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adamjcalhoun's review against another edition
5.0
I have to admit, this is a book I picked up because I loved the cover. And I was justly rewarded! Lesson learned: always judge a book by its cover, at least before you read it.
Uncle Silas almost feels like a cross between an Edgar Allen Poe and Jane Austen novel. This is a book with a constant and deep sense of foreboding, while the plot is driven by a young heiress' attempt to integrate into society (kind of). In reality, her desires to be part of bourgeois society are deflected by her sickly Uncle Silas and her inability to stick up for herself. What makes this book great is not just the atmosphere, but that there is very real character development for a number of characters.
It's not clear to me why this isn't more well-known by literary types. It has everything you would want; strong female characters (good, evil, in-between), strong character development, reflection on society and one's place in it, and large pieces of plot that are only indirectly explained. It's definitely worth reading.
Uncle Silas almost feels like a cross between an Edgar Allen Poe and Jane Austen novel. This is a book with a constant and deep sense of foreboding, while the plot is driven by a young heiress' attempt to integrate into society (kind of). In reality, her desires to be part of bourgeois society are deflected by her sickly Uncle Silas and her inability to stick up for herself. What makes this book great is not just the atmosphere, but that there is very real character development for a number of characters.
It's not clear to me why this isn't more well-known by literary types. It has everything you would want; strong female characters (good, evil, in-between), strong character development, reflection on society and one's place in it, and large pieces of plot that are only indirectly explained. It's definitely worth reading.
justasking27's review
4.0
A slow-moving thriller with lots of intangible fears and a consistent dark and gothic atmosphere.
sarathemermaid's review against another edition
3.0
This book was way longer than it needed to be. A lot of filler. Didn’t pick up until 75% of the way through.
mslaura's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this book. I found it almost mesmerizing and was completely drawn into the gothic setting and the ominous atmosphere. The story was riveting and the characters expertly drawn. Masterful.
nataliesboooks's review against another edition
2.0
The plot in a nutshell: "Title character tries to get ahold of his niece's money. He fails."
If I've learned one thing from reading this, it's that Wilkie Collins is the master of the Sensation Fiction genre. LeFanu, not so much. Barely at all, really.
Wealthy heiress Maude is sent to live with her Uncle Silas after her father dies. She has inherited her father's estate, but if she dies before coming of age, her uncle gets everything. Maude's father made that change to his will because he trusted his brother (he alone also believed Silas innocent of murdering a man to whom Silas owed money).
And then ... not much happens until the end.
I personally couldn't stand Maude. She's weak and helpless, crying and blushing all the time. She's also completely naive. She doesn't realize that Silas is after her money until the very end and she's completely shocked by this revelation.
And let's talk about Silas's plan, shall we? I was expecting a wonderful villain like Count Fosco from The Woman in White. Silas just fails as a bad guy. He tries to marry Maude off to his son (not realizing the son is already married so that plan doesn't work) and then kills the wrong person when Maude's governess is sleeping in her bed. He also wasn't intimidating in the slightest. Maude describes him as sweet and kind so my mental image was of a Mr Magoo type rather than, I don't know, a Hannibal Lecter type. (Now THAT would have been scary!)
The ending was completely rushed. It felt like LeFanu was out of ideas and killed off Silas with an accidental drug overdose, leaving Maude free to marry and get on with her life.
Part 1 started off strong, Part 2 was dull and unnecessary, and Part 3 didn't get interesting until the last 50 pages. Overall, this book could easily have been cut in half.
I was excited to read this because I enjoyed LeFanu's lesbian vampire novel Carmilla, and I love sensation fiction in general, but this one was blah.
If I've learned one thing from reading this, it's that Wilkie Collins is the master of the Sensation Fiction genre. LeFanu, not so much. Barely at all, really.
Wealthy heiress Maude is sent to live with her Uncle Silas after her father dies. She has inherited her father's estate, but if she dies before coming of age, her uncle gets everything. Maude's father made that change to his will because he trusted his brother (he alone also believed Silas innocent of murdering a man to whom Silas owed money).
And then ... not much happens until the end.
I personally couldn't stand Maude. She's weak and helpless, crying and blushing all the time. She's also completely naive. She doesn't realize that Silas is after her money until the very end and she's completely shocked by this revelation.
And let's talk about Silas's plan, shall we? I was expecting a wonderful villain like Count Fosco from The Woman in White. Silas just fails as a bad guy. He tries to marry Maude off to his son (not realizing the son is already married so that plan doesn't work) and then kills the wrong person when Maude's governess is sleeping in her bed. He also wasn't intimidating in the slightest. Maude describes him as sweet and kind so my mental image was of a Mr Magoo type rather than, I don't know, a Hannibal Lecter type. (Now THAT would have been scary!)
The ending was completely rushed. It felt like LeFanu was out of ideas and killed off Silas with an accidental drug overdose, leaving Maude free to marry and get on with her life.
Part 1 started off strong, Part 2 was dull and unnecessary, and Part 3 didn't get interesting until the last 50 pages. Overall, this book could easily have been cut in half.
I was excited to read this because I enjoyed LeFanu's lesbian vampire novel Carmilla, and I love sensation fiction in general, but this one was blah.
crochanqueen13's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.25
msgtdameron's review against another edition
4.0
Le fanu wrote a great novel for it's day. by todays standards the story is slow and the plot rather obvious. But, the first 100 pages go quick the middle 200 are slow and the last 100 it's a page turner. By the last 100 pages one knows who is going to do it the question is how are he she going to commit the murder and how is our victim going to get away. Carmmilla has a better ending, but Uncle Silas is pretty good also.
msand3's review against another edition
5.0
More realistic than Walpole, Lewis, and Radcliffe, and with a snappier pace than Maturin and Brown, Le Fanu's Uncle Silas has easily become my favorite Gothic novel. This one has everything: dark, lichen-draped castles; sketchy peasants lurking in misty forest nooks; a plucky young heroine; an old, creepy French governess; a hint of the supernatural in the form of Swedenborgianism; a fairy tale-inspired plot; and a mysterious, ambiguous title character who swirls around the periphery, appearing only in a few chapters, but dominating the narrative. I was hooked immediately, burning through the pages like a teenager just discovering the pleasure of reading for the first time. Uncle Silas has made me want to stop all my reading and devour Gothic fiction this summer, starting with Le Fanu's The House by the Churchyard.