TITLE: The Apple: Crimson Petal Stories
Not a series, but this is a prequel of sorts to the novel The Crimson Petal and the White
AUTHOR: Michel Faber
GENRE: Historical Fiction
TAGS: Historical Fiction, England, Victorian Period, Industialization, Mental Illness, Social Class, Marriage, Prostitution, Mistresses, Women Writers
RATING (1-5): ★★★★★
I discovered Faber's follow up of sorts to The Crimson Petal and the White, years after I finished the original book. After reading the former, and left wanting more, I was thrilled to discover The Apple, but a little disappointed by it's novella-length.
The Apple is a compilation of short stories, which serve as either prologues or epilogues to some of the characters in The Crimson Petal and the White. The stories are just as fantastic and engaging as the first one was, but aside from the story of Sophie's son, very short. They're less story, and more glimpses- though this is something Faber does best; making you feel a bit like a voyeur, just chancing upon the daily going-ons of strangers.
It's this style of writing that left a lot of unanswered questions and what if's with the novel; The Apple does follow up with some of them, but still leaves a lot of questions unanswered and a lot of open road, should Faber ever decide to return to these characters (a girl can dream).
If you didn't read The Crimson Petal, The Apple might seem disjointed- but most short story collections are so. If you read The Crimson Petal and liked it- or read it and didn't really know if you liked it, but still made it through the whole thing- you owe it to yourself to read The Apple. It won't consume nearly as much time (to my dismay), but might provide some closure.
