Review: The Watchmaker of Filigree Street

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay, just give me a minute to get my thoughts in order. What a whirlwind ending!

Can I start by talking about the cover? Covers so rarely rate with me but this one is simply stunning. I'll admit - it's the sole reason I picked this book up in the first place. Beautiful design.

So.

It's a bit of a random story but I really enjoyed it! There's this fellow, Thaniel, who is stuck in a bit of a dead end job. He's a nice enough guy but is very routine and the highlight of his life is drinking tea. Then he gets this mysterious watch that saves his life. Cue the end of normality and boring. (Not the tea, though. There is so much tea.)

The watchmaker of the title is Mori, a reclusive Japanese fellow with a pet clockwork octopus. Katsu is probably my favourite character in the whole book, because he's this adorable lil random kleptomaniac with a thing for socks. He makes me want my own clockwork octopus. Mori is okay.

There's also Grace, a mad scientist who does very 'un-ladylike' things and her bff Matsumoto who's a smug Japanese guy who is quite obviously in love with Grace. Heaven forbid either of them admit it, though. *eyeroll*

Honestly I think it's the characters that make this such a delightful read. They're so different and quirky and they do things you just don't expect. I was constantly surprised by the directions this book took. It was its own, random, clockwork octopus. (Hashtag teamkatsu)

The writing is clear and concise yet beautifully captures scenes so that the reader can easily partake in the action. I just really enjoyed the words and the language, and it was never overloaded with style gimmicks. It flowed gracefully, and every sentence owned its place.

Overall, there was no set direction for the story so it was really a case of settling back and just enjoying the ride, which I did immensely. There's kind of the mystery of who set off the bomb, but honestly I was much more interested in what kind of mischief everyone was getting up to. The clockwork was like a dozen characters on its own.

You are now entering spoiler territory.

(view spoiler)[ I absolutely was not expecting this to be a love story, so when it happened it took me completely by surprise. I was left wondering what had happened and what I'd missed and yet it just fit beautifully. It made a lot of sense and I think it was the not expecting it that made it come together so wonderfully.

I never really got a handle on the whole 'remembering the future' thing (way too confusing for me to try to understand scientifically) so again it was just a case of going with the flow. I'd hate to stop and try examine the concept because I feel like a few plot holes might appear.

I'm incredibly heartbroken over the loss of Katsu, and I can only hope he turns up unexpectedly one day after crawling out of the rubble. Or Mori makes a new one that is an exact replica of the old.

I was a bit confused by the allusion of the ending - the whole, Mori setting up Matsumoto and Grace bit. Mat was on a train to Berlin, right? And he was apologising for being late? So did Mori make him late or is it thanks to Mori he was there at all? I mean I kind of just assume the latter is correct but I have no idea how that actually works. (hide spoiler)]

It was such a delightful, unusual story with such lovable clockwork octopi characters that really brought the story to life. Being set in 1800s England meant there was a lot of consideration of historical traditions, values and practices and it really enhanced the dynamic between the characters.

I'm a bit scattered again I think but the takeaway message is that it's well worth a read! It's a unique piece of work unlike any novel I've ever read and I look forward to reading more from this author.

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