"The Watchmaker of Filigree Street" by Natasha Pulley

Ironically, I picked up this book only after I received an ARC of Natasha Pulley's new book that is coming out next month. The new novel is supposed to have some cameo appearances from The Watchmaker so I figured it would make sense to read it first.

I was not disappointed. In many ways, this book reminded me of reading The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton. Don't get me wrong, there is no circus in Pulley's novel. However, the slow pace narrative, the eerie and magical atmosphere, even the Japanese settings reminded me of The Night Circus.

As for comparing it to Burton's novel, The Watchmaker was satisfying in all the ways The Miniaturist was not. There is the same sense that someone is deliberately staging all the events that happen to the characters. The Watchmaker sets the mechanism in motion, and every gear turns the way he intends it to with a clockwork precision.

The story takes place in Victorian London (late 1800s). Our main character Thaniel Steepleton works as a telegraphist at the Home Office when one day mysteriously someone leaves a gold pocket watch in his apartment. This watch unexpectedly saves Thaniel's life six months later. From there, we meet the watchmaker - an immigrant from Japan Keita Mori, and are plunged into the magical world of clockwork creations and impossible coincidences. I really enjoyed this book. But I do think readers should be aware of the slow paced atmospheric narrative. If this is not your thing, you will not enjoy it as much. Five out five stars. Cannot wait to read Natasha Pulley's next novel.