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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
Beautiful, haunting, layered, and enigmatic. I found a scanned PDF of the "last" chapter here.....www.robertomengoni.it/uploads/9/6/4/9/.../secret_hanging_rock.pdf.
Picnic at Hanging Rock was a book I didn't expect to thoroughly enjoy, it is however a positive sign that I can say I did enjoy this book. The first half appeared more action packed and interesting to me, as the second half tapered off a little (until the last 10 pages of course). I was left a little dissatisfied at the lack of a resolution to the mystery of the missing girls, and the motive behind the missing girls. But perhaps it was Edith that exacted revenge upon the victims for their incessant teasing of her. The book was overall entertaining, but certainly a 'one and done'. This will be an interesting one to dive into as a unit in Literature.
Dark ans suspenseful, filled with memorable characters and almost palpable tension.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I took a few pages to really get into this on but once I did it was hard to put down. This is an Australian classic for a good reason. Set in 1900 the issues it raises are still very relevant today. The disappearance of 3 girls and a teacher at Hanging Rock near Bendigo result in a series of events affecting the lives of all the people in the area that day.
Lindsay manages to evoke the sense of isolation that the Australian bush can give as well as set the time (written in 1967 story set in 1900).
The fact that there is no resolution to the story is much more real-world than many mystery stories that I have read recently. So often the author wants to tie everything up in a bow or set something up for a series. But in real life people go missing, there is no resolution, and that event will continue to affect their friends, family and by-standers for the rest of their lives.
I read somewhere that Joan Lindsay originally had a final chapter that did resolve the mystery but at the insistence of the publisher this was never printed - I think that this was a good call: Solved, this story would have never had the staying power to last as long as it has. Unsolved: This mystery will play in your head long after you finish it
Lindsay manages to evoke the sense of isolation that the Australian bush can give as well as set the time (written in 1967 story set in 1900).
The fact that there is no resolution to the story is much more real-world than many mystery stories that I have read recently. So often the author wants to tie everything up in a bow or set something up for a series. But in real life people go missing, there is no resolution, and that event will continue to affect their friends, family and by-standers for the rest of their lives.
I read somewhere that Joan Lindsay originally had a final chapter that did resolve the mystery but at the insistence of the publisher this was never printed - I think that this was a good call: Solved, this story would have never had the staying power to last as long as it has. Unsolved: This mystery will play in your head long after you finish it
I picked this book at a used bookshop, I could remember the title from a movie, but not being much into cinematography I haven't seen it, so I decided to give the book a chance.
I really liked the atmosphere, the author is able to keep some sort of tension all through the book, even before the main event happens.
While the disappearance of the girls is surely the topic of the book, the things that happen around it all refer to the unpredictability of life: the course of everyone's life can change even with the smallest step, sometimes steps made (or not made) by someone else. The forgotten delivery of a letter, the decision to leave the college for good, a big unexpected reward for something we think was pure duty.
Possibly this is actually the real purpose of the book.
I really liked the atmosphere, the author is able to keep some sort of tension all through the book, even before the main event happens.
While the disappearance of the girls is surely the topic of the book, the things that happen around it all refer to the unpredictability of life: the course of everyone's life can change even with the smallest step, sometimes steps made (or not made) by someone else. The forgotten delivery of a letter, the decision to leave the college for good, a big unexpected reward for something we think was pure duty.
Possibly this is actually the real purpose of the book.