Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Book Review: The Mad Women's Ball

The Mad Women's Ball 
by Victoria Mas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


While not as amazing as the reviews make it sound, The Mad Women’s Ball is a decent read. I enjoyed our lead gal and her conversations with ghosts. It would have been nice to feel like I knew a couple other main characters as well as we end up knowing her. Both the nurse and Louise (a ‘hysterical’ woman) are key players but I never truly felt like I knew them with as much depth as I’d have liked.
This is a shorter novel, translated from French. It could actually have been longer (shocking I know, it’s rare to wish a book was longer). I’d have liked more about our characters, their motivations, and experiences prior to being put up at the asylum.
It’s certainly tragic that, back in the day (but assuredly still happening on occasion today), that someone with power could abuse and manipulate a person and then leave them (more or less) for dead at the asylum. The doctors we encounter in The Mad Women’s Ball are historical figures, including Babinski, a famed neuroscientist (thank you Big Bang Theory for teaching me this and not needing to look up a bunch of historical fact. Lol). All our other characters are fictional to my knowledge.

Overall I’d say this will likely make a better movie (which I will watch) than a book. The plot feels very linear and the set-up will lend itself to a well written script. And so, I can’t believe I’m about to say this, maybe wait for the movie to be released?

Please note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

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1 comment:

Leonore Winterer said...

This sounds like a fun story, but yeah, maybe a better movie? One way or another, I hope to enjoy this!