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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m at like a 2.5 on this book. The last quarter of the book really saved it, the first part wasn’t great in my opinion. The book was about three people but was told in the perspective of one woman, Fran. The other two are a couple making them kinda third wheel Fran the entire book. They are all there to analyze this old house and see if it’s of any value. But they just putter about the house for a few weeks. Half the book takes place in the house and the other half is Fran on her death bed. The death bed parts were interesting and very foreshadowing in retrospect. But for a lot of the book I felt like there was foreshadowing that was unnecessary and the ending is a little surprising, but not totally crazy. Also, there’s a weird subplot of another person living in the house that Fran is trying to find but never actually does. And that was never resolved at all. I don’t know if the author was trying to show Fran becoming increasingly crazy, but it just seemed like an unresolved plot point to me. Just not my kinda book I think.
Stayed up late last night to finish this riveting tale of a dysfunctional friendship that develops between three people. This book is the very definition of a slow-burn. The story is told in flashbacks, and even though the reader is given hints early on that a tragedy has occurred, the author skillfully keeps you on a roller coaster, guessing exactly what it is that fate has in store for Franny, Peter and Cara. Reading this psychological thriller is like heading toward a dark tunnel. You can see the darkness ahead but you have no idea what's on the other side or if you'll ever see the light at the end of it, so you just keep going. The main character, Franny, reminded me somewhat of the character of Eleanor in Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House." Like Eleanor, Franny spent many years taking care of a sick and demanding mother. Also like Eleanor, she is somewhat shy and socially awkward. Claire Fuller successfully creates an atmosphere of dread in this dark tale, which is something else that reminded me of the works of Shirley Jackson. A gripping read.
Originally reviewed at The Book Wheel.
Shy and socially awkward, Frances was not one who made friends easily. For most of her life, she avoided social situations that would highlight her awkwardness and instead withdrew into her immediate surroundings. But when a job documenting the architecture of a rundown mansion came along, she took it. Remote and secluded, the mansion offered the exact type of living Frances was accustomed to and was seeking.
Life, however, had other plans. Instead of reveling in solitude on a country estate, she found herself the upstairs neighbor to a boisterous and thrill-seeking couple who were on an adventure of their own. Cara and Peter were the exact opposite of Frances: outgoing, friendly, socially adept, and impossible to ignore. Alone in the house together, their worlds began to blend together, not least of which because of a peephole in Frances’ bathroom that allowed her to see her neighbors in an unguarded fashion.
Bitter Orange is a slow burn of a read – a subtle mystery that ignites a tumultuous friendship amongst a trio of lost souls who are each seeking absolution. Because though they find themselves in the same place and time, they each have a story to tell about who they were and who they want to be. This collision of past and future is what drives the story forward.
As with her previous novels, Fuller has a way of slowly unraveling a story of complicated characters in a lyrical manner that softly ebbs and flows. I neither loved nor loathed them, yet I was drawn to them and immensely interested in their pasts (perhaps even more so than I was about their futures, in this case). It is also incredibly descriptive, and I could easily visualize the mansion and its estate, adding an element of richness to an already good story. And though it took a bit longer than expected to get into it, it was worth the wait and ended with a bang.
Shy and socially awkward, Frances was not one who made friends easily. For most of her life, she avoided social situations that would highlight her awkwardness and instead withdrew into her immediate surroundings. But when a job documenting the architecture of a rundown mansion came along, she took it. Remote and secluded, the mansion offered the exact type of living Frances was accustomed to and was seeking.
Life, however, had other plans. Instead of reveling in solitude on a country estate, she found herself the upstairs neighbor to a boisterous and thrill-seeking couple who were on an adventure of their own. Cara and Peter were the exact opposite of Frances: outgoing, friendly, socially adept, and impossible to ignore. Alone in the house together, their worlds began to blend together, not least of which because of a peephole in Frances’ bathroom that allowed her to see her neighbors in an unguarded fashion.
Bitter Orange is a slow burn of a read – a subtle mystery that ignites a tumultuous friendship amongst a trio of lost souls who are each seeking absolution. Because though they find themselves in the same place and time, they each have a story to tell about who they were and who they want to be. This collision of past and future is what drives the story forward.
As with her previous novels, Fuller has a way of slowly unraveling a story of complicated characters in a lyrical manner that softly ebbs and flows. I neither loved nor loathed them, yet I was drawn to them and immensely interested in their pasts (perhaps even more so than I was about their futures, in this case). It is also incredibly descriptive, and I could easily visualize the mansion and its estate, adding an element of richness to an already good story. And though it took a bit longer than expected to get into it, it was worth the wait and ended with a bang.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Bitter Orange is a slow burn of a read, starting off when our main character Frances is elderly and a vicar comes to hear her confess - to what, we don’t yet know. This is the mystery that weaves through the plot as we jump back and forth in time between an elderly Frances and a much younger Frances, who has been commissioned to go and write a report on an elegant Manor House, once fine but now gutted and left empty by the army - the setting an ominous undertone in itself. There she meets an elegant couple with a beguiling story of their own - Peter and Cara are beautiful and know how to enjoy life, and Frances quickly falls under their spell. But we know something sinister is about to loom over them - what is about to ruin this best of summers, and are Cara and Peter all that they seem? There is a great tension throughout the novel due to the time jumps and us kind of being aware vaguely of something bad, and as readers it is unclear which characters are trustworthy. A good plot twist towards the end I did not see coming! I can see why comparisons have been made with Daphne du Maurier.
The pacing of this seemed a bit wonky to me. I have a hard time believing that one person would be so easily swayed one way or another as Franny was with Cara and Peter. The ending was as predictable as could be, given what we know of Franny from the start.
dark
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An unsettling, atmospheric, tautly constructed work of literary suspense about a crumbling house, a hot summer, and a trio of people bound by jealousies, yearnings, and secrets. I relished the setting and summertime Gothic vibes, from the aura of tragedy hanging about the house to the tensions seething beneath the surface. Fuller doles out the reveals at just the right pace and trusts in the reader to keep up without having everything explained to them.