Reviews

Precious Bane by Mary Webb

pau_coe's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

teveritt's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

story_stacks's review against another edition

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4.0

Slow start for me as it didn't demand my attention until 80+ pages in . . . Great characterization!

aggielexi's review against another edition

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1.0

I'm sure this is a fine book, but I don't think I'm in the right mood for this. I'm finding it boring, even thought I can tell some of the scenery is great. And I can't figure out why I am not liking Purdence or Gideon. I'll have to come back to it at a future time.

woolfy_vita's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

maplessence's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

 I had never heard of this author before, so I had no expectations at all going into this read.

But this was a wonderful, book with a lyrical use of language. I am assuming this is an authentic example of Shropshire speech. In any case, I absolutely loved it.

Prue Sarn, she of the 'hare-shotten' lip, is such a wonderful heroine, hardworking, compassionate & brave. Her brother Gideon is ambitious & driven & wants to make a better life for them both. Unfortunately life doesn't always go smoothly for any of us & terrible tragedies happen.

This book is now very easy to get hold of in the kindle/ebook format & I really recommend people try this one.

& in my younger years I was not a Thomas Hardy fan. Since Webb & Hardy's writing styles are supposed to be similar, maybe I should give Hardy another chance.
 
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bookishdaydreaming's review against another edition

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3.0

 A story about loyalty and the intimacy of relationships in a monotony village life, following the sweet, naive Prue Sarn and her family (both by blood and chosen) filled with charming language and poetic nature descriptions.

The countryside setting and dialect are very reminiscient of Wuthering Heights (paired with the witchcraft accusations). There's also a slightly surprising parallel (or complete opposite) with The Great Gatsby, where the main relationship of the novel is seen in a third person perspective through the narrator (as opposed to those in the relationship), and the obsession with money and power (albeit in a much more rural setting).

A fiercely feminist tale for its time, this is a great foray into classical literature for those who haven't read much of it, or something fresh and different for those who have. 

leleroulant's review against another edition

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5.0

What a beautiful book! Never was there a more beautiful character than Prue Sarn. She was absolutely without guile. The lyrical prose were a delight to read. Loved it!

zohra_nabi's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

llkendrick's review against another edition

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2.0

I struggled with this book - I found the story to be good but not great and the dialect that it was written was hard for me to read. For example, "leif" was "like", "argle" was "argue", "ool" was "will", etc. I felt like I had to concentrate more on interpreting words than the story.