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aliceofx 's review for:
The Mysteries of Udolpho
by Ann Radcliffe
Mysteries of Udolpho is the story of a young woman named Emily. After the death of her father she must go and live with her aunt Madame Cheron, a vain and self-centered woman. Her aunt marries a cruel man named Montoni who takes his new wife and Emily back to Italy. As a result she is separated from her beloved Valancourt and forced to live in the dreary and mysterious castle of Udolpho.
It was somewhat hard to come to a definite opinion but in the end I would say that this book has a tough shell all around it. The beginning is somewhat dull and uneventful that made me doubt my ability to finish this story. But after 1/6 was over the story actually got interesting and as it got toward the end it seemed that this book might become one of my favourites as it seemed to be doing something new. But then towards the end that path was lost and the ending was disappointing. It did not make me feel that it was worth spending all this time reading it.
So the good parts first. I really enjoyed the horror parts of the story and I think they were done really well. It succeeded in creating the perfect gothic atmosphere. The villains and bad guys were interesting. And I must say that I liked Emily as a character.
As for the bad - the biggest failure in this story is the romance. It's just bland and at the end of the day I remember more about the stories tragic romances because they were actually interesting unlike our main love story. Another irksome thing is that the book raised many mysteries and all of them quickly explained in the end in a sloppy manner. I'm not gonna give away any spoilers but the fact is that no of the "explanations" make any sense if you stop and think for two seconds.
Merged review:
Mysteries of Udolpho is the story of a young woman named Emily. After the death of her father she must go and live with her aunt Madame Cheron, a vain and self-centered woman. Her aunt marries a cruel man named Montoni who takes his new wife and Emily back to Italy. As a result she is separated from her beloved Valancourt and forced to live in the dreary and mysterious castle of Udolpho.
It was somewhat hard to come to a definite opinion but in the end I would say that this book has a tough shell all around it. The beginning is somewhat dull and uneventful that made me doubt my ability to finish this story. But after 1/6 was over the story actually got interesting and as it got toward the end it seemed that this book might become one of my favourites as it seemed to be doing something new. But then towards the end that path was lost and the ending was disappointing. It did not make me feel that it was worth spending all this time reading it.
So the good parts first. I really enjoyed the horror parts of the story and I think they were done really well. It succeeded in creating the perfect gothic atmosphere. The villains and bad guys were interesting. And I must say that I liked Emily as a character.
As for the bad - the biggest failure in this story is the romance. It's just bland and at the end of the day I remember more about the stories tragic romances because they were actually interesting unlike our main love story. Another irksome thing is that the book raised many mysteries and all of them quickly explained in the end in a sloppy manner. I'm not gonna give away any spoilers but the fact is that no of the "explanations" make any sense if you stop and think for two seconds.
It was somewhat hard to come to a definite opinion but in the end I would say that this book has a tough shell all around it. The beginning is somewhat dull and uneventful that made me doubt my ability to finish this story. But after 1/6 was over the story actually got interesting and as it got toward the end it seemed that this book might become one of my favourites as it seemed to be doing something new. But then towards the end that path was lost and the ending was disappointing. It did not make me feel that it was worth spending all this time reading it.
So the good parts first. I really enjoyed the horror parts of the story and I think they were done really well. It succeeded in creating the perfect gothic atmosphere. The villains and bad guys were interesting. And I must say that I liked Emily as a character.
As for the bad - the biggest failure in this story is the romance. It's just bland and at the end of the day I remember more about the stories tragic romances because they were actually interesting unlike our main love story. Another irksome thing is that the book raised many mysteries and all of them quickly explained in the end in a sloppy manner. I'm not gonna give away any spoilers but the fact is that no of the "explanations" make any sense if you stop and think for two seconds.
Merged review:
Mysteries of Udolpho is the story of a young woman named Emily. After the death of her father she must go and live with her aunt Madame Cheron, a vain and self-centered woman. Her aunt marries a cruel man named Montoni who takes his new wife and Emily back to Italy. As a result she is separated from her beloved Valancourt and forced to live in the dreary and mysterious castle of Udolpho.
It was somewhat hard to come to a definite opinion but in the end I would say that this book has a tough shell all around it. The beginning is somewhat dull and uneventful that made me doubt my ability to finish this story. But after 1/6 was over the story actually got interesting and as it got toward the end it seemed that this book might become one of my favourites as it seemed to be doing something new. But then towards the end that path was lost and the ending was disappointing. It did not make me feel that it was worth spending all this time reading it.
So the good parts first. I really enjoyed the horror parts of the story and I think they were done really well. It succeeded in creating the perfect gothic atmosphere. The villains and bad guys were interesting. And I must say that I liked Emily as a character.
As for the bad - the biggest failure in this story is the romance. It's just bland and at the end of the day I remember more about the stories tragic romances because they were actually interesting unlike our main love story. Another irksome thing is that the book raised many mysteries and all of them quickly explained in the end in a sloppy manner. I'm not gonna give away any spoilers but the fact is that no of the "explanations" make any sense if you stop and think for two seconds.