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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Listening to unabridge version on my ipod... loving it so far.
I thought this had hit a massive anticlimax, but it turned out that there was more wrapping up to do than I'd expected and it tied everything in so much better than the ending I had been imagining.
This book did not take any time for me to read because I couldn't stop. The main character is strong and intriguing and the story kept leaving me in suspense. I love the descriptions that du Maurier uses and how everything she writes about is something I can paint a picture to so clearly. I read Rebecca many years ago and it has always been one of my favorites, but this one is just as goooood. Definitely more action than Rebecca, but there is a still a mystery and I was hooked from the beginning.
I think I find myself in the very few who did not enjoy this book at all.
*Disclaimer: this is the first and only book of hers that I've read. Probably forever.
Let's start with the one thing that I liked: some of the descriptions of the surroundings, from nature to setting the rural scene. However, in such a short book, even those often became tiring. I understand the need for mood and all that typically English countryside vibe, yet I think some of the word count could've been used to further develop the plot or give some depth to the characters.
Speaking of, I personally found Mary Yellan to be one of the worst built female characters in the history of books I've read. None of her actions are in line with the way she's being described as:
1. We barely see her grieve for her mother's loss ;
2. She is stubborn and makes some difficult to understand decisions in which she goes till the end with her plan or whatever she's being told to do, despite logic and intuition advising otherwise;
3. She often cries to other characters that she's been a fool and so on, while the others "admire her courage" whilst shoving words in her face like "you're a woman" and women are stupid;
4. She "falls in love" with an asshole (pardon my French) and despite all logic and rational thinking ("he stood for everything she feared and hated and despised; but she knew she could love him") and her desire to go home, she decides to go live some God-forsaken life with this nut-head, who by the way is a copy of her aggressor (Joss, the uncle), and as such we're dealing with some poorly formatted Stockholm syndrome.
I didn't have high expectations to begin with, but I don't remember the last time I've felt so frustrated with a book. I grew up reading classic English literature with the likes of Bronte, Austen, Hardy, etc. There's a slight possibility that if I had stumbled upon this book during my teenage years, maybe I would've rooted for Mary and Jem to get together. Now, I am insulted by this narrative and that I should believe this to be the natural order of events, even in a fictional way. In no classics have I read situations where the male character calls the woman a monkey, insults her, tells her "she's a woman" (really got tired by the amount of times i saw that sentence) and that's something to be ashamed and disgusted of, and the female character still goes and weds this man. Austen is turning in her grave with shame.
What's most annoying is that du Maurier published this in the early 20th Century, a time when the Suffragettes were taking to the streets to fight, and the likes of de Beauvoir, Virginia Woolf, Iris Murdoch were writing their assess off to create meaningful and round characters and narratives. And here comes Mary Yellan to shut everyone's mouth off.
Yes, we could argue that the novel was set in the 19th Century and things were different then. Again, if I want to read relevant literature from the time, I go to one of the authors I mentioned above. Yes, she did her best to imagine the world through the knowledge of the time. Well, Philippa Gregory is a modern writer whose books are set 5-6 centuries ago, and you don't see stuff like "she wished that women were not the frail things of straw she believed them to be", or "why were women such fools, so shortsighted and unwise?, or "a girl can't live alone, Mary, without she goes queer in the head". I just wanted to die.
Other things that I didn't like about this book (yay):
1. The evil character being albino, or being albino making him the evil character (by the way he was probably the most interesting one). Also, he was a priest who didn't enjoy life. Because he was an "albino", a "monster", a something from the other world that doesn't really deserve to be alive, innit? So he decides to go about and do illegal stuff oooo spookyyy
2. The hey i'm evil oh actually not, the helpful guy is the evil one, ok so who is the hero?
3. Mary Yellan is quite dysfunctional in her emotions and I honestly don't understand her.
I think it's enough, I don't want to think about this anymore... do yourself a favour and read something else (even by du Maurier, why not).
*Disclaimer: this is the first and only book of hers that I've read. Probably forever.
Let's start with the one thing that I liked: some of the descriptions of the surroundings, from nature to setting the rural scene. However, in such a short book, even those often became tiring. I understand the need for mood and all that typically English countryside vibe, yet I think some of the word count could've been used to further develop the plot or give some depth to the characters.
Speaking of, I personally found Mary Yellan to be one of the worst built female characters in the history of books I've read. None of her actions are in line with the way she's being described as:
1.
2. She is stubborn and makes some difficult to understand decisions in which she goes till the end with her plan or whatever she's being told to do, despite logic and intuition advising otherwise;
3. She often cries to other characters that she's been a fool and so on, while the others "admire her courage" whilst shoving words in her face like "you're a woman" and women are stupid;
4.
I didn't have high expectations to begin with, but I don't remember the last time I've felt so frustrated with a book. I grew up reading classic English literature with the likes of Bronte, Austen, Hardy, etc. There's a slight possibility that if I had stumbled upon this book during my teenage years, maybe I would've rooted for Mary and Jem to get together. Now, I am insulted by this narrative and that I should believe this to be the natural order of events, even in a fictional way. In no classics have I read situations where the male character calls the woman a monkey, insults her, tells her "she's a woman" (really got tired by the amount of times i saw that sentence) and that's something to be ashamed and disgusted of, and the female character still goes and weds this man. Austen is turning in her grave with shame.
What's most annoying is that du Maurier published this in the early 20th Century, a time when the Suffragettes were taking to the streets to fight, and the likes of de Beauvoir, Virginia Woolf, Iris Murdoch were writing their assess off to create meaningful and round characters and narratives. And here comes Mary Yellan to shut everyone's mouth off.
Yes, we could argue that the novel was set in the 19th Century and things were different then. Again, if I want to read relevant literature from the time, I go to one of the authors I mentioned above. Yes, she did her best to imagine the world through the knowledge of the time. Well, Philippa Gregory is a modern writer whose books are set 5-6 centuries ago, and you don't see stuff like "she wished that women were not the frail things of straw she believed them to be", or "why were women such fools, so shortsighted and unwise?, or "a girl can't live alone, Mary, without she goes queer in the head". I just wanted to die.
Other things that I didn't like about this book (yay):
1.
2. The hey i'm evil oh actually not, the helpful guy is the evil one, ok so who is the hero?
3. Mary Yellan is quite dysfunctional in her emotions and I honestly don't understand her.
I think it's enough, I don't want to think about this anymore... do yourself a favour and read something else (even by du Maurier, why not).
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Love her books, and this one doesn't disappoint. If I wished for anything it would be a bit more developed ending as I felt she wraps it up too quickly and you can guess what will happen with the remaining characters. Rebecca is the gold standard to me for Du Maurier novels and hard to top, but I found myself not wanting to put this down. I also learned that if ever stranded around the moors in Cornwall to avoid the marshy, low areas for fear of being sucked down.
Love her books, and this one doesn't disappoint. If I wished for anything it would be a bit more developed ending as I felt she wraps it up too quickly and you can guess what will happen with the remaining characters. Rebecca is the gold standard to me for Du Maurier novels and hard to top, but I found myself not wanting to put this down. I also learned that if ever stranded around the moors in Cornwall to avoid the marshy, low areas for fear of being sucked down.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
dark
mysterious
fast-paced