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hollsbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
4.0
cristinabr's review against another edition
2.0
I was curious to read the book because I'm a big fan of the film, however it's incredibly boring and couldn't finish it. All the suspense is interrupted and ruined by long descriptions of very unimportant things, the author 'tells' you everything and doesn't leave much to the characters.
labunnywtf's review against another edition
3.0
The one thing I will take away from the reading of this book is that Henry Farrell wrote it because his wife was dying.
Molly Dodd, an actress and his wife, was diagnosed with cancer. He'd had a modest success in his writing, but cancer is expensive, and he needed money. So he decided to write something that would be a commercial success. And out came this book. She died in 1981, and this story has become a cult classic that is still talked about almost 60 years after publication. That's the hook, for me.
The story itself is kind of amazing. The atmosphere is so claustrophobic, the tension so thick. Even if you've seen the movie and know how it will end, you'll still feel like the walls are closing in on you while reading it.
Included in this edition are three other stories Farrell published, including What Ever Happened to Cousin Charlotte? I have yet to see that movie, but from reading [b: The Divine Feud|374652|Bette and Joan The Divine Feud|Shaun Considine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1356634243s/374652.jpg|364526] I knew how it would go. It's a short story, but I like it even better than Baby Jane.
The other two are completely forgettable.
Baby Jane is a solid three stars. Worth the read, but you get just as much from seeing the movie.
Molly Dodd, an actress and his wife, was diagnosed with cancer. He'd had a modest success in his writing, but cancer is expensive, and he needed money. So he decided to write something that would be a commercial success. And out came this book. She died in 1981, and this story has become a cult classic that is still talked about almost 60 years after publication. That's the hook, for me.
The story itself is kind of amazing. The atmosphere is so claustrophobic, the tension so thick. Even if you've seen the movie and know how it will end, you'll still feel like the walls are closing in on you while reading it.
Included in this edition are three other stories Farrell published, including What Ever Happened to Cousin Charlotte? I have yet to see that movie, but from reading [b: The Divine Feud|374652|Bette and Joan The Divine Feud|Shaun Considine|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1356634243s/374652.jpg|364526] I knew how it would go. It's a short story, but I like it even better than Baby Jane.
The other two are completely forgettable.
Baby Jane is a solid three stars. Worth the read, but you get just as much from seeing the movie.
jo_in_bookland's review against another edition
4.0
This classic from 1960 is a well-executed psychological horror novel about sibling jealousy and rivalry.
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Baby Jane a former popular child singer/dancer, now in her 60s has been her younger sister Jane's caregiver since an accident left her partially paralyzed. Jane was a famous actress herself before her career got cut short.
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Jane always had a temperament but now some event triggers her and she becomes really unhinged.
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Even though the story is a bit slow at times, there's quite a bit of suspense as you don't know what to expect and how far things will go. There's also a nice little twist at the end.
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I really enjoyed this book and thought the writing was quite good. This edition also contains 3 bonus short stories, 2 of which were fantastic.
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Baby Jane a former popular child singer/dancer, now in her 60s has been her younger sister Jane's caregiver since an accident left her partially paralyzed. Jane was a famous actress herself before her career got cut short.
.
Jane always had a temperament but now some event triggers her and she becomes really unhinged.
.
Even though the story is a bit slow at times, there's quite a bit of suspense as you don't know what to expect and how far things will go. There's also a nice little twist at the end.
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I really enjoyed this book and thought the writing was quite good. This edition also contains 3 bonus short stories, 2 of which were fantastic.
lea_shiny's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
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
4.0
Enjoyed this a lot.
Read it after watching the movie with Joan Crawford and Bette Davis.
Interesting to see where the differences lie between the two.
Great book on its own. Still wondering if more happened to Jane than is explicitly said.
Read it after watching the movie with Joan Crawford and Bette Davis.
Interesting to see where the differences lie between the two.
Great book on its own. Still wondering if more happened to Jane than is explicitly said.
mads5289's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mbas's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
pizzamyheart's review against another edition
5.0
I have not yet seen the movie, nor watched Feud. This is a suspensful, heart pounding, page turner with excellent timing. It reads like a movie. I am now excited to see the movie, and hope it lives up to the book. I think it will. While not completely 5 stars, I only had a few small critiques. They were not enough to warrant making it 4 stars.
shandra's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED What Ever Happened to Baby Jane from start to finish. Jane is a trainwreck while Blanche is her own kind of self-contained disaster. There's this animosity between the sisters which is terrifying yet understandable, easy to relate to for anyone who has a sibling and experienced 'sibling rivalry', and completely engrossing. I could not stop reading it until the ending which was so shocking it was perfect!
The edition I read also included the short stories "What Ever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?" which was the inspiration for the film "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" and was even more chilling than Baby Jane's story, "The Debut of Larry Richards" which was a thrill-ride packed into a tiny amount of pages, and "First, The Egg" which was disappointing to me in comparison to all of Farrell's other writing I'd been exposed to up to that ending story. It felt as if it was a terrible plan to end with that piece when it was -to me- the weakest of the three shorts as well as nowhere near the quality of Baby Jane's story.
I have wanted to read this for a long, long time. I'm so happy I did. If it's on your TBR, I'd recommend giving it a go because it's fast reading, fast-paced, and anything but fast-or-loose with the characterization of the eternally memorable Hudson sisters.
The edition I read also included the short stories "What Ever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?" which was the inspiration for the film "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" and was even more chilling than Baby Jane's story, "The Debut of Larry Richards" which was a thrill-ride packed into a tiny amount of pages, and "First, The Egg" which was disappointing to me in comparison to all of Farrell's other writing I'd been exposed to up to that ending story. It felt as if it was a terrible plan to end with that piece when it was -to me- the weakest of the three shorts as well as nowhere near the quality of Baby Jane's story.
I have wanted to read this for a long, long time. I'm so happy I did. If it's on your TBR, I'd recommend giving it a go because it's fast reading, fast-paced, and anything but fast-or-loose with the characterization of the eternally memorable Hudson sisters.