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A review by eleanoragraves
The Beguiled by Thomas Cullinan
3.0
I have been excited to read this book ever since I saw the trailer for the Sofia Coppola movie adaptation. It promises a story of sexual tension, jealousy and vengeance, so I thought the story would be about menacing women. However, I was left a little disappointed.
The book takes place during the American Civil War where the injured soldier, John McBurney, is brought to an all women school to heal his leg. At first the presence of this charismatic soldier is trilling, and he gains the affection of most of the girls, but eventually it upends their lives when jealousy and vengeance takes over.
We read the story through the perspective of all eight female characters. This was a bit confusing at first, but after the first 100 pages or so, I found it simple enough to tell them apart. Even though there are a lot of characters and perspectives I enjoyed most of them despite their flaws. However, as the book goes on, it becomes frustrating how naïve and useless they became. There were multiple times I just waited for some of them to do something, but unfortunately they almost never did.
Where The Beguiled shines is in creating a creepy atmosphere with strong tension, so it’s a shame that the ending didn’t live up to the slow buildup. I usually appreciate a slow buildup and was very intrigued at first, but the book never goes to the disturbing place that it seems to be promising you. Not much happens until the end of the book, and even then it falls short.
I enjoyed the book at first, so it’s a shame that it didn’t live up to the promise. It might still be worth reading if you enjoy slower books with an eerie atmosphere, but keep your expectation down for where it’s leading.
The book takes place during the American Civil War where the injured soldier, John McBurney, is brought to an all women school to heal his leg. At first the presence of this charismatic soldier is trilling, and he gains the affection of most of the girls, but eventually it upends their lives when jealousy and vengeance takes over.
We read the story through the perspective of all eight female characters. This was a bit confusing at first, but after the first 100 pages or so, I found it simple enough to tell them apart. Even though there are a lot of characters and perspectives I enjoyed most of them despite their flaws. However, as the book goes on, it becomes frustrating how naïve and useless they became. There were multiple times I just waited for some of them to do something, but unfortunately they almost never did.
Where The Beguiled shines is in creating a creepy atmosphere with strong tension, so it’s a shame that the ending didn’t live up to the slow buildup. I usually appreciate a slow buildup and was very intrigued at first, but the book never goes to the disturbing place that it seems to be promising you. Not much happens until the end of the book, and even then it falls short.
I enjoyed the book at first, so it’s a shame that it didn’t live up to the promise. It might still be worth reading if you enjoy slower books with an eerie atmosphere, but keep your expectation down for where it’s leading.