The Queen of the Night, Alexander Chee

Well, this novel might be a "national bestseller," but the Thursday Night Book Club members were not impressed. Only two out of the seven who attended the November meeting even finished the novel.
First, there are too many French terms. There have been other novels that utilize different languages mixed with English, such as Night by Elie Wiesel. However, the difference is that Wisel's novel has English context clues to lead the reader, so s/he does not have to have a working German vocabulary. The Queen of the Night does not have such clues.
Additionally, there are too many characters to follow and there is just way to much going on in one story. The main character is a prostitute, opera singer, circus performer, equestrian, sharp shooter, pyromaniac. She is a poor girl whose family died from yellow fever. The book is supposed to take the reader on her journey following her family's demise, but readers were very confused because of the lack of chronology, the innumerable cast of characters, and the mixture of languages.
Readers do not recommend. 

Meeting Attendance
Karla
Kathy
Sheryl
Lisa
Katie
Anne
Rosanne