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: Jar City

Jar City by Arnaldur Indridason

The blurb: A man is found murdered in his Reykjavik flat. There are no obvious clues apart from a cryptic note left on the body and a photograph of a young girl’s grave. Detective Erlendur is forced to use all the forensic resources available to find any leads at all. Delving into the dead man’s life he discovers that forty years ago he was accused of an appalling crime.

Did his past come back to haunt him? Finally, Erlendur’s search leads him to Iceland’s Genetic Research Centre in order to find the disturbing answers to the mystery. This prizewinning international bestseller is the first in a new series of crime novels set in Iceland.

My review: A bit of a mixed bag here but I think that’s because I’ve read so much Scandinavian/Icelandic crime now that I have very high expectations!

This is a dark, dismal novel, it seems to rain permenantly and the weather infects the characters and the scenario with a sort of drizzly greyness. The characters themselves aren’t very likeable, even when a Detective is desperately flawed there is normally an element of his character that redeems him but nothing like that here, you just don’t like them! The names are confusing, the locations are confusing. Crime in translation needs careful adapting and I think this was done sloppily. But it kept on a pace, I became invested, was interested to know who had done it but the suspense and the tension just wasn’t there. The first in a series I sadly don’t think I’ll go back to.

4 out of 10 stars ****

One Book, Two Book, Three Book, Four… and Five!

Whilst browsing the net I happened upon Stuck in a Book, I love book blogs with good recommendations and found the proprietor Stuart had created a cool little meme for bloggers to follow, so here below is my entry!

1.) The Book I’m Currently Reading:

The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor, and I love it! I can’t put it down, I find myself wishing my commute was longer so I could spend more time reading it. Definitely a book you need to devote yourself too but worth it, review on the way!

2.) The Last Book I Finished:

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald And you can read the review below!

3.) The Next Book I Want To Read:

The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore  I bought this a month ago and it’s sitting next to my bed crying out to be read. I can’t quite believe I haven’t gotten round to this yet, perhaps I’m waiting for a long weekend of nothing to devote to it. Who knows! I know I can’t wait to get started!

4.) The Last Book I Bought:

The Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell about a hour ago on Amazon. I’ve bought a lot of books recently for my approaching holiday and this looks so beautiful. I thought I should finally give in and buy a copy.

5.) The Last Book I Was Given:

The Girl on the Cliff by Lucinda Riley, the lovely Helen at Penguin sent me this, I’ve been hearing good things about it from other bloggers so it’s high on my to be read pile!

Book Review: The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The blurb: ‘One of the greatest works of American literature…a timeless evocation of the allure, corruption and carelessness of wealth’ The Times

Jay Gatsby is a self-made man famed for his decadent, champagne-drenched parties. Despite being surrounded by Long Island’s bright and beautiful, he longs only for Daisy Buchanan. In shimmering prose, Fitzgerald shows Gatsby pursue his dream to its tragic conclusion.

‘A stunning illumination of the world…not only a miracle of talent but a triumph of technique’ Richard Yates

My review: As some people might know I work with books. This is as much detail as I’m going to go into. Now I have embarked on this career without an English Literature degree and there are countless people around me who have them and more in abundance. So this book and other classics I have been and will read, are all part of my continuing education into great literature. I’m in love with good stories you see and witty wordplay tends to leave me a little  unmoved.

However saying that The Great Gatsby did, in the end, win me over. There are some paragraphs describing the scenery of New York or West Egg that are without a doubt beautiful. Did my eyes glaze over whilst reading them half asleep on my commute home – yes. Unfortunately yards of descriptive prose are not one of my strong points. But underneath it all there is a compelling story here.

Gatsby is a man possessed, the social mores of the time do not allow for women’s rights to chose, to divorce easily or to demand divorce if their husband is unfaithful. I found Gatsby a dark and troubled character. The lives of those he effects and the stories of Nick the narrator, Tom and Daisy and Jordan and how they intertwine are very fascinating. The social mores of the time border on the vulgar obsession with wealth which leads more often than not to corruption. I can see why it’s a classic. It’s a perfect painting of 1920′s New York, the Jazz Age and the American Dream, something insubstantial and fleeting. Brilliant.

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

BUY ME! The Great Gatsby (Wordsworth Classics)

Book Review: To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The blurb: ‘Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’

A lawyer’s advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee’s classic novel – a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the thirties. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man’s struggle for justice. But the weight of history will only tolerate so much.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming-of-age story, an anti-racist novel, a historical drama of the Great Depression and a sublime example of the Southern writing tradition.

My review: What have I been doing with my life! I completely missed this book out in my reading history which was a massive and insane oversight. It is absolutely brilliant. The characters are drawn with such precision that they stay with you for weeks after you’ve put it down.

The setting is very atmospheric and the boiling pot of prejudices in the Deep South in the thirties seen through the eyes of a child was a stroke of genius. I cried, I laughed, I was astounded at how far we’ve come. The whole thing had to be read in my head with a southern accent which was fun! Just a truly seminal book. I can’t tell you how much I thoroughly enjoyed this book. (Also it was my boyfriends old GCSE copy and I had a ridiculous amount of fun mocking him about his pencil notes in the margin!)

There’s a reason it’s a classic.

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

BUY ME! To Kill A Mockingbird: 50th Anniversary edition

Book Review: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

The blurb: How thin is the line between good and evil?Dr Jekyll has been experimenting with his identity. He has developed a drug which separates the two sides of his nature and allows him to occasionally abandon himself to his most corrupt inclinations as the monstrous Mr Hyde.But gradually he begins to find that the journey back to goodness becomes more and more difficult, and the risk that Mr Hyde will break free entirely from Dr Jekyll’s control puts all of London in grave peril.

My review: I found starting this book quite hard. Not disastrously so, no more than rereading the first page about twenty times until I realised that through the books I’ve been reading I’ve become a bit lazy with my english! Going back to a classic made me feel I had fully engaged my brain which was a nice change.

You can see why this is a classic. The vintage cover is beautiful and makes me want to buy the whole collection.

Jekyll and Hyde is the most classic example of a psychological thriller, the battle between man’s base desires and his virtues. It’s a moralistic tale but told with great suspense and skilful narration. I would say it’s told in two halves from the perspective of an outsider and then finally in a series of revelatory letters from Dr Jekyll to his friend. I’m sure the ending is familiar to many, as it becomes increasingly hard for Jekyll to control Hyde, one wonders if he really wants to, perhaps he preferred the beast? If you haven’t ever read this book I highly recomend you pick up a copy, it’s quite short and a wonderful tale to devour in one sitting.

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

BUY ME! Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Book Review: Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand

Fred Vargas

Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand by Fred Vargas

The blurb:

Between 1943 and 2003 nine people have been stabbed to death with a most unusual weapon: a trident. In each case, arrests were made, suspects confessed their crimes and were sentenced to life in prison. One slightly worrying detail: each presumed murderer lost consciousness during the night of the crime and has no recollection of it.

Commissaire Adamsberg is convinced all the murders are the work of one person, the terrifying Judge Fulgence. Years before, Adamsberg’s own brother had been the principal suspect in a similar case and avoided prison only thanks to Adamsberg’s help. Then history begins to repeat itself…

My Review:

Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand by Fred Vargas falls into the crime in translation category and is a great example of the genre. Vargas story tells of Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg, a commissiare of police in Paris and his life long quest to bring Judge Fulgence to justice. The judge however, having died sixteen years previously, seems to be intent on killing from beyond the grave.

The twists and turns in the plot are pleasurable rather than shocking and more than one turn can be glimpsed from around the corner before it occurs. However there is the odd red herring and double cross. A gently rolling roller coaster then, that nevertheless, by the power of Vargas’s mesmerising storytelling pulls you in and entrances you

The characters, Adamsberg and his deputy in particular are very likeable, quirky characters with more than their fare share of foibles. There is humour throughout this book laced in with the crime and its definitely worth picking up. At times spooky and mysterious at others funny and intelligent, an intriguing and refreshing read.

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

Out Now