The Illuminator by Brenda Rickman Vantrease

★★½

To be fair, I don't think I'm the target audience for this book. The back cover has glowing praise from authors I don't know. (I assume they write novels in the same genre.) It's historical fiction, which I have nothing against, but I'm just usually not interested in such books (or movies). If I'm going to read about history, I prefer non-fiction.

At the end of the book, there's a two-page Author's Note that explains the historical context of the book, including the fact that some of the characters were real people. I wish I had read the Author's Note first, before reading the book; knowing that some of the characters were real might have made the book more interesting to me. Indeed, during my reading, I did not give enough credit to one character, Julian, because I kept thinking that she wasn't entirely believable; come to find, she was an actual person!

Overall, I did not find the book's characters very compelling. I liked Kathryn, a main character, but didn't get enough of my two favorites - Agnes, the cook, and Magda, the girl she took in, both secondary characters. Finn, the "illuminator" (illustrator) for whom the book is named, was wholly uninteresting to me. Also, the three younger-generations characters were all too one-dimensional: a beautiful and pure daughter, a gentle and devout son, and a spirited and hot-headed son.

The story progressed like a soap opera, except everything is predictable. Just when I would think that there was an opportunity for a twist, or at least some suspense, the author would, without delay, tell me what happened next, which was usually exactly what I thought would happen.

The only part that was unpredictable was the ending, and not necessarily in a good way. I was disappointed in the way the book ended for almost all the characters, save a couple. For some, it seemed like the author chose to easily tie up a loose end just before it might actually develop into something interesting. Still, I have to admit, I have to give credit to the author for writing the unexpected.

I was not too keen on the author's penchant for using questions, posed either by the third-person narrator or by a character, as an internal thought. For example, instead of saying, "This blanket is red," she might say, "Is this blanket not red?"

Finally, I must say that I did appreciate the discussion of religion for the masses that served as part of the backdrop. Being set just before the Reformation, fear of the Church or of the King hid behind almost everything that occurred. And, it was a gentle reminder that we should not take our 21st century freedoms for granted.

Overall, a diverting read, if not engaging.