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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Sexual violence, Car accident, War
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting
Moderate: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Car accident
weirdly boring. The thrill/spookiness just didn’t come through.
The Animals at Lockwood Manor is both a WWII historical fiction novel and a romantic gothic mystery all rolled into one. While it missed the mark a bit for me, the writing was tremendous and I loved the overall arc of the narrative.
Our story opens with the mammal collection at the London Natural History Museum being moved into a country manor house once the reality of WWII sets in. Our primary narrator, Hetty, is a female curator who is looking to redeem herself from a prior workplace folly as the director of the temporary location. While there, she encounters the imperious Lord Lockwood and his beautiful daughter, Lucy. Hetty’s relationship to Lord Lockwood is strained at best, but she finds a surprising confident in Lucy, who is the secondary narrator of the story. Through Lucy, we hear of the somewhat insidious history of Lockwood Manor, from her troubled childhood interactions with her mentally ill mother to the unexpected deaths of her mother and grandmother immediately prior to the events of the novel.
While there are wonderful aspects of this novel (Lucy and Hetty’s relationship, Hetty’s dedication to the museum’s collection and the real life basis for the museum’s move are among the highlights), I struggled a bit with the “gothic mystery” aspect. I love a good gothic story, especially one with the type of intriguing elements that appear in this book, such as whispers of ghosts and missing museum pieces. The issue I have is that this novel tended toward the psychological to encourage fear and questioning, rather than concrete evidence. Perhaps because I tend toward mysteries in my general reading, I found that portion of this story lacking, and it contributed to my overall lackluster reaction to the big reveal at the end.
I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in WWII, especially for fans of The Monuments Men, and to fans of gothic mysteries such as Rebecca or Jane Eyre (who the author is named after!). I just caution that you not expect this to be exactly like those creations; this is a book all its own, and it’s a fantastic debut.
Our story opens with the mammal collection at the London Natural History Museum being moved into a country manor house once the reality of WWII sets in. Our primary narrator, Hetty, is a female curator who is looking to redeem herself from a prior workplace folly as the director of the temporary location. While there, she encounters the imperious Lord Lockwood and his beautiful daughter, Lucy. Hetty’s relationship to Lord Lockwood is strained at best, but she finds a surprising confident in Lucy, who is the secondary narrator of the story. Through Lucy, we hear of the somewhat insidious history of Lockwood Manor, from her troubled childhood interactions with her mentally ill mother to the unexpected deaths of her mother and grandmother immediately prior to the events of the novel.
While there are wonderful aspects of this novel (Lucy and Hetty’s relationship, Hetty’s dedication to the museum’s collection and the real life basis for the museum’s move are among the highlights), I struggled a bit with the “gothic mystery” aspect. I love a good gothic story, especially one with the type of intriguing elements that appear in this book, such as whispers of ghosts and missing museum pieces. The issue I have is that this novel tended toward the psychological to encourage fear and questioning, rather than concrete evidence. Perhaps because I tend toward mysteries in my general reading, I found that portion of this story lacking, and it contributed to my overall lackluster reaction to the big reveal at the end.
I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in WWII, especially for fans of The Monuments Men, and to fans of gothic mysteries such as Rebecca or Jane Eyre (who the author is named after!). I just caution that you not expect this to be exactly like those creations; this is a book all its own, and it’s a fantastic debut.
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I didn't really liked to book because I expected something totally different (probably my own fault for not properly reading the backside?)
If you read the summary properly, it's exactly what it is and probably a fine book to read.
If you read the summary properly, it's exactly what it is and probably a fine book to read.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes