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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
slow-paced
This was my second time reading Udolpho. It's super long and I was impatient the first time. I enjoy gothic fiction for the atmosphere and Udolpho has tons, but Radcliffe is soooo listless with the plot - spending pages and pages describing scenery, for example - that I got frustrated.
Sometime after that, I realized that the problem was partly me. I was focusing so much on the mysteries and revelations that I wasn't allowing myself to become immersed in the story. I decided to try again. And it worked better this time. It took me over a year to get through it, but I let myself enjoy each paragraph on its own merits and just generally appreciate spending time in the world.
I still don't love it though. Radcliffe sets up cool, spooky mysteries and then sort of makes fun of you for getting wrapped up in them. It's not enough for her to reveal that nothing is supernatural; she makes the explanations so mundane and normal that I feel let down.
Sometime after that, I realized that the problem was partly me. I was focusing so much on the mysteries and revelations that I wasn't allowing myself to become immersed in the story. I decided to try again. And it worked better this time. It took me over a year to get through it, but I let myself enjoy each paragraph on its own merits and just generally appreciate spending time in the world.
I still don't love it though. Radcliffe sets up cool, spooky mysteries and then sort of makes fun of you for getting wrapped up in them. It's not enough for her to reveal that nothing is supernatural; she makes the explanations so mundane and normal that I feel let down.
The old-fashioned longwinded style was hard to get through, but I liked the story.
Read Harder Challenge 2023: Read one of your favorite author’s favorite books (Jane Austen).
Read Harder Challenge 2023: Read one of your favorite author’s favorite books (Jane Austen).
Primo Victorian melodrama.
Would've been improved by removing about 2/3 of the commas though.
Would've been improved by removing about 2/3 of the commas though.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Ending was really rushed and weird. Writing style was very disembodied and strange
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
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:
No
Part 2 was what I was looking to get out of this book. Parts 1, 3, and 4… not so much. But it ticks all the boxes of a gothic horror story, and it’s clear to see why this one is considered a classic.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Classism
Moderate: Body horror, Suicidal thoughts
I wanted to read this because it's spoofed in Northanger Abbey, but it was really disappointing. There are elements that work--Radcliffe's dialogue is often lively, and she does create some suspense--but the book is boring overall, mostly because it's stretched out to far beyond the length it needs to be. There is no reason for this story to occupy over 600 pages, but Radcliffe stretches it out with endless, endless, endless descriptions of nature (to be fair, I don't particularly like descriptions of nature in any amount, but I found this especially excessive), poems written by the characters, digressions from the main plot. Her characters are also pretty flat--Emily, our heroine, is a curiously passive sort, whose main activity is fainting--which makes it hard to care deeply about the mysteries surrounding them.