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A review by emilypoche
The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap
4.0
Thank you to Kensington Publishing for providing this ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap is a historical fiction coming-of-age novel that intersects with one of history’s most sordid true crimes. Following James, a well-bred but ultimately destitute student at one of Edinburgh’s medical universities, fate propels him into making choices that take him to the dark side of early modern medicine—body snatching. Against this dark and somewhat macabre background is a love story. James becomes deeply entwined with the Aneurin, an anatomist. James is now forced to attempt two double lives at once—one where he hides his means of income, and one where he hides the truth of his relationship with the school’s anatomist.
I loved the work that the author did in setting the scene and in creating a sense of place and time. The details of things like clothing, furniture, and room descriptions were all really wonderful in putting the reader in to the time period. The language wasn’t perfectly dated, but the visual atmosphere more than made up for it.
I also really liked the romance between the main two characters. It has a really cute “what if we stopped beating around the bush and Holmes and Watson were explicitly queer” thing that was subversive and refreshing. There was also a genuine sense of attraction and chemistry between the key players, which made it easy to care about.
Where I think this book didn’t fully live up to its potential was showing the tenuous balance of James’ double life. We would get a few reassuring sentences about him going to university lectures or what have you, but almost 95% of the content talks about his hidden activities. I think that giving a little more interaction with Charlie or Hamish would have given more tension to the balancing act. The way it’s written makes it seem quite easy going and as if there isn’t any difficulty in trying to hide his employment.
Personally I really enjoyed this book a lot. I thought the love story was engaging and that the historical medical studies plot was also really interesting and well told. 4/5 stars!
(Trigger warnings: gore, cadavers, medical dissections, and descriptions of anatomical specimens.)
The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap is a historical fiction coming-of-age novel that intersects with one of history’s most sordid true crimes. Following James, a well-bred but ultimately destitute student at one of Edinburgh’s medical universities, fate propels him into making choices that take him to the dark side of early modern medicine—body snatching. Against this dark and somewhat macabre background is a love story. James becomes deeply entwined with the Aneurin, an anatomist. James is now forced to attempt two double lives at once—one where he hides his means of income, and one where he hides the truth of his relationship with the school’s anatomist.
I loved the work that the author did in setting the scene and in creating a sense of place and time. The details of things like clothing, furniture, and room descriptions were all really wonderful in putting the reader in to the time period. The language wasn’t perfectly dated, but the visual atmosphere more than made up for it.
I also really liked the romance between the main two characters. It has a really cute “what if we stopped beating around the bush and Holmes and Watson were explicitly queer” thing that was subversive and refreshing. There was also a genuine sense of attraction and chemistry between the key players, which made it easy to care about.
Where I think this book didn’t fully live up to its potential was showing the tenuous balance of James’ double life. We would get a few reassuring sentences about him going to university lectures or what have you, but almost 95% of the content talks about his hidden activities. I think that giving a little more interaction with Charlie or Hamish would have given more tension to the balancing act. The way it’s written makes it seem quite easy going and as if there isn’t any difficulty in trying to hide his employment.
Personally I really enjoyed this book a lot. I thought the love story was engaging and that the historical medical studies plot was also really interesting and well told. 4/5 stars!
(Trigger warnings: gore, cadavers, medical dissections, and descriptions of anatomical specimens.)