Book Review: Dolly

Dolly by Susan Hill

The blurb: The remoter parts of the English Fens are forlorn, lost and damp even in the height of summer. At Iyot Lock, a large decaying house, two young cousins, Leonora and Edward are parked for the summer with their ageing spinster aunt and her cruel housekeeper.

At first the unpleasantness and petty meannesses appear simply spiteful, calculated to destroy Edward’s equanimity. But when spoilt Leonora is not given the birthday present of a specific dolly that she wants, affairs inexorably take a much darker turn with terrifying, life destroying, consequences for everyone.

My review: A new ghost story by Susan Hill is always looked upon with delight, no one else quite masters that slow, trickling dread and Dolly is no exception. If you are familiar with the Edwardian & Victorian ghost story greats, a comparison here is not undeserved. There is a subtlety in style and pace that leaves you with a lingering sense of unease, far after you have finished the book.

This book differs slightly from the last Susan Hill I read and I’m trying to remember if the same goes for The Woman in Black, in that the main protagonist, young Edward is wholly undeserving of any malice or violence that is sent his way. It seems unjust that a quiet, calm child should have the terror that his cousin Leonara represents inflicted upon him. But so goes the way of the world. The location here is perfectly suited to the narrative and Hill has a way of conjuring up bleakness where we would normally see a quaint and sunny village!

This book plays on strong emotions leaving an imprint and creating something not wholly natural. The title and the cover bring to mind the blank, porcelain faces of Victorian dolls, which in themselves are horribly creepy and give a good indication of the levels of rising dread to be expected from this book. A fantastic ghost story, that underplays the horror which makes it all the more terrifying!

7 out of 10 stars! *******

BUY ME! Dolly: A Ghost Story

Book Review: The Man in the Picture

The Man in the Picture by Susan Hill

The blurb: In the apartment of Oliver’s old professor at Cambridge, there is a painting on the wall, a mysterious depiction of masked revelers at the Venice carnival. On this cold winter’s night, the old professor has decided to reveal the painting’s eerie secret. The dark art of the Venetian scene, instead of imitating life, has the power to entrap it. To stare into the painting is to play dangerously with the unseen demons it hides, and become the victim of its macabre beauty.

By the renowned storyteller Susan Hill–whose first ghost story, The Woman in Black, has run for eighteen years as a play in London’s West End–here is a new take on a form that is fully classical and, in Hill’s able hands, newly vital. The Man in the Picture is a haunting tale of loss, love, and the very basest fear of our beings.

My review: Well no one does Victoria-style chilling horror like Susan Hill. I bought this and Dolly – review on the way – to read on a two hour train journey from snowy York back to London and it suited the atmosphere.

This novella has the one trait I praise above all others in a horror novel (and my reading isn’t extensive) and that’s subtlety. No direct references to rotting corpses or headless zombies are required, a well paced narrative and mere suggestion should be enough to let even the laziest imaginations run wild. The hint of the unjust, the tell-tale signs of mysterious goings on, noises in the night, disappearances of loved ones and a coincidence too many make this an excellent example of the genre.

This was a brilliant quick read if you want to give yourself a fright. The ability of the narrator to at once confirm your worst suspicions whilst acknowledging how hard his story will be to believe is balanced just right. The pace is steady, everything is explained and taken one step at a time which makes the horror so much more genuine. A fantastic example of where your imagination can take you.

7.5 out of 10 stars! *******.5

BUY ME! The Man in the Picture: A Ghost Story

Book Review: The Woman In Black

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

The blurb: First published in 1983, The Woman in Black is Susan Hill’s best-loved novel, and the basis for the UK’s second longest ever running stage play, and a major film starring Daniel Radcliffe. Arthur Kipps, a young lawyer, travels to a remote village to put the affairs of a recently deceased client, Alice Drablow in order. As he works alone in her isolated house, Kipps begins to uncover disturbing secrets – and his unease grows when he glimpses a mysterious woman dressed in black. The locals are strangely unwilling to talk about the unsettling occurrence, and Kipps is forced to uncover the true identity of the Woman in Black on his own, leading to a desperate race against time when he discovers her true intent…

My review: I picked this up for two reason, one the cover is beautiful, the small format hardback is completely gorgeous and sits nicely next to my copy of The Small Hand. Two, I wanted to make sure I’d read it before seeing the film in the daft hope that knowing the ending would lessen the scare factor. Hmm.

However since chatting to someone who’s seen the film and hearing it’s completely different from the book I think I’m going to give it a miss. There’s no way it can live up to the book.

Creepy. Creepy. Creepy.

Susan Hill has completely captured the essence of the Edwardian ghost story, the sense of impending doom, the subtle terror, the squeaking chair and the very long sentences! There’s no room for escape when a sentence is the entire paragraph long. It builds your sense of unease. And whilst fantastical there’s something very real and truly sad about this book, you can’t help but feel the woman in black is justified in her sadness.

This is a brilliant book, atmospheric and chilling, your mind fills in the elegantly structured gaps which makes the whole thing even more terrifying. If I’m on lonely stretches of road, or on the Isle of Wight where it’s a little bit too quiet, I’m reminded of Eel Marsh House. Petrifying!

8 out of 10 stars! ********

Book Review: The Small Hand

The Small Hand by Susan Hill

The blurb: Returning home from a visit to a client late one summer’s evening, antiquarian bookseller Adam Snow takes a wrong turning and stumbles across the derelict old White House. Compelled by curiosity, he approaches the door, and, standing before the entrance feels the unmistakable sensation of a small hand creeping into his own, ‘as if a child had taken hold of it’. Intrigued by the encounter, he determines to learn more, and discovers that the owner’s grandson had drowned tragically many years before. At first unperturbed by the odd experience, Snow begins to be plagued by haunting dreams, panic attacks, and more frequent visits from the small hand which become increasingly threatening and sinister …

My review: I was immediately attracted to this book. I have read Susan Hill before, I loved The Various Haunts of Men but that wasn’t what made me pick it up. I absolutely love Victorian and Edwardian ghost stories, I’ve been a fan all my life and grew up reading the compilations that you could buy for a pound in bargain bins. So much in these ghost stories is implied and it leaves you chilled to your bones just to think about it! I find my imagination is more than capable of filling in all the grizzly gaps!

Plus The Small Hand looks beautiful, its an adorable little book. As to the story itself, I was slightly disappointed. I think coming to it with such a love of this kind of book I had high expectations. Hill’s voice throughout is perfect, she maintains the perfect pitch and tone, the quiet patience of a storyteller that knows that anticipation is half the fun. The main character Adam Snow is an acquirer of fine and collectable books for his many wealthy clients and his life has a roaming quality that works brilliantly. The derelict white house he stumbles upon is so beautifully described that I could almost touch it.

However my issue is this is a tale, not a book and I feel it was a little too long at 167 pages. It could have been tighter and there were moments when I thought I was going to be really frightened and it fell sadly just short from the post. The Small Hand is a great little book, and it weaves a mysterious web, but for me it just needs a little something more. True tense terror!

6.5 out of 10 stars! ******.5

BUY ME! The Small Hand