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bookbelle5_17's review against another edition
2.0
I feel bad that I'm DNFing this collection, as well as, giving it a rating, but I have gotten bored (I know I used the "B" word.) with this. The writing is great of course, as its Dickens after all, but the stories are too short for me. I know, I know they are short stories, but I am used to his novels, and I have a complicated relationship with short story collections. Sometimes I like them well enough, but most of the time they are just disappointing. I'm used to Dickens' complex plot lines and long stories. The ones in this collection that I read were okay such as Mr Minn's Cousin, The Bloomsbury Christening, and Horatio Sparkins. The Boarding House was a bit dull and I could not comprehend Nobody's Story. The last one I started was Somebody's Luggage but I could not get through the first chapter, because it was very confusing. This edition does have some lovely water color drawings throughout the collection of scenes from the stories. Though, I have become a fan maybe I am a hardcore enough fan to really appreciate this and I have plenty of other library books (and ones from my personal library) to get through to continue.
perthalus's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
I’m fairly new to Gothic literature, so this being a fairly diverse collection of short Gothic stories from different periods of the style helped me understand the progressions in Gothic literature as well as an idea of the different tropes and styles that were commonly used. I was also happy to see the inclusion of feminist Gothic short stories and writers from both Britain and America.
Not every story was great and a few I had to come back to and reread/finish because they often times went on pointless tangents that gave me fatigue whilst reading. Fortunately though, many stories like Sir Bertrand: A Fragment, Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter, The Lame Priest and my favourite, The Yellow Wallpaper held striking imagery and gripping mysteries that allowed the reader to put the pieces together for themselves. Many times there were even scenes with descriptions that, despite their age, made me anxious to think about.
To top it all off, the introduction and the small biographies for each story gave a very useful and relevant insight into the writers of the stories, the places and period they were made as well as interpretations and explanations for them. It’s a solid collection and for me personally a great introduction into Gothic literature.
Not every story was great and a few I had to come back to and reread/finish because they often times went on pointless tangents that gave me fatigue whilst reading. Fortunately though, many stories like Sir Bertrand: A Fragment, Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter, The Lame Priest and my favourite, The Yellow Wallpaper held striking imagery and gripping mysteries that allowed the reader to put the pieces together for themselves. Many times there were even scenes with descriptions that, despite their age, made me anxious to think about.
To top it all off, the introduction and the small biographies for each story gave a very useful and relevant insight into the writers of the stories, the places and period they were made as well as interpretations and explanations for them. It’s a solid collection and for me personally a great introduction into Gothic literature.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Murder, Torture, Blood, Chronic illness, Confinement, Violence, and Sexism
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Child death, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Physical abuse, Classism, and Antisemitism
articsunflower's review
3.0
I was definitely expecting other kind of stories.
The first ones were quite hard to get through, mainly because their writing was really complex.
I still really loved a few stories, but overall I was disappointed.
(Out of 5)
Sir Bertrand: A Fragment - 2.5
Captive of the Banditti - 2.5
Extracts from Gosschen’s Diary: No.1 - 4
The Parricide’s Tale - 4
The Spectre Bride - 2
The Tapestried Chamber - 3
Berenice - 3.5
A Madman’s Manuscript - 4
Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter - 4.5
Ethan Brand - 1
The Old Nurse’s Story - 4.5
The Body Snatcher - 3.5
The Yellow Wallpaper - 5
The Death of Halpin Frayser - 2
Canon Alberic’s Scrapbook - 3
No. 252 Rue M. le Prince - 3.5
The Lame Priest - 4
Luella Miller - 4.5
The Bird in the Garden - 2
The Room in the Tower - 4.5
The first ones were quite hard to get through, mainly because their writing was really complex.
I still really loved a few stories, but overall I was disappointed.
(Out of 5)
Sir Bertrand: A Fragment - 2.5
Captive of the Banditti - 2.5
Extracts from Gosschen’s Diary: No.1 - 4
The Parricide’s Tale - 4
The Spectre Bride - 2
The Tapestried Chamber - 3
Berenice - 3.5
A Madman’s Manuscript - 4
Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter - 4.5
Ethan Brand - 1
The Old Nurse’s Story - 4.5
The Body Snatcher - 3.5
The Yellow Wallpaper - 5
The Death of Halpin Frayser - 2
Canon Alberic’s Scrapbook - 3
No. 252 Rue M. le Prince - 3.5
The Lame Priest - 4
Luella Miller - 4.5
The Bird in the Garden - 2
The Room in the Tower - 4.5
lasamviela's review
2.0
Disappointing. There were only a few good stories, the most part was just not for me. The stories are from 1800's that means the writing and the storytelling style is complicated, dragging and slow. My favorite ones are: The Old Nursery's Story, The Yellow Wallpaper, The Lame Priest.
onceuponatime's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
The selection of the short stories could be better. I found myself liking around a forth of them. The first few I found quite boring. It took me some time to get though this book, even though it was rather short. I got to read around 5 actually interesting stories. I didn't go into it expecting to adore it and I didn't. But it was a decent read.
caidyn's review
3.0
The selection of stories in this book were decent. Luckily, I had never read any of them, so that was a treat for me. Some stories I didn't understand why they were considered gothic; they usually fell flat at the end or came to a resolution that made no sense with the story. The authors included I did know -- [a:Charles Dickens|239579|Charles Dickens|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1357465042p2/239579.jpg]and [a:Edgar Allan Poe|4624490|Edgar Allan Poe|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1315307900p2/4624490.jpg]for example -- fell flat. I have one large praise and it is composed of one story: [b:The Yellow Wallpaper|286957|The Yellow Wallpaper|Charlotte Perkins Gilman|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1351778524s/286957.jpg|17352354]. It was fantastic. The author had an air to the slow decent to madness that rivaled Poe. That story was a very good choice indeed.
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