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annerlee 's review for:
The Animals at Lockwood Manor
by Jane Healey
This book has a spooky gothic feel to it. There's an old family mansion with dozens of empty rooms full of old forgotten objects shrouded in dust sheets. Some rooms are inhabited by stuffed animals evacuated from a London museum with empty glass eyes. The animals seem to move of their own accord. There's madness in the family, mysterious deaths and stories of a curse and a ghost that prowls the corridors at night.
All the ingredients are here for a spooky gothic tale.
So why only three stars? Basically because of the long slow burn. To finish the book, I had to be prepared for the long haul.
Events are related in diary-like entries by the two main characters, which gives us differing points of view and a way of trying to discern madness and trauma from reality. On the other hand, this means that a lot is made of (sometimes) very little and the narrative is slowed right down.
There are the recurring thoughts and nightmares, related in some detail and small events that repeat in subtle variations of each other. For me, what should have been a slow and mounting build-up lacked momentum and stocked after a while, leaving me frustrated.
Having said this, I'm glad I stuck with the book to its climax. There are valuable things said along the way, I identified with the insecurities and development of the main characters and the ending was a poignant one. Having said this, the book's meanderings did leave me exhausted.
All the ingredients are here for a spooky gothic tale.
So why only three stars? Basically because of the long slow burn. To finish the book, I had to be prepared for the long haul.
Events are related in diary-like entries by the two main characters, which gives us differing points of view and a way of trying to discern madness and trauma from reality. On the other hand, this means that a lot is made of (sometimes) very little and the narrative is slowed right down.
There are the recurring thoughts and nightmares, related in some detail and small events that repeat in subtle variations of each other. For me, what should have been a slow and mounting build-up lacked momentum and stocked after a while, leaving me frustrated.
Having said this, I'm glad I stuck with the book to its climax. There are valuable things said along the way, I identified with the insecurities and development of the main characters and the ending was a poignant one. Having said this, the book's meanderings did leave me exhausted.