Scan barcode
readmetwotimes's review against another edition
4.0
Era tanto che non leggevo un racconto gotico così scorrevole e così piacevole!! Non voglio rovinare la lettura a nessuno, quindi non dico nulla sulla trama, ma è stata una bellissima (e purtroppo breve) avventura ♡
paperbacksandpines's review
3.0
Wow. For a Persephone book, I was expecting some forgettable middlebrow piece but this one really packed a punch. I'm not sure how to categorize this book into a genre. At first glance, it appears to fall into the historical fiction genre but I would categorize this as psychological horror. It's even scarier, knowing how long ago it was written and somehow, with me at least, I can't help but laugh at earlier writers' attempts at horror.
The synopsis of this book is so brief that it's easy to dismiss it but now I understand that any more description would give away the plot.
This wasn't my cup of tea but that doesn't detract from Laski's talent.
The synopsis of this book is so brief that it's easy to dismiss it but now I understand that any more description would give away the plot.
This wasn't my cup of tea but that doesn't detract from Laski's talent.
ajp_reads1's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kelwir's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
oldenglishrose's review
4.0
As this book begins, the reader is introduced to Melanie, a 1950′s wife and mother who has been confined to her bed since the birth of her child as she was taken ill with tuberculosis and has consequently been unable to see her child in case the excitement is too much for her weakened constitution. As the novella starts, the doctor decides that Melanie is well enough to spend the afternoon in a different room to give her a change of scenery and she is carried to the Victorian chaise-longue of the title, a peculiarly compelling item of furniture which Melanie purchased in an antique shop whilst shopping in search of a crib for her coming baby. There, she falls asleep, but on waking Melanie finds herself no longer in the 1950′s but back in 1864 and so the nightmare begins.
I thought that Melanie (or Milly as she is known in 1864) was a very interesting character. When the reader sees her in the 1950′s she comes across as docile and rather vacuous, relying on her husband, the nurse and the doctor without any particular opinions or influence of her own, but there is still the feeling that there is something behind her perfect housewife exterior, an intelligence which she keeps hidden for some reason. Ironically, it is only when she is transported back to 1864 that this is revealed: in the modern setting the reader is kept out of Melanie’s head, wheareas all of the Victorian section is shown entirely through her thoughts and reactions. She starts to express her thoughts and try to act only at the time when she is most helpless and she no longer has other people around her to act as props. The nightmare experience of finding herself in an alien time period is the catalyst which forces her to become independent and so in a peculiar way the reader watches her becoming free even as she is trapped.
The most thought provoking aspect of this book is its ambiguity; as I’ve observed, the reader only experiences the time travel through Melanie’s mind and so it is impossible to say what exactly is going on. Is she dreaming? Is she mad? Has she really travelled in time? She retains her modern sensibilities and is aware of herself as Melanie, not Milly, but also has some of Milly’s memories, so who is she really? Has she regressed to a past life? Can she get back or is she trapped? If she dies in the past, what happens to her in the present? The reader is just as confused and disoriented by this sudden, unpredicted change in the direction of the narrative as Melanie is and so is drawn into her panic and horror.
I thought that Melanie (or Milly as she is known in 1864) was a very interesting character. When the reader sees her in the 1950′s she comes across as docile and rather vacuous, relying on her husband, the nurse and the doctor without any particular opinions or influence of her own, but there is still the feeling that there is something behind her perfect housewife exterior, an intelligence which she keeps hidden for some reason. Ironically, it is only when she is transported back to 1864 that this is revealed: in the modern setting the reader is kept out of Melanie’s head, wheareas all of the Victorian section is shown entirely through her thoughts and reactions. She starts to express her thoughts and try to act only at the time when she is most helpless and she no longer has other people around her to act as props. The nightmare experience of finding herself in an alien time period is the catalyst which forces her to become independent and so in a peculiar way the reader watches her becoming free even as she is trapped.
The most thought provoking aspect of this book is its ambiguity; as I’ve observed, the reader only experiences the time travel through Melanie’s mind and so it is impossible to say what exactly is going on. Is she dreaming? Is she mad? Has she really travelled in time? She retains her modern sensibilities and is aware of herself as Melanie, not Milly, but also has some of Milly’s memories, so who is she really? Has she regressed to a past life? Can she get back or is she trapped? If she dies in the past, what happens to her in the present? The reader is just as confused and disoriented by this sudden, unpredicted change in the direction of the narrative as Melanie is and so is drawn into her panic and horror.
xvicesx's review
4.0
I'm not a great fan of horror, so this isn't necessarily my thing, but I can appreciate the progressive nature of fear here and the way that the lines get increasingly blurred between Melanie and Milly, whoever they may be.
The end does leave me confused though, for I'm not sure entirely what happened and whether there was any real resolution to the whole episode. Things happen, they increase in intensity, but I'm not clear what the end of the journey is. For me, it felt like a rollercoaster where the end just drops you off a cliff into the sea. No clear ending, even if it's clear that it's ended. Does that even make sense? Probably not. It's all I've got, though.
The end does leave me confused though, for I'm not sure entirely what happened and whether there was any real resolution to the whole episode. Things happen, they increase in intensity, but I'm not clear what the end of the journey is. For me, it felt like a rollercoaster where the end just drops you off a cliff into the sea. No clear ending, even if it's clear that it's ended. Does that even make sense? Probably not. It's all I've got, though.
flajol's review
3.0
A short and interesting psychological Gothic horror originally published in the 1950s.
Melanie is recovering from tuberculosis. She is bored, a bit spoiled, and is looking forward to finally being able to see her new son, who has presumably been kept apart from her since his birth to avoid contagion. After months of confinement in her bedroom, she is at last given a change of scenery, and moved to the lounge where she lies on the Victorian chaise-longue she found in a local junk shop. She falls asleep in 1953 and wakes in 1864 - trapped in the body of Millie, who is also suffering from tuberculosis, but who doesn't seem to be recovering.
As Melanie tries to come to terms with her new situation and to find a way 'home', she picks up clues about Milly's past. It seems Milly has some dark secrets as well as an angry sister looking after her.
All told from Melanie's point of view, the writing is sometimes overwrought, swinging from optimism and hope, to horror and confusion, then back again. It's an interesting commentary on how the behaviour of women is policed by social attitudes - at one point as Melanie realises what Milly has done, she confesses that they have done similar things, but only one is judged as sinful because of the attitudes of her time. There are other parallels between the two women, but Milly's life is a very dark reflection of Melanie's.
Creepy rather than terrifying, but an interesting read.
Melanie is recovering from tuberculosis. She is bored, a bit spoiled, and is looking forward to finally being able to see her new son, who has presumably been kept apart from her since his birth to avoid contagion. After months of confinement in her bedroom, she is at last given a change of scenery, and moved to the lounge where she lies on the Victorian chaise-longue she found in a local junk shop. She falls asleep in 1953 and wakes in 1864 - trapped in the body of Millie, who is also suffering from tuberculosis, but who doesn't seem to be recovering.
As Melanie tries to come to terms with her new situation and to find a way 'home', she picks up clues about Milly's past. It seems Milly has some dark secrets as well as an angry sister looking after her.
All told from Melanie's point of view, the writing is sometimes overwrought, swinging from optimism and hope, to horror and confusion, then back again. It's an interesting commentary on how the behaviour of women is policed by social attitudes - at one point as Melanie realises what Milly has done, she confesses that they have done similar things, but only one is judged as sinful because of the attitudes of her time. There are other parallels between the two women, but Milly's life is a very dark reflection of Melanie's.
Creepy rather than terrifying, but an interesting read.
echitchins's review
dark
mysterious
slow-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
2.0
neilrcoulter's review against another edition
4.0
This is an interesting psychological story, something like a Twilight Zone episode and a lot like “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Marghanita Laski lets the narrative (almost entirely inside the thoughts of the protagonist) raise intriguing questions to linger, unanswered. There are some intriguing meditations on ecstasy, prayer, destiny, the connections between mind and body, and finding the right “pattern” to successfully reach the next phase of life. Elements from early in the story—which are (I think deliberately) almost obscured by the amount of minute detail in Laski’s descriptions—resonate with the conclusion to generate more unanswered questions about what really happened and what it all means.
On a side note, I always love getting a book from the library that has been on the library’s shelves for many, many years. Dallasites have been reading this copy of The Victorian Chaise Longue almost since it was first published.
On a side note, I always love getting a book from the library that has been on the library’s shelves for many, many years. Dallasites have been reading this copy of The Victorian Chaise Longue almost since it was first published.