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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
600 pages of crying, screaming, and throwing up, but Emily is just like me for real.
slow-paced
After we finished reading Northanger Abbey, the book club wanted to read Catherine Morland's favourite story: The Mysteries of Udolpho. It's easier to understand (in hindsight) how Northanger Abbey was a parody of the Gothic genre after reading this book. The tropes are pretty clear.
It's an okay book, I think. The darker elements of the story make it a gripping tale, but the story falls short in numerous aspects. My main issue is the length. I'm not opposed to reading thicker books, but it is difficult to see why The Mysteries of Udolpho couldn't have just been ~200 pages shorter. Perhaps Ann Radcliffe did not think she needed an editor.
I'm also not fond of the protagonist, Emily, and her love interest Valancourt. Emily does not grow much as a character, in my opinion, and her chapters are full of pining. A recurring inside joke in the book club was that Emily either faints or cries in every single chapter. Valancourt is not particularly charming. In fact I'd say he's quite the opposite. Throughout the entire story, he's full of self-pitying and he seems to be incapable of having normal conversations. His speech is overly dramatic and after 600 pages, it became tiring.
Though I'm critical of this book, I did enjoy it. If I can find an abridged edition, I will consider rereading it in the future. It's worth giving this book a try if you're interested either in the Gothic elements or if you liked Northanger Abbey.
It's an okay book, I think. The darker elements of the story make it a gripping tale, but the story falls short in numerous aspects. My main issue is the length. I'm not opposed to reading thicker books, but it is difficult to see why The Mysteries of Udolpho couldn't have just been ~200 pages shorter. Perhaps Ann Radcliffe did not think she needed an editor.
I'm also not fond of the protagonist, Emily, and her love interest Valancourt. Emily does not grow much as a character, in my opinion, and her chapters are full of pining. A recurring inside joke in the book club was that Emily either faints or cries in every single chapter. Valancourt is not particularly charming. In fact I'd say he's quite the opposite. Throughout the entire story, he's full of self-pitying and he seems to be incapable of having normal conversations. His speech is overly dramatic and after 600 pages, it became tiring.
Though I'm critical of this book, I did enjoy it. If I can find an abridged edition, I will consider rereading it in the future. It's worth giving this book a try if you're interested either in the Gothic elements or if you liked Northanger Abbey.
To put it short and sweet, I did not care much for the love interest or the romance in this novel, but the mystery aspect was really entertaining. Now I see why back in the day this novel was so popular. I very much could have done without the constant fainting, crying and not sleeping because of sorrow in this book (I was seriously contemplating if it's realistic that Emily survived with that amount of sleep), but all in all, I'm not disappointed. I read it because Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, and it worked well as something I listened to while doing chores.
For as often as the women in this story faint, I have to wonder if they all suffer from a common illness.
There's something really satisfying about a novel that takes great pains to explain everything at the end. Like, I'm as postmodern as the next guy, but sometimes I love a bit of closuuuuuuuuuuuuuure!!
lots and lots of prose on the landscape and nature that was at times charming, but sometimes read like a very dull travel journal (for a modern reader - i think a contemporary one would enjoy this)
emily was a bit of a damsel in distress but held her own quite well for a gothic heroine
love interest was a bit underwhelming and absent for most of the novel surprisingly
was a lovely read if a bit long and at times waffling
emily was a bit of a damsel in distress but held her own quite well for a gothic heroine
love interest was a bit underwhelming and absent for most of the novel surprisingly
was a lovely read if a bit long and at times waffling