Reviews with content warning for Death - The Canterville Ghost

A perfectly decent read/listen. I listened to the audiobook on Audrey which definitely helped me ascertain the tone and hilarity of the chapters. This was my first Oscar Wilde book and admittedly I don’t see the hype, but it is quite short so I’ll give the benefit of the doubt. The American caricature and the paradox of a ghost afraid of who should be afraid of it was amusing. The ending though? A bit of a confusing turn.

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itsreirei's review against another edition

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3.5

The premise was rather intriguing, started out pretty fun but the ending felt so tonally different, (way too heartwarming, lol) I ended up a bit disappointed.

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minzzi's review against another edition

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funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

It was a fun humorous read, but nothing much. I think if it was longer and more developed I would have liked it more.

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maren_hemsath's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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alehope10's review

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

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woolgathering_jane's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I don't think this story has aged well. The most fun I had was a smile and I honestly wouldn't even bother finishing it if it was any longer. The premise or a brief explanation of the story sounds fun, but that's about it, I'm a bit disappointed, to be honest.

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spinesinaline's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I’d been meaning to read this one for a while so glad to finally get to it!

It is quite funny as an American family, living in England, move into a haunted house but the ghost finds it increasingly hard to haunt them. It plays on some British and American stereotypes in the characters’ attitudes, as the Americans at first don’t believe that the ghost exists but then try to “fix” it with different products — oil so his chains don’t squeak, a miracle cleaner to get the blood stain out of the carpet. The family also has two young twin boys who terrorize the ghost themselves, setting out pranks that impede his own haunting. And I loved all the ghost’s intricate and involved personas complete with costumes, he’s a true theatre person in his hauntings.

I think ultimately it was another case of not quite the book I expected. Several reviewers have commented on the tone of the book changing significantly and I felt the same with the second half of the book (which moves away from the humorous telling but I won’t give more details to avoid spoilers). I also didn’t much like the ghost — it was funny and sad to see how the twins’ pranks kept him confined in his own home and other circumstances that had happened in his life were quite horrible, but he directly caused so much death in his life and beyond that felt carelessly mentioned and mostly ignored in a story that seems set to honour him.

I am curious about a few things: the description of the ghost felt very unique – he’s described with skin, he can get bruised and wet! He’s the least ‘ghostly’ I’ve read before. And the bigger curiosity: the story is told from a first-person perspective but not from any one of the family members or the ghost. Who is this person who knows so much?

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