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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Ending was really rushed and weird. Writing style was very disembodied and strange
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Part 2 was what I was looking to get out of this book. Parts 1, 3, and 4… not so much. But it ticks all the boxes of a gothic horror story, and it’s clear to see why this one is considered a classic.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Classism
Moderate: Body horror, Suicidal thoughts
I wanted to read this because it's spoofed in Northanger Abbey, but it was really disappointing. There are elements that work--Radcliffe's dialogue is often lively, and she does create some suspense--but the book is boring overall, mostly because it's stretched out to far beyond the length it needs to be. There is no reason for this story to occupy over 600 pages, but Radcliffe stretches it out with endless, endless, endless descriptions of nature (to be fair, I don't particularly like descriptions of nature in any amount, but I found this especially excessive), poems written by the characters, digressions from the main plot. Her characters are also pretty flat--Emily, our heroine, is a curiously passive sort, whose main activity is fainting--which makes it hard to care deeply about the mysteries surrounding them.
Spoiler
And when the solutions to those mysteries do come, they are not especially interesting either, with the answer to one of the main questions--what did Emily see behind the veil?--being BEYOND STUPID. A wax figure of a corpse that she thought was real but had nothing to do with anything. Come on.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I have much respect for Radcliffe for launching the gothic into popular literature. Considering she has never been to France or Italy, her writing was beautiful in how she described the scenery and portrayed the characters. This was quintessential gothic with the stormy romance, mysterious gothic castle, and family secrets. There was a quite lengthy buildup in the first volume. There isn’t anything spooky, so this isn’t gothic horror in genre. As the story progressed, I could tell how much influence Udolpho had on other authors. That was fun for my experience as a gothic fan. While reading I found it funny how many times I saw fortitude used and how many times she fainted. Fortitude and fainting seem contradictory yet, I suppose, that’s my takeaway from this esteemed gothic classic.