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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
dark
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Starts slow, keep reading because the payoff at the end is good. Psychological deep dive into a narcissistic unreliable narrator who is trying to find and place meaning into the people who orbit him. Broken up by beautiful descriptions of the sea and the "stars behind stars behind stars"
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i mean it's a 600 page book with an extremely unlikeable narrator and i still finished it!
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Overall a great read. Quite slow in parts, and I'm not sure the magical realism aspect did anything for me, but was a big fan of some lines like "James, you slug" and "I was utterly horrified in the kitchen this morning to see what I mistook to be a grotesquely huge fat fleshy spider emerging from the larder. It turned out to be a most engaging toad."
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved the prose, couldn't stand Charles.
This is such a bizarre masterpiece. I was so confused yet enthralled the whole time.
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Like The Wreck, I jumped into this book knowing nothing about it. Murdoch eases us into the story, building tension over time, and establishing a relationship with the protagonist and narrator, Charles Arrowby. It’s quickly revealed that he is an arrogant, self important man, who believes so fully that he has the right of how to live in the world. You can feel the charisma and charm that mesmerises so many, while at the same time fully understanding why the locals in his new coastal village shun and laugh at him - his glamour has no effect on them.
As a character, Arrowby is a proper villain in the way of Heathcliffe. He actively attempts to destroy lives at his pleasure. Like Heathcliffe, Arrowby’s attitude comes from spurned love, from a woman who’s memory and sense of fateful attachment to, he can’t let go of. Unlike Heathcliffe, he does not build a life around hers but instead chances across her later in his life.
The horror of his treatment of Hartley kept me up at night, reading through his manipulations and entrapment. His actions are cruel and abusive (as is the complicity of his friends!). I wonder if now this book could be written? If this story would be possible to tell in this way? I doubt it. I mean, it shocks me it could be written in the mid-late 70s!
This is a book I will think about for many years to come and Arrowby is a level of villain it will be hard to find competitors for.
As a character, Arrowby is a proper villain in the way of Heathcliffe. He actively attempts to destroy lives at his pleasure. Like Heathcliffe, Arrowby’s attitude comes from spurned love, from a woman who’s memory and sense of fateful attachment to, he can’t let go of. Unlike Heathcliffe, he does not build a life around hers but instead chances across her later in his life.
The horror of his treatment of Hartley kept me up at night, reading through his manipulations and entrapment. His actions are cruel and abusive (as is the complicity of his friends!). I wonder if now this book could be written? If this story would be possible to tell in this way? I doubt it. I mean, it shocks me it could be written in the mid-late 70s!
This is a book I will think about for many years to come and Arrowby is a level of villain it will be hard to find competitors for.
dark
emotional
tense
slow-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
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes