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Most Helpful Favorable Review
12 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
THE LITTLE STRANGER
I am not a fan of ghost stories and bought this book on the basis of a review that described it as a study of social changes in Britain after WWII. (Shades of Brideshead Revisited.)
I am a fan of psychological thrillers, however, and thoroughly enjoyed this one. It is ...Read More
I am a fan of psychological thrillers, however, and thoroughly enjoyed this one. It is ...Read More
I am not a fan of ghost stories and bought this book on the basis of a review that described it as a study of social changes in Britain after WWII. (Shades of Brideshead Revisited.)
I am a fan of psychological thrillers, however, and thoroughly enjoyed this one. It is atmospheric, intriguing and provides insight into a way of life now mostly gone. The best part is that once you figure out what's going on, there's a lot of enjoyment to be had to go backwards and put it all together. I stayed up the better part of a night just reviewing details and then thinking, "Of course." It's been a long time since a book engaged me so fully.Show Less
I am a fan of psychological thrillers, however, and thoroughly enjoyed this one. It is atmospheric, intriguing and provides insight into a way of life now mostly gone. The best part is that once you figure out what's going on, there's a lot of enjoyment to be had to go backwards and put it all together. I stayed up the better part of a night just reviewing details and then thinking, "Of course." It's been a long time since a book engaged me so fully.Show Less
posted by 1Katherine1 on September 4, 2009
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7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
very disappointed with this book, a waste of my reading time.
I wish I had read the readers reviews before I purchased this book. I was extremely disappointed and agree with the one star and two star reviews whole heartedly. It is much too long and dull,characters just don't interest the reader. Where are the editors with some of ...Read More
I wish I had read the readers reviews before I purchased this book. I was extremely disappointed and agree with the one star and two star reviews whole heartedly. It is much too long and dull,characters just don't interest the reader. Where are the editors with some of todays books? I really was pushing myself wondering if I was just missing something, the plot just isn't there. Its never explained what exactly or who is the "ghost" causing all the bad vibrations. I usually pass on my books to my family, and very seldom do I feel that I cannot pass some book along and subject them to a long, boring, can't wait for it to end read. I certainly will give serious thought befor I purchase a book by this author.Show Less
posted by connie37 on June 21, 2009
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1Katherine1
Posted September 4, 2009
I Also Recommend:
THE LITTLE STRANGER
I am not a fan of ghost stories and bought this book on the basis of a review that described it as a study of social changes in Britain after WWII. (Shades of Brideshead Revisited.)
I am a fan of psychological thrillers, however, and thoroughly enjoyed this one. It is atmospheric, intriguing and provides insight into a way of life now mostly gone. The best part is that once you figure out what's going on, there's a lot of enjoyment to be had to go backwards and put it all together. I stayed up the better part of a night just reviewing details and then thinking, "Of course." It's been a long time since a book engaged me so fully.12 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
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connie37
Posted June 21, 2009
very disappointed with this book, a waste of my reading time.
I wish I had read the readers reviews before I purchased this book. I was extremely disappointed and agree with the one star and two star reviews whole heartedly. It is much too long and dull,characters just don't interest the reader. Where are the editors with some of todays books? I really was pushing myself wondering if I was just missing something, the plot just isn't there. Its never explained what exactly or who is the "ghost" causing all the bad vibrations. I usually pass on my books to my family, and very seldom do I feel that I cannot pass some book along and subject them to a long, boring, can't wait for it to end read. I certainly will give serious thought befor I purchase a book by this author.
7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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1louise1
Posted April 28, 2010
I Also Recommend:
OMINOUS!
This book is a ghost story taking place shortly after World War II. The main character is a doctor named Faraday who tells the story from his point of view. He seems to be caught between resentment at the Ayres hanging on to a dead life style which makes him beneath them and jealously at their once grand social position. Either way he can't tear himself away from the Hall.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Xcowboy
Posted June 9, 2009
Boo
This book was a big disappointment. It's surprisingly dull, sluggishly paced, and worst of all, not scary, even at its so-called peaks. I am at a loss to explain the critical approval evident in other reviews---maybe my expectations were far too high. The ghost factor seems an afterthought in a novel that is mostly a social study on a dying and dysfunctional aristocratic family. It's a familiar English novel about a familiar English situation, and I never felt any real interest or empathy for the characters, especially the narrator, a maddeningly dense and over-complacent wimp who would have been more believable wearing a dress. Waters has a talent for visual detail and her settings are clearly well-researched, but the failure to cause more than the faintest genuine frisson as a ghost story doom this book for all but the most tolerant anglophiles. English writers have produced some of the best ghost stories ever written, and in light of this legacy, "The Little Stranger" is inexcusably weak tea both as a straight story of the supernatural or as a psychological treatment of inexplicable events. In fact, the novel is the literary equivalent of vasocongestion---it promises a thrill but never delivers.
4 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Oldcollegecoed
Posted February 4, 2010
Stephen King was right!
In a recent issue of Entertainment Weekly, Stephen King listed his favorite books of the year, a list which I adhere to very strictly. And, as usual, he hit the mark with The Little Stranger. It is, in fact, so well written, that I've read it twice and enlisted a friend to read it as well, and I'm still not quite sure what REALLY happened. There could be more than one evil lurking in the lives of the Ayres family. It is classic English Literature at it's best - similar in some ways to The Thirteenth Tale and Jane Eyre, and it is an enticing read! Sarah Waters writes in such a way that you feel you are guiltlessly eavesdropping into the spooky lives of her characters. And the horror, which creeps slowly into focus, is always just beyond your grasp. In fact, I'm still not sure who or what was responsible for the fate of this interesting family. I promise you will enjoy this book.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Blue_Book-Mouse
Posted June 6, 2009
When airport delays are more exciting than the novel, you know you have a problem
I debated giving this novel two stars, based solely on the fact that the author was able to string words into sentences and sentences into paragraphs and maintain the a forward flow of events that might loosely be called a plot, but I think that that is just the overly generous 4th grade teacher in me. From beginning to end this book was a poorly structured, slow moving, burden upon the reader.
In the past, Sarah Waters' work has been delightful to read; Tipping the Velvet and Affinity are perennial favorites of mine and I can still become lost in Fingersmith, even on a 4th or 5th reading. Night Watch, while not nearly as engaging as the first "trilogy," had its highlights, and presented its own "war story" in a new light and I was greatly looking forward reading The Little Stranger.
My first inclination that something was wrong came when I was able to put the book down less than half an hour after starting it... while taxing on a runway, no less.
The Little Stranger starts off slowly, and never picks up speed. Even the parts that could arguably be called climaxes (and there is no single climax in the novel... it is more an elongated path with small uphills along the way) have no sense of urgency to them. I would like to be optimistic and say that Waters did this on purpose as a sort of metaphor, tying the structure of the novel and the action (if it can be called that) of the plot together in a way that mirrors the lives of the characters and makes a larger statement about the plight of upper middle/lower upper-class gentry following the war, but I feel that insisting as such would just my own attempt to justify one of my favorite authors writing such a disappointing tome.
Similarly disappointing are the characters and their seemingly one-sided personalities and reactions to the world around them. While a lack of clear motivation on a character's part can be intriguing ( when done properly, the reader is shocked and left wondering, "Why on Earth would he/she act that way, it makes no sense! I must read more to find out!), in The Little Stranger this omission simply comes across as an awkward failure to flesh out the 4 main characters. By failing to give the reader anyone to sympathize with (in the end I found the only likable character to be the 13 year old maid who wants nothing more than to get the hell out of the house!), an optimist might say that the author was being clever and saying that one might not always find a relatable character in every situation, but again I feel arguing this would just be a disillusioned fan's attempt to justify a flop.
With any luck, Waters will come out with a 6th novel that is half as spectacular as Fingersmith. Until then, save yourself the money and take this book out of the library if you feel that you must read it.3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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The Little Stranger is one that'll keep you guessing till the end.
This book is done in the subtle style of The Others & proved extremely difficult to put down. The detail is painted so vibrantly, you can actually see "The Hundreds" in your mind as well as the characters. The only sad thing is that the "instigator" never realizes it was he/she who set everything in motion even after a detailed descussion over possible causes of the events. The author doesn't come out & tell you either so you have to pay attention or you'll miss it and be left wondering what was it really about?
I also highly recommend anything by Phil Rickman, a Welsh author who makes it not only hard to put the book down, but hard to turn the lights out at night. I listed a few of the "stand alone" titles but he also writes a series featuring a character named Merrily Watkins who is a licensed exorcist thru the Church of England and the trial she faces being a single mother, the situations being an exorcist puts her in, dealing with being a female cleric & the only female exorcist.2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Enthralling Thriller
The premise of this book intrigued me-an old, deteriorating mansion in England, mysterious occurrences. it begged me to pick it up. This book is promoted as a sort of ghost story, but I tell you it is not quite that definitive. It was a beautifully written story, and though it took 100 pages to truly move forward, I found I was not bored by it in any way. I found the house and the people in it to be intriguing and I was curious about their interactions and the developments of their relationships. When the story took a turn after that 100 page mark, I found myself not just intrigued, but now gripping onto the pages, anxious to turn them. I even teared up in the middle of the book. Strange things start to happen in that house and the author lets you mull it around in your mind, debating if the culprit is potentially supernatural or purely the result of a deteriorating mind slipping into madness.
I found it to be quite an enjoyable read and I recommend it. If you are not a fan of ghost stories, please don't be turned away. This is a wonderful piece that could also be classified as historical fiction.2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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MelanieWA
Posted June 8, 2010
Worth a read
I really enjoyed this book. It was very well written and grabbed me from the beginning. Although hardly a horror or thriller, there were some scary moments. The author keeps you in suspense, wanting more and looking for answers in the end. However, details about what really happens in the house are not clear. There's no explanation for any of it and it leaves the reader hanging.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Frost at Midnight
Sarah Waters broadens her scope with this delightful modern take on the gothic novel. Almost as subtle as Henry James in "The Turn of the Screw," she uses a masterful restraint to build both tension and atmosphere until the reader experiences both the progressive and inexorable decay of Hundreds Hall and the growing evil that attaches to it. She is both deft and coy with her allusions while making the air crepitate with menace. On page 357, Dr. Faraday, the somewhat dense protagonist and narrator who prides himself on his rationality, asks Caroline Ayres, the new chatelaine of Hundreds, to say a poem. "'A poem! All right.' And she went on in a prompt, perfunctory way: 'The frost performs its secret ministry, Unhelped by any wind.'" The throwaway line is anything but -- it is both the key to the origin of the title of the novel and the key to its mystery. The line is the opening of Coleridge's "Frost at Midnight," which must be read in full together with the poet's own footnote in order fully to understand Waters' thought process and completely to appreciate her subtle mastery of a difficult genre. In Dr. Faraday's memory of the cri de coeur of Caroline Ayres on the last page of the novel, the reader is at last permitted to see the true nature of the horror that will elude the poor doctor until his longing finds (one hopes) an end in death. Well done, Ms. Waters!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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loved it!
I loved this book, The Little Stranger. The setting was depicted perfectly with the writers beautiful style of writing, wonderful descriptions and excellent development of each character. Visually, I could see the whole story in my head, would actually make a good movie. I will say that the ending could have been beefed up a bit but overall I was very happy to dive into the whole world that was so richly depicted.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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mrssherrieb
Posted June 29, 2009
I Also Recommend:
Classic gothic story
I was totally engrossed in this story. The ending is incredible - I was so stunned that I had to read it twice. This is a MUST read for fans of Rebecca and the Thirteenth Tale.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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NouveauCase
Posted February 2, 2011
A wonderfully haunting read
Sarah Waters' The Little Stranger was a compelling and entrancing read. The synopsis on the site is slightly misleading - those expecting a full-on ghost story will likely be disappointed. But the book achieves far more, weaving a truly terrifying tale of a formerly grand family's harrowing decline. Waters really takes her time developing the story, which may seem like wandering to some readers, justifiably. But the end contains a delicious payoff and imbues the entire story with full meaning - and dread. Waters' use of Dr. Faraday as the seemingly reliable narrator is especially praiseworthy. The Booker Finalist nomination was well-deserved.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted January 9, 2010
Intriguing. Its a pretty good story
Not as scary as I had thought (this is a good thing, because is is not a horror book). Just a suspenseful book about a supposedly haunted house.
Kind of on the long side though.1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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AnglophileKT
Posted November 12, 2009
Haunting
At times I found it long or repetitive, but for me it was certainly moving and stuck in my head for a long time. It takes you to that time and involves you in the story
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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This Book is Boring!
I had high hopes for this book and it failed. I was bored reading it. I kept looking at how many pages I had left to get to the good parts but they never came. Disapointment.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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If It's Raining Outside, Grab a Cup of Tea and This Book
This is a classic dark gothic sneak-up-on-you and grab-you-by-the-throat book! I had a difficult time putting it down. It starts a bit slow but builds to a wonderful crescendo and leaves you very satisfied at the end. In fact, you want more. The setting is dreary, the house is falling down, the characters worn and a bit sad, but that is what is so wonderful about the book - the characters perfectly suit their backdrop and their story. It is an enduring love story and a Greek tragedy all wrapped up together. The Little Stranger is one of the books I am keeping for another read on another rainy, dark day!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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GeorgeinSF
Posted July 3, 2009
Such a disappointment
I had such high hopes based on reviews. I am learning more and more that perhaps reviewers have a vested interest in a book doing well and therefore they are really not to be trusted. If a review from Publishers Weekly comes out, well...consider the source. the book was promising for so long and then it became clear there was no there there. there was no story, certainly nothing fleshed out and satisfactorily explained. I will not read anything by this author again. Gave it a shot and just THANK GOD I got the book from the library. Will NOT recommend it.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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maddymappo
Posted May 26, 2009
Beauty and Brutality
Sarah Waters has written a masterpiece. The story seems an ordinary gothic ghost tale at first. By the time the "little stranger" appears the nature of each character is smoothly and seamlessly revealed so that we know these people very well, and understand how they relate to each other.
Ms. Waters brilliantly exposes the raw nether regions of the minds of the three surviving Ayres, an old upper class family slipping into financial ruin who live in a two century old crumbling mansion and she explores their complex and nuanced relationship with their teenage maid Betty, and their soon to be family Doctor, Dr. Faraday, who himself is the off spring of working class parents (his mother had once been a nursemaid for the Ayers). And it is Dr. Faraday who narrates the tale.
Each of these characters is still trapped in the dying yet still breathing English class hierarchy. Their minds are still captured by the old class structure but the mental wall between the rational and surreal has also begun to warp and crack like the house, allowing cruel and filthy monsters of their subconcious seep out and take shape in the arhitecturally gorgeous yet damp and gloomy spaces of the mansion.
Dr. Faraday felt an almost violent love for the beautiful Ayres mansion when he first saw it as a ten year old boy. He was already recognized as a highly intellegent child, and so his mother was shocked when she learned that on his visit to the house he used his scout pen knife to gauge out a plaster acorn from the elaborate framing of one wall. Not to vandalize it, he explains, but to keep something of this magnificent house with him.
One day, thirty years or more later, by chance, he returns to the mansion to tend to Betty who has fibbed about having a stomach problem. He is saddened to find the beautiful manse he loved as child has been falling into decrepitude, but his longing for the house is once again awakened.
This is not a mystery to solve. It is a brilliant study of the beauty yet ultimate brutality of the dying class system and we can continue to delve into and ponder the characters of this book long after reading the final sentence.1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Historical fiction with a chill
Another excellent atmospheric novel by Sarah Waters. This one is set in the 1940s, just after WW II. Dr. Faraday is called out to Hundreds Hall, a local estate of a formerly wealthy (but now destitute) family. He becomes involved not just with the eccentric Ayres family, but also with the house itself. When strange, unexplained things start to happen at the estate it's up to Dr.Faraday to find a reasonable explanation for it all.
Creepy it parts, this book reminds me somewhat of The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. You won't find any gore or monsters here, but more of a subtle, crafy chill.1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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