1! 16 is impressive. I agree with you and @Karen_Belyea that this one was good, but maybe not quite up to the same level as some of his other novels. I thought his most exciting book was The Lioness, while the one with the most depth was The Sandcastle Girls. It’s not that this one was bad, it’s just I have really high expectations for his work based on his previous efforts.
I have read a number of Bohjalian’s books, and am particularly fond of his historical fiction. Skeletons at the Feast, which is set at the end of World War II and is the story of an escape across Poland in advance of oncoming Russians by an unusual group Poles and Jews, is a favorite. I also especially enjoyed The Lioness and The Sandcastle Girls. This book was not quite as good as those three, in my judgment but I enjoyed it nonetheless. He is paespecially skilled at creating those moments of tension on which action turns, where one takes advantage of a presenting chance (or not) by making a key decision (choice.)
I have read many of Chris’s book over the years. They vary all over the place-historical, current, scary, etc But I feel he does historical fiction best, these have been my favorites of his. The research he does & the way he portrays his characters is exceptional. My first book by Chris was many years ago-Midwives, loved it. I have also had the pleasure to hear Chris speak at an event, very personable & engaging with the audience.
I’ve read one other book by Chris Bohjalian, The Lioness, with a setting in Africa. It’s unlike The Jackal’s Mistress in genre and setting. Both are excellent stories from two different continents.
I have read many of his books and have enjoyed them all, especially his historical fiction. He is a great speaker, smart, kind, and the research he does for his historical fiction always seems so extremely thorough. I really liked this book based on a real story with some changes for fictional history. I found the the intersections for chance and choice exciting and propelled me to want to keep reading, especially how Libby had to make possible life altering decisions based on her and her families circumstances and her choices based on morals rather than societal values. I did feel the ending was rushed and would have liked it to finish more throughly in their present time and a shorter epilogue the end of the future. Maybe the Epilogue leaves a possibility for a second book in the series as it starts with “chapter one!”
I have read several of Bohjalian’s books, including Hour of the Witch, which is among my favorite volumes of historical fiction. He has yet to disappoint me. He is adept at demonstrating the ways in which his characters’ choices reverberate & have dramatic consequences, as well as the ways in which chance impacts their lives. He tends to write about strong women who find themselves in horrific predicaments, and The Jackal’s Mistress explores that theme extremely effectively.
This was my third book by Bohjalian. The others were Skeletons at the Feast and Midwives. I’ve enjoyed all of them. This book didn’t seem to be quite as in depth as the others, however. Nonetheless, it kept my interest throughout. The choices Libby made affected not just her and Weybridge, but everyone who lived with her. After her initial decision to help Weybridge, the rest of the story was determined by the decisions Libby made as a result of chance encounters with others. A different decision at any time in that story would have totally changed the outcome.
I have read several of his books. They run hot and cold with me. The Hour of the Witch is one of my favorites and the Princess of Las Vegas was a waste of my time. But I did enjoy this one and I would put it as one of his best
The first book of his that I read was Midwives, years ago, which was one Oprah’s first book picks. I really enjoyed this new author and so for a while I read all his books. I didn’t enjoy any of his contemporary thrillers so stopped reading his books. I’m glad I was selected to read and review this one. Based on other readers’’ comments, I’ll now add The Lioness and Sandcastle to my incredibly long TBR list.
Also read Hour of the Witch. Both books had intersections of chance and choice. Characters were in terrible circumstances but did have some influence over their lives
I believe I have read every book by Chris Bohjalian. I would put this one up there with the best. I am always impressed by the author writing so well about women.