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A review by jlewis
Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
First, Northanger Abbey is my least favourite Jane Austen book. I’ve never felt it properly hangs together and I have always been excruciatingly embarrassed on Catherine’s behalf by her inability to separate fiction from reality. Second, the only other Austen Project book I’ve read was Alexander McCall Smith’s Emma, which was incredibly disappointing. Third, the only other Val McDermid book I’ve read was one of the Tony Hill books, which was so grim and grisly that I was left with no wish to read any more. So perhaps it’s not surprising that this book has been at the bottom of my TBR pile until it was forced on me by a reading challenge.
And I would like to say that it is a very entertaining and clever contemporary version of the original. It riffs on so many of the original details, even to Henry Tilney having an eye for dress fabric. Catherine (here known as Cat) is as excruciatingly naive and embarrassing as in the original. The Thorpes as superficial and self-absorbed. The Edinburgh summer festival setting works brilliantly as a substitute for Bath. I’m pleased to have been prompted to read it - although Northanger Abbey will still rank as a definite 6th in my list of preferred Austen. (The others take it in turns to rank first …)
And I would like to say that it is a very entertaining and clever contemporary version of the original. It riffs on so many of the original details, even to Henry Tilney having an eye for dress fabric. Catherine (here known as Cat) is as excruciatingly naive and embarrassing as in the original. The Thorpes as superficial and self-absorbed. The Edinburgh summer festival setting works brilliantly as a substitute for Bath. I’m pleased to have been prompted to read it - although Northanger Abbey will still rank as a definite 6th in my list of preferred Austen. (The others take it in turns to rank first …)