Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 231
 Atmospheric but overlong September 4, 2010
Petra Bryce (Malvern, Worcs)
I wasn't quite sure about this one at first: after two chapters and 74 pages still nothing had happened and I admit to leafing through the rest of the book to see if it was worth persevering with; after all, there's 500 pages of it! I'm glad I did because the story is very atmospheric but too bogged down with detail in large parts, maybe this is due to Dr Faraday's personality who is narrating this account. He is a typical science man, unimaginative and rooted in the present and a very observant physician. Sarah Waters' skill in conjuring up rural post-war Warwickshire and the characters in it with all their character strengths and flaws is wonderful, from the first page the reader is transported into her story and the feel of the dialogue and setting is quite authentic. It is remarkable how she imbues the house, Hundreds Hall, with a character all of its own, at times exuding a sleeping grandeur, at other times dilapidation, and occasionally a subtle malevolence that filled me with unease and dread. This is a book which will stay with me for a long time.
 Very disappointed September 2, 2010
Ziggyblues (Brighton)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Having just read and hugely enjoyed Fingersmith, I invested in this latest offering from Sarah Waters with expectation of a thumping good read. How disappointing ! It was plodding and slow. I didn't care for any of the characters portrayed and unusually for me, gave up halfway through.Mind you, I'd just finished reading the Millenium Trilogy, so any book would have to work hard to hold a torch to that. This didn't even strike a match.
A very well written shaggy dog story August 23, 2010
Missieeff (Hampshire, United Kingdom)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I love everything that Sarah Waters writes and I gave this book only one star not because it's not a good book in itself but because it does not do what it says on the tin (or the cover to be more precise). I know how well Waters can twist a story (take Fingersmith for example) and I was sorely disappointed when this book did not deliver the same punch. I didn't find it spooky either.
Emporer's new clothes? Probably. Worth reading if you are a Waters fan through and through but not if you just want a good read. Sorry.
 Another cracker August 19, 2010
the historian
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
Yet another splendid un-put-downable read from Sarah Waters. Very different from the Victorian settings for the earlier works but superb nonetheless. I need to read it again in order to drink in all the tiny details and check that I didn't miss anything. Highly recommended.
waters August 17, 2010
deedeediddlidee
great if you like slow ghost stories.the poverty stricken landed gentry v the poverty stricken peasantry.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 231
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