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Invisible Things Jenny Davidson Books

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Invisible Things Jenny Davidson Books

Invisible Things was a great sequel to the Explosionist. I would recommend it highly if you liked the first book.


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Invisible Things Jenny Davidson Books Reviews

"What if" is not the question of this book. Its more like just "What???" When I first started reading I kept looking around and going to the front to see if I had skipped something. Still, even after having completed the book I felt like there are many unanswered questions and not the good kinds that make you anxious to read the sequel. Maybe I had too much expectation for what seemed like a unique and thrilling storyline as it is described above. First, there was no mission, things happened to Sophie, she did not make anything happen. Second, while Mikael is her love interest I did not feel his back story as a best friend was formed. Also, for being mentioned in the synopsis I thought there would be a little more love or flirting going on between them, but alas nothing sigh

You could tell from her writing style that Jenny Davidson is very intelligent. I usually love books that are witty and so well versed, but her writing style just irked me. The story is slow to pick up, confusing, vocabulary is foreign, and the back and forth between memories and her current thoughts just made me want to pull out my hair. Still, the novel had some good moments. Female power and all that good stuff was included, plus relevant issues on what is right and wrong when a country is at war... see below for a great quote on that topic.

Overall though, there was too much left unsaid. Like what was the point of the supernatural element? What exactly is the agency her aunt ran? What does legation mean? These thoughts consumed me even after I put down the book. And while I love a good open ending that leads to a sequel, this is one sequel I won't be picking up.

[...]
Its 1938, after being snuck out of Scotland, 16 yr old Sophie is living in Denmark. Sophie knows little of her parents, scientists who died in an explosion, when she was very young. She was raised by her Great - Aunt Tabitha until she had no choice but to leave Scotland. In Denmark, Sophie is staying with Fru Peterson and her son Mikael, where she's surrounded by some of the top scientist of the world.

Sophie is trying to learn the truth behind explosion that killed her parents. She really wants to speak to Alfred Nobel, their former boss. Its taking Sophie time to adjust to Denmark but there's no going back to Scotland. Everyday brings talk of a possible war.

I enjoyed Invisible Things even more then Davidson's debut The Exposionst- when readers are first introduced to Sophie. The author's language is detailed and beautiful, at times I loved losing myslef in it. Davidson did an excellent job of making Sophie's thoughts, opinions and observations very real.

"It was not so much that Sophie minded actually riding a bicycle. It was quiet enjoyable, really, once one was rolling along, so long as one did not allow oneself to become flustered when a dog took chase or a small child rushed directly out into one's path. But bicycles themselves were so troublesome and awkward! One banged one's shins on them and knocked into things as one tried to wheel them out of congested areas, and it still seemed to Sophie impossible to imagine walking and wheeling the wretched contraption at anything like a normal pace. "

"One of the things that most amazed Sophie about the institute was the unending stream of conversation, conversation exceptional in its quality as well as its quantity. Bohr seemed to think best in the company of others, a mode of operating Sophie found intriguing but strange, and he conducted himself during these endless conversations with an utter lack of reserve."

Though I don't have a brain for science, I was still fascinated by the various scientific conversations. And the what ifs that could've changed the outcome of WWII. When I found myself lingering on passage, I couldn't help but think of how much crossover appeal this book has for adult readers.
I unfortunately wasn't able to read The Explosionist first. I dislike starting with a sequel, but sometimes it's fun to see how well the book works when you don't start familiar with the world. INVISIBLE THINGS did manage the set-up well. I liked that it was set in Denmark and other places that aren't often seen in English literature. Plus, the places were new to Sophie, who came to Denmark by way of a school in Scotland, so new readers wouldn't be lost there. The details of the steampunk world took awhile to unfold, but one paragraph in particular played catch-up nicely

When would the dynamiteur Alfred Nobel send word that he was ready to see Sophie? . . . When Nobel did finally reach out to her, would the message be brought by her old chemistry teacher, Mikael's older brother, Arne? Would Mikael - but Sophie could hardly stand to thing about it, the idea so thoroughly and confusingly excited and shamed her - ever want to kiss her? (ARC, p. 20)

The rhetorical questions felt like someone testing out different scenarios in their mind. It also brought in things that had happened while still focusing on future action, which prevented drag.

Unfortunately, drag did occur elsewhere. Due to my current focus on my thesis, I read INVISIBLE THINGS in bits and pieces, spare moments snatched during bus commutes and waiting for water to boil. Thus, I may not be doing full justice to the book. At the same time, I just never felt compelled to sit with it longer. I'm behind on a term paper outline because I picked up Jim Butcher's Dead Beat (The Dresden Files, Book 7) and didn't put it down for 200 pages. Jenny Davidson never managed to make me forget other responsibilities waiting.

Davidson's writing, mechanically, was lovely. The prelude to the story is atmospheric while managing to pack in some action. But it seems like the action parts got lost sometimes. Part of this is due to Sophie's intelligence, which sometimes translates as pretentiousness. She tends to think about things in ways that can be lovely, but don't create forward momentum.

I enjoyed INVISIBLE THINGS, but I somehow though a novel that revealed dark secrects, featured an eve-of-war setting, and began with an assassination would be more of a page-turner
Invisible Things was a great sequel to the Explosionist. I would recommend it highly if you liked the first book.