Review: flawed? yes. imperfect? yes. compelling? absolutely!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 1, 2013
I have read all the reviews I could find in internet in order to understand this book better and to say something that hasn't been said one hundred time and here are my two cents: as flawed and imperfect as it is, nevertheless is a compelling reading and I wouldn't have missed for the world.As others have noted there are historical inaccuracies (divorce; Corn Law; trousers at a ball) and obscure plot points (the only reason for the hero to create such a mess in his life is to pass a damn law??; ok for a beta-brother but it does not mean that he couldn't help his sister in the farm) but the characters are so captivating that I analyzed the holes only at the end. The strength of the books are definitely the people and the complex relationships that link them.Kit and Jude (gender-free names) switch the standard power issue inside the couple: he wears corset and skirt while she wears trousers (literally) - he is beautiful, pale skinned and graceful; she has coarse hair, rough hands, a broken nose and bad manners but thanks to the ability of the writer not only they never fall into caricatures but they complement each other balancing the dark spots in their souls.About the cross dressing duke I couldn't help remembering Rufus Sewell in a contemporary adaptation of "The Taming of the Shrew": his Petruchio turns up to his wedding with the Leader of the Opposition party Shirley Henderson (Kate Minola)  wearing high heeled boots, eye shadow and nail polish.. and he remains as sexy as hell!  He does not parrot a woman, he just lets his "womanly side" to the surface. [P.S. BBC Shakespeare Re-Told: check it out!!]Jude's twisted personality is not easy to sympathize with; the cold-hearted father is a must for the troubled hero but Jude's behavior remains reprehensible: well, he sleeps with a sister, compromises the other sister, insinuates in their family under false pretenses and nevertheless his mix of manipulation and weakness, at the same time demanding and fragile, draws the reader.Kit's personality is possibly less complex, her childhood problems are more straightforward maybe that's why sometimes sounds like a steamroller.I must admit a few times I had problems to understand the dynamic between them: often I had to re-read the same phrases because I felt as if they spoke a language that I did not understand and could not get the meaning beyond the words (since I am not English I thought the problem was mine but I have found other reviewers with the same feeling -->see point below*).As far-fetched some scenes were, they were still hypnotic: the ball scene? a part from the trousers-part (unbelievable) was terrific and what about the piquet game!? Ms. Cowan owns me dinner because mine burned on the stove while I was spellbound reading it.Other two cents on the secondary romance simply because I fall in love with Scottish brute that loves his wife and cannot understand how to manage her (the heroine's sister has issues of her own). Just a few brush strokes here and there and we have another unforgettable couple attracted and repulsed, incapable to find common ground, as if again they did not speak the same language.The book language is at times incredibly evocative ("This was the piano as she hadn't even known it could be played - subdued passion that she was fairly sure wouldn't be allowed in public. One melody tripped lightly ahead of the other, follow me. The second was slow; it would never catch the first but ran under it, as deep as an ocean....His music was lit at the edges..') and other times disconnected and uneven or simply mystifying logic: BTW if there is someone that could explain to me the meaning of the following conversation that takes place at the end the book I would really appreciate it:***""Why do you care?' Jude said. ...`Kit's thrown her lot in with you. And I won't say the other reason again.' Jude was bent on improving himself, but that - ah, that was more temptation than any man could resist. `But you looked so pretty the last time,' he said, looking up from beneath his lashes.BenRuin drew sharply back and began to blush, a deep red from the tips of his ears that spilled down over his face."" ***what is the "other reason"? why is BenRuin is is called "pretty" and is blushing??I could tackle other issues but this review is turning into a treatise, pls read the book and tell me what you think about it.