Scan barcode
livres_de_bloss's review
3.0
3.5
This was a good read that was creepy and atmospheric at times; however, I felt the pacing was a bit off and in my view, there’s nothing all that frightening about fairies.
This was a good read that was creepy and atmospheric at times; however, I felt the pacing was a bit off and in my view, there’s nothing all that frightening about fairies.
krobart's review against another edition
4.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2022/05/09/review-1851-the-house-of-whispers/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2022/05/09/review-1851-the-house-of-whispers/
thebookboy's review
4.0
Do you ever get so caught up in a book that you simply have to keep reading to know what happens next? For me, Bone China was that exact experience, but with one fatal flaw - the plot once all was said and done was somewhat of a disappointment.
I loved the whole setting, the gorgeous writing, the very visual feel of it all, but the nonsensical choices by certain characters at the end and rather unfulfilling revelations meant that this book went from a solid 5 star read to more of a 3.5.
I think Laura Purcell is a fabulous writer and I very much enjoy the stories of hers I've read, I just think this book needed to be tightened up at the end and a more satisfactory finale to have accompanied the excellent material that came before it. I still had a great time being lost in the world (thus the 3.5 rating) but it definitely pales in comparison to her previous works and does fail to capture the creepy feel of her other stories too.
I loved the whole setting, the gorgeous writing, the very visual feel of it all, but the nonsensical choices by certain characters at the end and rather unfulfilling revelations meant that this book went from a solid 5 star read to more of a 3.5.
I think Laura Purcell is a fabulous writer and I very much enjoy the stories of hers I've read, I just think this book needed to be tightened up at the end and a more satisfactory finale to have accompanied the excellent material that came before it. I still had a great time being lost in the world (thus the 3.5 rating) but it definitely pales in comparison to her previous works and does fail to capture the creepy feel of her other stories too.
nora_rue's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sunrune234's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
incrediblemelk's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Having read The Silent Companions by Purcell and found it to be "meat-and-potatoes" Gothic pastiche, I was hoping for something more distinctive from Bone China but didn't really get it.
While the section in which troubled young nurse Hester is maid to rich but unhappy Lady Rose reminded me a lot of Sarah Waters' Fingersmith, or Michel Faber's The Crimson Petal and the White, the Cornwall setting was much more Daphne Du Maurier.
But this story lacks Du Maurier's cynicism about human nature. Just as it dawned on me that Purcell meant to imbue her silent companions with some genuinely supernatural magic, the malevolent fairies in Bone China were treated as real, rather than as a source of superstition used to frighten or manipulate.
Therefore the creepy retainer Creeda deserves her name as a 'true believer' – I see that Purcell has not lost her taste for elbow-jabbingly obvious names.
While the story was atmospheric it was never truly unsettling, and the multiple strands of the story didn't really coalesce in a satisfying way. Hester's attachment to Lady Rose seemed to come from nowhere, so I had to wonder if there was something else in her past that had helped turn her into a hopeless laudanum and gin junkie.
And Louise Pinecroft was an irritating character in her prime – and I never really understood why she felt compelled to sit in the cold air with all the bone china. I think it might have been as simple and annoying as "otherwise the fairies would get her".
When everything in your book can be explained away as the work of "the fairies", you're letting your human characters off the hook.
While the section in which troubled young nurse Hester is maid to rich but unhappy Lady Rose reminded me a lot of Sarah Waters' Fingersmith, or Michel Faber's The Crimson Petal and the White, the Cornwall setting was much more Daphne Du Maurier.
But this story lacks Du Maurier's cynicism about human nature. Just as it dawned on me that Purcell meant to imbue her silent companions with some genuinely supernatural magic, the malevolent fairies in Bone China were treated as real, rather than as a source of superstition used to frighten or manipulate.
Therefore the creepy retainer Creeda deserves her name as a 'true believer' – I see that Purcell has not lost her taste for elbow-jabbingly obvious names.
While the story was atmospheric it was never truly unsettling, and the multiple strands of the story didn't really coalesce in a satisfying way. Hester's attachment to Lady Rose seemed to come from nowhere, so I had to wonder if there was something else in her past that had helped turn her into a hopeless laudanum and gin junkie.
And Louise Pinecroft was an irritating character in her prime – and I never really understood why she felt compelled to sit in the cold air with all the bone china. I think it might have been as simple and annoying as "otherwise the fairies would get her".
When everything in your book can be explained away as the work of "the fairies", you're letting your human characters off the hook.
jo_bookworm's review
2.0
Louise Pinecroft is now alone with only her father, her siblings and her mother have been consumed by the horror that is consumption.
Raised at her father's side and having absorbed and gained the medical knowledge he has she embarks on a rather interesting experiment for consumptives who are incarcerated in prison.
All in a cave beneath their home on the Cornish cliffs, Louise Pinecroft starts to feel uncomfortable by the presence of the men and of the stories that their maid, Creeda begins to tell of little people.
The little people are out to steal others for their realm. The thought is disturbing, the premise intriguing but for me it did not have the chilling effect I think it was meant to have.
Hester Why arrives to nurse Louise Pinecroft, some forty years later who is virtually mute, reclusive and partially paralysed. Hester is escaping her past and wants to forget what went before, however it seems the strange goings on with Louise Pinecroft and the still ever present maid Creeda starts to worry Hester.
The threat of the little people still abounds. Added to this is the room full of Bone China where you find Louise Pinecroft permanently seated. The pattern of the china - Willow has its basis in fairy stories and is full of romance. Are the patterns changing, is this the work of the little people or some other dark force at work?
The books descriptions of the china, of the Cornish coastline and the journey of Hester Why stand out for me as well written and constructed. However the plot was just too fanciful for me and I was certainly not frightened or chilled by it. My logical and rational mind took over and I was not swept away as some readers might be.
Interesting none the less but I think perhaps it was lost on me. I did finish it as there were some strong elements within the book I enjoyed, the relationship between Hester and the curate as well as Louise and the prisoners, it was the other wordly element which put me off.
Raised at her father's side and having absorbed and gained the medical knowledge he has she embarks on a rather interesting experiment for consumptives who are incarcerated in prison.
All in a cave beneath their home on the Cornish cliffs, Louise Pinecroft starts to feel uncomfortable by the presence of the men and of the stories that their maid, Creeda begins to tell of little people.
The little people are out to steal others for their realm. The thought is disturbing, the premise intriguing but for me it did not have the chilling effect I think it was meant to have.
Hester Why arrives to nurse Louise Pinecroft, some forty years later who is virtually mute, reclusive and partially paralysed. Hester is escaping her past and wants to forget what went before, however it seems the strange goings on with Louise Pinecroft and the still ever present maid Creeda starts to worry Hester.
The threat of the little people still abounds. Added to this is the room full of Bone China where you find Louise Pinecroft permanently seated. The pattern of the china - Willow has its basis in fairy stories and is full of romance. Are the patterns changing, is this the work of the little people or some other dark force at work?
The books descriptions of the china, of the Cornish coastline and the journey of Hester Why stand out for me as well written and constructed. However the plot was just too fanciful for me and I was certainly not frightened or chilled by it. My logical and rational mind took over and I was not swept away as some readers might be.
Interesting none the less but I think perhaps it was lost on me. I did finish it as there were some strong elements within the book I enjoyed, the relationship between Hester and the curate as well as Louise and the prisoners, it was the other wordly element which put me off.
per_fictionist's review
4.0
Laura Purcell weaves a brilliant atmospheric tale surrounding the Morovoren house and its residents in her latest book, "Bone China". Purcell after establishing herself as one of the masters of goth fiction in the modern times through her works , The Silent Companions and The Corset keeps the element of intrigue alive in "Bone China".
Hester Why,a nurse is fleeing from her own demons to join as a nurse in a remote mansion located at the Cornish Coastline, the esteemed Morovoren House. But will the monsters of her past leave her side so easily? Or is another more horrific monsters awaiting her at her new quarters?
Forty years ago, Louis Pinecroft, the daughter of Dr. Ernest arrived at Cornwall's Morovoren House, after a tragedy shook their family and all the other members, fell into the clutches of an epidemic. The father daughter duo find their recluse in their abode and in finding a cure for phthisis -or consumption through various experiments held on some prisoners.
The events alternate between these two residents of the house and a permanent member of the house Creeda, who believes herself as a guardian of the cursed house. Purcell creates an aura so eerily scaring and spine-chilling that it makes your head reel with so many questions. Laura's descriptions of the Cornwall countryside, the dubiety of certain characters and how she gives life to the charming tales of creatures that lie beneath is unequivocally rich and powerful to captivate your interest throughout the book.
Bone China being my first of Laura Purcell, I enjoyed it immensely because historical fiction and suspense are two of my most preferred genres and I think a mix between them rarely goes wrong. The two main characters come to the Morovoren house, with baggage of their horrific past and how deal with their nightmares in the house is the central theme of the book.Having said that I expected something more from Hester's part. The "bone china" as the title says failed to gain their ground, and just felt like a prop in the whole book. Although Purcell gives equal spotlight to both the past and present timeline, I somehow felt the calendars and events of the past somehow didn't have a whole lot of implication in Hester's scene. But maybe that's what the author tried to achieve through the dual timelines but it somehow didn't work on my part.
Did I enjoy the book? Oh hell yes! One of the best atmospheric reads of 2019 for me and I am looking forward to reading "The Silent Companions".
Known for her infusion of historical narrative with gothic elements, Purcell doesn't sway much for her forte and once again gifts us a delicious tale of strangeness and of underlying myths that somehow find their way to the surface.
Hester Why,a nurse is fleeing from her own demons to join as a nurse in a remote mansion located at the Cornish Coastline, the esteemed Morovoren House. But will the monsters of her past leave her side so easily? Or is another more horrific monsters awaiting her at her new quarters?
Forty years ago, Louis Pinecroft, the daughter of Dr. Ernest arrived at Cornwall's Morovoren House, after a tragedy shook their family and all the other members, fell into the clutches of an epidemic. The father daughter duo find their recluse in their abode and in finding a cure for phthisis -or consumption through various experiments held on some prisoners.
The events alternate between these two residents of the house and a permanent member of the house Creeda, who believes herself as a guardian of the cursed house. Purcell creates an aura so eerily scaring and spine-chilling that it makes your head reel with so many questions. Laura's descriptions of the Cornwall countryside, the dubiety of certain characters and how she gives life to the charming tales of creatures that lie beneath is unequivocally rich and powerful to captivate your interest throughout the book.
Bone China being my first of Laura Purcell, I enjoyed it immensely because historical fiction and suspense are two of my most preferred genres and I think a mix between them rarely goes wrong. The two main characters come to the Morovoren house, with baggage of their horrific past and how deal with their nightmares in the house is the central theme of the book.Having said that I expected something more from Hester's part. The "bone china" as the title says failed to gain their ground, and just felt like a prop in the whole book. Although Purcell gives equal spotlight to both the past and present timeline, I somehow felt the calendars and events of the past somehow didn't have a whole lot of implication in Hester's scene. But maybe that's what the author tried to achieve through the dual timelines but it somehow didn't work on my part.
Did I enjoy the book? Oh hell yes! One of the best atmospheric reads of 2019 for me and I am looking forward to reading "The Silent Companions".
Known for her infusion of historical narrative with gothic elements, Purcell doesn't sway much for her forte and once again gifts us a delicious tale of strangeness and of underlying myths that somehow find their way to the surface.