Reply #9: I beg to differ

[Boomer]

Although I would probably give Fingersmith the edge as the best of the three, Affinity is a stronger novel (in terms of craft) than Tipping the Velvet. It's just not as enjoyable to read, which makes it my least favorite of the three. I've only read it twice, as opposed to the three or four times for the other titles.

But how much one likes a book is not equivalent to its merits as a piece of literature. Emma was Jane Austen's last and best novel, but you'll find precious few readers who would claim to like it half as much as Pride & Prejudice or Sense & Sensibility.

My second read of Affinity (just a few months ago) reminded me, though, of just how beautifully Waters mined the metaphors of prison and madness and class, and I saw how she began to dabble with revealing essential plot points through non-linear narrative structure and with creating a much more subtle mood and tone than she had tapped in Tipping the Velvet.

There are still aspects of her portrayal of the protagonist that I think are much richer and powerful than any other of her character studies. One of the few ways in which Fingersmith falls short of Affinity's emotional depth is by dividing the main protagonist into two personas of equal weight. Granted, that's the central metaphor -- the same woman reflected in two different fates determined by class and the whims of fate -- but it does lose some of its emotional impact with that dual focus.

So while I would easily agree that Affinity will always remain the least popular of Waters novels, I'd argue vigorously against considering it the weakest of the three. And I would give some credence to anyone who proposed it was actually the best written.