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3.06 AVERAGE
3.06 AVERAGE
challenging
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
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:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
so ridiculously fun LOL
super interesting the idea of a man’s knightly armor haunting a home. hard to picture but loved the idea
the excessive deference of matilda and hippolita is, of course, annoying as hell. hippolita makes more sense where it was annoying but understandable, but matilda’s was nonsensical. her dad threatens to rape her friend, treats her mom like crap, and then murders her, and matilda goes out saying to forgive him. way too saint-like for me.
down with the patriarchy 🤬🤬🤬 ugh esp in the scene where manfred is literally about to rape isabella and the novel’s like “uhh usually he’s a good guy. just passionate at times”
super interesting the idea of a man’s knightly armor haunting a home. hard to picture but loved the idea
the excessive deference of matilda and hippolita is, of course, annoying as hell. hippolita makes more sense where it was annoying but understandable, but matilda’s was nonsensical. her dad threatens to rape her friend, treats her mom like crap, and then murders her, and matilda goes out saying to forgive him. way too saint-like for me.
down with the patriarchy 🤬🤬🤬 ugh esp in the scene where manfred is literally about to rape isabella and the novel’s like “uhh usually he’s a good guy. just passionate at times”
i did love the female relationships tho; hippy is a “good” mom (patriarchy notwithstanding) and the girls respect each other deeply. isabella planning on sabotaging the relationship and when she sees how deeply matilda cares about theo, giving up on the plan ☹️☹️☹️☹️ like awww omg they’re sisters ughh
so sad that theo and matilda couldn't be together. he doesn’t even fall for isabella, he just marries her bc she can understand the grief of losing matilda like 😭😭😭😭😭
The OG boss of the gothic genre. Belongs to the first wave of gothic novels, where the supernatural is out there, in your face and not hiding behind symbolism or subtle psychology.
I mean, there’s a giant ghost helmet falling from the sky...
What’s even wilder is that Walpole presented the whole thing as a “found” medieval manuscript. Honestly, Walpole might have been the first literary influencer, lol. He knew how to stir up hype before the genre even had a name. Talk about a successful launch.
It’s an atmospheric read for sure! Plus, it has my utmost respect for pioneering what turned out to be one of my all-time favorite genres. I’m eternally grateful for its existence.
I mean, there’s a giant ghost helmet falling from the sky...
What’s even wilder is that Walpole presented the whole thing as a “found” medieval manuscript. Honestly, Walpole might have been the first literary influencer, lol. He knew how to stir up hype before the genre even had a name. Talk about a successful launch.
It’s an atmospheric read for sure! Plus, it has my utmost respect for pioneering what turned out to be one of my all-time favorite genres. I’m eternally grateful for its existence.
A reread in anticipation of Northanger Abbey book discussion. I'd forgotten how ridiculous it is, but it's kind of fun, especially since it's short, and worth the time in order to get some historical/literary context.
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can appreciate this novel for its literary influence, as a lover of gothic fiction, however I felt the style of writing to be a bit difficult to follow, especially the dialogue. It's interesting to see some of these commonly used tropes when they were considered newer, but I wish the plot wasn't as rushed - the book could easily be twice as long and still flow well. Lots of reference to Shakespeare - both through the use of language and structure. Definitely benefitted from an annotated copy of the book to understand some of the lesser known (to me) references. Probably worth a reread after doing some background reading, in order to appreciate this fully, but can't say that I will be thinking about this much after I shelve it.
A super quick read, glad to say I've read it, but didn't quite live up to expectations.
A super quick read, glad to say I've read it, but didn't quite live up to expectations.