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aloy's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Child death, Alcoholism, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Murder, Toxic friendship, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Blood, Violence, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Medical content, Gore, Drug use, Classism, Grief, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, and Animal death
Moderate: Racism, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Racial slurs
Minor: Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
immovabletype's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
this book is perfectly paced and builds tension and fear very well. i admit i'm an easy mark when it comes to haunted houses but fwiw this definitely gave me some real chills. i flew through the last third of the book. unfortunately it fell short of its potential for me. in particular this is a historical, victorian novel steeped in the expectations on women from outside of their control and within themselves - a lot of themes of what it means for a woman to be mad, and it blurs the line a bit. i was into it, and then some reveals happened that seemed to undercut that commentary. by the time it got to its ambiguous ending (ugh) it didn't even have the power to annoy me as much as it usually does because i was already disappointed.
i can't really say much further without spoilering since my gripes hinge on a big twist, but i am going to include them (under spoilers) in my content warnings below.
i can't really say much further without spoilering since my gripes hinge on a big twist, but i am going to include them (under spoilers) in my content warnings below.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Ableism, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Classism, Grief, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Gore, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Alcohol, Animal death, Confinement, Infertility, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault, Vomit, Child abuse, and Drug use
expanding on infertility triggers, as well as additional ableism/disfigurement prejudice: there is a disfigured child who is mute due to a birth defect. it's believed she was born without a tongue because her mother used witchcraft to conceive her when she was unable to conceive. big, plot important spoilers:lydiavsbooks's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
A really solid gothic horror novel with a historical setting and brilliant spooky atmosphere. This follows a pregnant widow as she moves into the family estate of her late husband, where she discovers a set of painted wooden figures, the Silent Companions, and creepy things start happening.
I had loads of fun with this one. The switching between timelines worked really well for me and added to the intrigue in trying to piece together what was going on. The concept of the Silent Companions was brilliant and I loved the eery descriptions of the companions and the setting combined that greater that gothic atmosphere. It may have been that I finished this at 2am when I was home alone, but it also successfully creeped me out a little at times which was a nice surprise: I've been struggling to find horrors that actually scare me recently.
There were times it i was worried it was taking a turn towards an unreliable 'mentally ill' narrator plot twist , which are more often than not handled pretty insensitively, but I was relieved with the direction it did take and the way it handled the themes around that.
I do wish we got more of the main character's personality coming through. It took until very late in the book to feel I had some sort of understanding of the main character, and even when we did get a closer look it was more reveals about her trauma rather than who she was as a character.
I did also see a review that critiqued potential ableism in the way disfigurement is paired with evil. I'm not really sure where I sit with this: it is set in the 1600-1800s and at points it does acknowledge those attitudes to be an unfortunate product of the time, but it still does draw that link within the plot. I do just think its something to be aware of.
Overall it was a really great time, good amount of spookidge as well as some more emotional moments, definitely recommend.
I had loads of fun with this one. The switching between timelines worked really well for me and added to the intrigue in trying to piece together what was going on. The concept of the Silent Companions was brilliant and I loved the eery descriptions of the companions and the setting combined that greater that gothic atmosphere. It may have been that I finished this at 2am when I was home alone, but it also successfully creeped me out a little at times which was a nice surprise: I've been struggling to find horrors that actually scare me recently.
There were times it i was worried it was taking a turn towards an unreliable 'mentally ill' narrator plot twist , which are more often than not handled pretty insensitively, but I was relieved with the direction it did take and the way it handled the themes around that.
I do wish we got more of the main character's personality coming through. It took until very late in the book to feel I had some sort of understanding of the main character, and even when we did get a closer look it was more reveals about her trauma rather than who she was as a character.
I did also see a review that critiqued potential ableism in the way disfigurement is paired with evil. I'm not really sure where I sit with this: it is set in the 1600-1800s and at points it does acknowledge those attitudes to be an unfortunate product of the time, but it still does draw that link within the plot. I do just think its something to be aware of.
Overall it was a really great time, good amount of spookidge as well as some more emotional moments, definitely recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, and Miscarriage
Minor: Racial slurs and Drug use
ggcd1981's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Rating: 4.50 estrelas
TRIGER WARNING: Death, Miscarriage, Death of Parent, Fire Injuries, Suicide, Murder, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Mental Illness, Racism, Ableism, Animal Death, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Drug use
No meu retorno a leitura acabei descobrindo que gosto bastante de Terror e Mistério Gótico. Desde sempre tive essa impressão pois sempre apreciei filmes que eram parte do gênero, e gostei bastante de “Os inocentes” quando o li em minha adolescência. Mas foi a partir do meu retorno a leitura no ano de Nosso Senhor de 2020 que realmente se tornou claro pra mim que Terror/Mistério Gótico é um dos meus subgêneros de ficção preferidos. The Silent Companions é uma entrada recente desse subgênero. Apesar de recente a autora, Laura Purcell, criou uma atmosfera Gótica da época Vitoriana bastante intrigante, com todos os dias cinzas, casas assombradas, ambientação de época que um Terror gótico tem direito. Eu gostei bastante da atmosfera e dos personagens. Elsie, Sarah. Jolyon foram personagens que gostei de seguir e até mesmo a irritante Mabel, acredito ter sido essa a intenção da autora. Elsie foi uma protagonista forte. Ela encarou situações que eu nunca suportaria (andar a noite sozinha na casa sabendo que “os companheiros” estavam em todo lugar é um grande “NÃO” para mim) e mostrou coragem sempre que necessário, todo o tempo demonstrando que lutava contra o medo que sentia.
Devo admitir que minhas habilidades de compreensão de texto não deviam estar 100%, pois ao checar no Goodreads perguntas sobre a obra vi que um leitor perguntou se Jolyon era filho de Elsie que havia sido abusada por seu pai. A autora respondeu que sim ao leitor. Fiquei bege. O abuso sexual por parte do pai passou pela minha cabeça, mas em nenhum momento desconfiei que o apego de Elsie por Jolyon era porque este era seu filho e não irmão. Isso torna os acontecimentos do final ainda mais significantes.
Algo que não gostei na história foi que na seção em que foi contado como a família Bainbridge do falecido marido de Elsie, Rupert, adquiriu os Silent companions no ano de 1635, após o trágico sacrifício do cavalo do rei e desonra da família Bainbridge, Anne Bainbridge tentou devolver os companheiros a loja em que havia comprado, só que, surpresa, surpresa, todo o prédio e a loja haviam desaparecido. Isso foi desnecessariamente cliché. A autora poderia ter, por exemplo, feito o prédio estar lá, porém vazio de forma a implantar a dúvida se o vendedor era humano ou não. Da forma como foi feita parece cliché e ao mesmo tempo desconectado de todos os outros elementos da história. Porque uma loja fantasma apareceria ali, naquele momento, ao mesmo tempo que Hetta, filha de Anne, já era um elemento sobrenatural na casa dos Bainbridge? A autora poderia ter construído uma relação entre a loja e Hetta para não parecer tão desconectado, aleatório e coincidente.
Outra ressalva que tenho sobre o livro, mas esta porque sou sensível a crueldade contra animais, foram as mortes do cavalo e da vaca, as quais foram cruéis. Mas tenho que admitir que houve proposito para as mortes e estas não foram descritas de forma gráfica.
Gostei bastante do desenvolvimento da amizade entre Elsie e Sarah. O relacionamento delas começou com antipatia por parte de Elsie e evoluiu para que as duas só conseguissem confiar uma na outra. Isso tornou o final, em que Hetta possuiu Sarah permanentemente, mais triste e amargo, pois eu realmente queria que elas continuassem juntas. E por fim o livro deixou um final aberto em que não sabemos se Elsie foi condenada a forca ou continuou presa no Hospício. Acredito, que apesar de aberto, o final foi adequado.
Gostei do livro. Pelas questões mencionadas, particularmente o desaparecimento da loja, não posso dar 5 estrelas, mas acredito em um sólido 4.5 estrelas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gore, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, and Rape
ameliac_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Xenophobia, Sexism, Racism, Murder, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Grief, and Death
Minor: Vomit, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Medical content, Infertility, Gore, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Confinement, Child death, Child abuse, Body horror, and Blood
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