You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
sad
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
Oh, Sara Waybourne. You were loved. If only you knew.
dark
tense
slow-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:
Complicated
Put this book on my TBR 9/6/2016. It’s taken me over 4 years to get to it!
This was a dark little book. Written in the 60s by a 70+ year old woman and set in Australia in the year 1900. The gothic feeling mystery surrounds the disappearance of three popular girls and a teacher who are on a field trip to Hanging Rock, a brutal mountainous outcrop. There is much more that happens in the rippling aftermath of the event.
It’s presented as a true story (it is not) and that lends to the ominous feel. The description on the back of the Penguin Classic version I have lists the book as reminiscent of “We Have Always Lived in the Castle,” “Rebecca,” and “The Virgin Suicides.” I would agree with all three of those in feeling, although I’d associate it most strongly with the last in my mind. Maybe I’d throw in the movie Heavenly Creatures.
I really enjoyed it. It feels much older than it is. I know there is both a movie and a miniseries that have been made. I plan to watch both soon.
I’ve gone back and forth between 4-5 stars. I really liked this a lot but it felt just a little slow in parts. Maybe a little too much of post-recovery Michael and Albert?
This was a dark little book. Written in the 60s by a 70+ year old woman and set in Australia in the year 1900. The gothic feeling mystery surrounds the disappearance of three popular girls and a teacher who are on a field trip to Hanging Rock, a brutal mountainous outcrop. There is much more that happens in the rippling aftermath of the event.
It’s presented as a true story (it is not) and that lends to the ominous feel. The description on the back of the Penguin Classic version I have lists the book as reminiscent of “We Have Always Lived in the Castle,” “Rebecca,” and “The Virgin Suicides.” I would agree with all three of those in feeling, although I’d associate it most strongly with the last in my mind. Maybe I’d throw in the movie Heavenly Creatures.
I really enjoyed it. It feels much older than it is. I know there is both a movie and a miniseries that have been made. I plan to watch both soon.
I’ve gone back and forth between 4-5 stars. I really liked this a lot but it felt just a little slow in parts. Maybe a little too much of post-recovery Michael and Albert?
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
This book was just the mild gothic school girl horror I needed. Lindsay is a master of character development; everyone in the novel comes alive, even if some of them are not flatteringly portrayed. I found myself sympathizing with Mrs. Appleyard and her stalwart competency, although that is very much complicated by the end of the novel. The main mystery of the novel remains unexplained, and I love a book that is atmospheric and maybe supernatural and focuses on female relationships. A main theme is how time does (or does not pass). Indigenous presence is erased from the Australia of this Victorian setting, which is regrettable.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I can see how this piece has shaped other Australian novels and the imagery of the scenery was quite idyllic, however for me the plot was slow and a little dry. The was quite some tension built, but by the end I felt little motivation to continue reading.