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3.06 AVERAGE
3.06 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Manfred would thrive on incel Reddit
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Shout out to Granddaddy Gothic himself for writing a book that could’ve been fantastic if it wasn’t so boring!
Have to give credit where credit is due because Walpole has written several extremely hateable men here. However (and maybe this is a product of the time i.e. books were very hard to produce Back Then, so the shorter the better) I found it difficult to engage with any of these characters; we got about 10 words of exposition for each of them and then were expected to care what happened to them.
Not necessarily something I’d recommend to someone looking to start reading Gothic texts, but still an important work for understanding the genesis of the genre.
Have to give credit where credit is due because Walpole has written several extremely hateable men here. However (and maybe this is a product of the time i.e. books were very hard to produce Back Then, so the shorter the better) I found it difficult to engage with any of these characters; we got about 10 words of exposition for each of them and then were expected to care what happened to them.
Not necessarily something I’d recommend to someone looking to start reading Gothic texts, but still an important work for understanding the genesis of the genre.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
He thinks he’s the hamburgler.
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
slow-paced
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a quick but not thrilling read. The first chapter was very gothic and exciting, but it sadly devolved into chatter. I was shocked that there was so much potential sexual attacks, but no one ended up being compromised, so it was not graphic. There were idiosyncrasies: I thought it was funny how frequently characters interrupted others' speeches and how Theodore kept declaring his sincerity and his lack of fear for his threatened life. Also, I'm not sure the magical elements were particularly necessary--the skeleton, giant, and spectre. They seemed to be in there for the fun of it and not very much explained except because of a curse coming to fruition. Then the characters were a bit annoying: Manfred was extraordinarily impulsive and had a ridiculous temper and his wife Hippolyta seriously needed some voice for herself... like she loves her husband but will totally accept a divorce because he wants one to marry another. It was touching how intensely loving Matilda was for her mother and sad that Theodore marries because he can at least talk about his former love with his partner.
There were some good messages that shockingly related to Vanity Fair: the fathers give up their daughters unhesitatingly so as to selfishly achieve their sexual desires; they realize when it's too late that they acted with vanity. This book also reminded me of Princess of Cleves--the story's short length, its not overly impressive writing style, and its seduced and impulsive men of rank/virginal women of rank trying to maintain honour. "Heaven ejects us . . . May this bloody record be a warning to future tyrants!"--I think this can be applied as a warning for readers to be careful with their actions.
There were some good messages that shockingly related to Vanity Fair: the fathers give up their daughters unhesitatingly so as to selfishly achieve their sexual desires; they realize when it's too late that they acted with vanity. This book also reminded me of Princess of Cleves--the story's short length, its not overly impressive writing style, and its seduced and impulsive men of rank/virginal women of rank trying to maintain honour. "Heaven ejects us . . . May this bloody record be a warning to future tyrants!"--I think this can be applied as a warning for readers to be careful with their actions.
I first stumbled on to this title while perusing the Librivox archive and the title caught my eye. I was not quite sure what I was getting myself into, and it turned out to be one of the funniest stories I've ever read.
I'm not sure if the writer intended for all the hi-jinks and it could simply be the way modern, twenty-first-century eyes look at the novel. Walpole wrote the book in the 1700s, and the melodrama could have been the standard of the time. I found the way that everything seemed to tie into each other and invariably hit a snag gave meaning to the phrase plot twist.
Only later did I find out when I did a bit of research that the book is considered the grandfather of Victorian Gothic romance and I can see why. Almost every trope and stereotype is featured.
Once you get past the old English, the book became quite enjoyable, and it held my attention through to the end.
I'm not sure if the writer intended for all the hi-jinks and it could simply be the way modern, twenty-first-century eyes look at the novel. Walpole wrote the book in the 1700s, and the melodrama could have been the standard of the time. I found the way that everything seemed to tie into each other and invariably hit a snag gave meaning to the phrase plot twist.
Only later did I find out when I did a bit of research that the book is considered the grandfather of Victorian Gothic romance and I can see why. Almost every trope and stereotype is featured.
Once you get past the old English, the book became quite enjoyable, and it held my attention through to the end.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced