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3.06 AVERAGE
3.06 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As the "first Gothic novel," The Castle of Otranto deserves respect. It kickstarted a new movement of English literature featuring supernatural elements and psychological horror. Much is owed to this book for its profound influence on the literary scene that ultimately led to some genuinely great classics.
That being said, the book itself is nothing too special to read today. It has aged fairly poorly, leaving many of its attempts at shocking twists and dramatic moments feeling completely cheap and underwhelming. Most sentences are action or expository dialogue purely aimed at furthering the plot. Considering this, and Horace Walpole naming Shakespeare as an influence in the book's prologue, I imagine that this story would have been better suited as a play. Ultimately, while nothing offensive or outright bad, The Castle of Otranto is better appreciated for its historical importance than its intrinsic quality as a work of fiction.
That being said, the book itself is nothing too special to read today. It has aged fairly poorly, leaving many of its attempts at shocking twists and dramatic moments feeling completely cheap and underwhelming. Most sentences are action or expository dialogue purely aimed at furthering the plot. Considering this, and Horace Walpole naming Shakespeare as an influence in the book's prologue, I imagine that this story would have been better suited as a play. Ultimately, while nothing offensive or outright bad, The Castle of Otranto is better appreciated for its historical importance than its intrinsic quality as a work of fiction.
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-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
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
adventurous
fast-paced
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Murder
This book was so oder the place. The pacing was weird. Every reveal seemed to come out of nowhere with no Build-up. The events campe after another without smooth transition. Its a pioneer of gothic novels but of course it was not scary. The old men were disguisting. It could have helfend if this had a central character we followed. This feel Like the novel Version of a play- and i dont enjoy plays much. I couldnt grasp and meaning in this. Maybe any message went over my head because I was too diguisted by the old men trying to marry each other daughter.