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A review by hangsangareader
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This was a BIG book to get through. Maybe listening to 50 different people reading it is not the best of experiences, especially when the readers are not great at the pronunciation of specific names.
As for the story itself, it is pretty long. I will admit to becoming very bored, so I have to give it a lower rating. I also did not care much for Emily. Not as much as I care for Jane Eyre - and that book can also become tedious. Radcliffe's writing also seems repetitive. Or maybe that is the issue with being so long that I heard the words melancholic and gloomy a thousand times and felt like the same thing repeatedly.
The moment at Udolpho is the most interesting, of course. What can be more fun than potential ghosts? It is also distressing seeing poor Emily not being able to free herself from it. I will say Radcliffe is very clever in dragging out a doubt in the reader. She does not immediately expose us to every aspect of the story; we must keep reading if we want answers.
The characters are interesting. Montoni is the apparent villain whose secrets (as those of Udolpho) keep us interested in continuing to read. The way he treats Emily makes us want to jump into the book and strangle him because she seems too tied up to do something. And then we realize she is in a Castle in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by thugs; how would we help? But I think the worst is how he treats his wife - she had the worst deal. But I didn't like her because she separated Emily from Valancout, but then again, Valancourt was kind of an idiot, to put it mildly. I'm confused about the feelings these characters arouse in me - because they are complex and have as much good as evil. Except for Montoni, he's all bad. But is that not an indication of a good story? One with complex relationships between characters who are not one-dimensional? We are constantly confronted with mixed feelings about them as we continue to read. The only characters I always liked was Annette and Ludovico. They made the story funnier and easier to get through. Also, good for Ludovico to protect Annette from all those evil men by locking her up. She was safer than Emily.
Being a long story, it has different parts to it. It takes a long time until we reach Udolpho, and then there is much to read after it. We are introduced to new characters towards the end when we can't see them coming. Why add another new family? I'm not sure I think this is a negative aspect. If you have the patience, you can get through all of it, and it is with the help of these new characters Emily returns home after Udolpho and seems to have a semblance of a family to engage with. I just... I was so bored. It seemed like it would never end.
TLDR: interesting classic of the gothic genre. Magnificent enterprise by a female author who initiated said genre. However, too long and repetitive.
As for the story itself, it is pretty long. I will admit to becoming very bored, so I have to give it a lower rating. I also did not care much for Emily. Not as much as I care for Jane Eyre - and that book can also become tedious. Radcliffe's writing also seems repetitive. Or maybe that is the issue with being so long that I heard the words melancholic and gloomy a thousand times and felt like the same thing repeatedly.
The moment at Udolpho is the most interesting, of course. What can be more fun than potential ghosts? It is also distressing seeing poor Emily not being able to free herself from it. I will say Radcliffe is very clever in dragging out a doubt in the reader. She does not immediately expose us to every aspect of the story; we must keep reading if we want answers.
The characters are interesting. Montoni is the apparent villain whose secrets (as those of Udolpho) keep us interested in continuing to read. The way he treats Emily makes us want to jump into the book and strangle him because she seems too tied up to do something. And then we realize she is in a Castle in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by thugs; how would we help? But I think the worst is how he treats his wife - she had the worst deal. But I didn't like her because she separated Emily from Valancout, but then again, Valancourt was kind of an idiot, to put it mildly. I'm confused about the feelings these characters arouse in me - because they are complex and have as much good as evil. Except for Montoni, he's all bad. But is that not an indication of a good story? One with complex relationships between characters who are not one-dimensional? We are constantly confronted with mixed feelings about them as we continue to read. The only characters I always liked was Annette and Ludovico. They made the story funnier and easier to get through. Also, good for Ludovico to protect Annette from all those evil men by locking her up. She was safer than Emily.
Being a long story, it has different parts to it. It takes a long time until we reach Udolpho, and then there is much to read after it. We are introduced to new characters towards the end when we can't see them coming. Why add another new family? I'm not sure I think this is a negative aspect. If you have the patience, you can get through all of it, and it is with the help of these new characters Emily returns home after Udolpho and seems to have a semblance of a family to engage with. I just... I was so bored. It seemed like it would never end.
TLDR: interesting classic of the gothic genre. Magnificent enterprise by a female author who initiated said genre. However, too long and repetitive.