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“Yes! Be quiet, because anything is possible once the horse is stopped: slit wrists, a nightgown damp from the heavy drops of their own tears, from the slow trickle of their blood; a delicate, belated haemophilia preventing them from turning over, soaking their hips, their bodies stuffed with sawdust beneath their glued on heads; their pink porcelain necks beneath their collars.“
This is my second book from my subscription to andotherstories.org but my first to read and review. Thus I am reviewing a little before the publication date. I must say I really enjoyed it BUT it will not be for everyone! So if you like the quote above please, please try this book. If not stay away as I picked this quote at random and its very typical. Consider yourself warned folks.
This is a story of a young seventeen-year-old girl who spies three faces of three sisters in the window across from her sitting room during a storm one night. She quickly becomes obsessed with them and their story. She loves them and wishes them dead. She does not know their name.
The reader quickly becomes lost in a shadowy world where you are not sure if the Sisters are real, partly real and partly imaginary or a total figment of the Protagonists imagination. Nobody in the story is named and prose and imagery are dense ( I read another piece of literary fiction, [b:Crudo|36638609|Crudo|Olivia Laing|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1516979782s/36638609.jpg|58405449], to take a break from this at one point - seriously!).
Overall, I have to admit, that I cannot get multiple questions out of my mind. How much of this story is a commentary on the isolation of young women in early Argentina? How much of it is a homage to the Brontë sisters (the introduction says it was inspired by a picture of the three sisters and it definitely has some gothic undertones that remind me other their work)? Is the main protagonist mad and or a psychopath? She certainly claims that loving the older sister is responsible for her wishing the older sisters dead and she wishes her dead a lot. If the mark of good literary fiction is to drive you crazy with unanswered questions this one certainly fits the mark.
This is recommended to those who like dense poetic prose and who thought that Shirley Jackson’s [b:The Haunting of Hill House|89717|The Haunting of Hill House|Shirley Jackson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327871336s/89717.jpg|3627] had too much plot and tied up the ending too well.
This is my second book from my subscription to andotherstories.org but my first to read and review. Thus I am reviewing a little before the publication date. I must say I really enjoyed it BUT it will not be for everyone! So if you like the quote above please, please try this book. If not stay away as I picked this quote at random and its very typical. Consider yourself warned folks.
This is a story of a young seventeen-year-old girl who spies three faces of three sisters in the window across from her sitting room during a storm one night. She quickly becomes obsessed with them and their story. She loves them and wishes them dead. She does not know their name.
The reader quickly becomes lost in a shadowy world where you are not sure if the Sisters are real, partly real and partly imaginary or a total figment of the Protagonists imagination. Nobody in the story is named and prose and imagery are dense ( I read another piece of literary fiction, [b:Crudo|36638609|Crudo|Olivia Laing|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1516979782s/36638609.jpg|58405449], to take a break from this at one point - seriously!).
Overall, I have to admit, that I cannot get multiple questions out of my mind. How much of this story is a commentary on the isolation of young women in early Argentina? How much of it is a homage to the Brontë sisters (the introduction says it was inspired by a picture of the three sisters and it definitely has some gothic undertones that remind me other their work)? Is the main protagonist mad and or a psychopath? She certainly claims that loving the older sister is responsible for her wishing the older sisters dead and she wishes her dead a lot. If the mark of good literary fiction is to drive you crazy with unanswered questions this one certainly fits the mark.
This is recommended to those who like dense poetic prose and who thought that Shirley Jackson’s [b:The Haunting of Hill House|89717|The Haunting of Hill House|Shirley Jackson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327871336s/89717.jpg|3627] had too much plot and tied up the ending too well.
An excellent formulaic adventure story with all the thrills you would expect. Just not the book for me at the moment.
It's a little too simplistic. I need a little more character building (I didn't care when the characters died for crying out loud), scene setting (I was visiting the big museums in London, including the natural history museum, while reading this - I should have felt creeped out) and some standard horror literary techniques such as foreshadowing (ok I read too much Stephen King).
Anyway, I blame all the literary fiction I have read over the last couple of years for spoiling me. As formulaic blockbuster tales go it does its job well.
It's a little too simplistic. I need a little more character building (I didn't care when the characters died for crying out loud), scene setting (I was visiting the big museums in London, including the natural history museum, while reading this - I should have felt creeped out) and some standard horror literary techniques such as foreshadowing (ok I read too much Stephen King).
Anyway, I blame all the literary fiction I have read over the last couple of years for spoiling me. As formulaic blockbuster tales go it does its job well.
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I really enjoyed this is was a face paced twisty thriller that borrowed heavily from classics such as HG Wells The Time Machine and the rules of the Hollywood summer blockbuster genre. The rules of Hollywood being, make it gory, keep it fast paced and keep them guessing; oh and the boy always gets the girl no matter how mismatched they are.
It was, however, some of the "Holywood style action thriller elements that I didn't enjoy. Making sexual violence to women a sensationalised element of the story makes me uncomfortable. The mismatched lovers didn't work for me and I just couldn't buy into them. The main twist was the one I hope the author was not going to choose because it was obviously the person whom Hollywood would have chosen and to be honest doesn't make sense.
Still, I would recommend this to someone wanting to read a face paced action adventure story beside a pool or something. It's meant to be a face paced ride that you don't think too much about.
It was, however, some of the "Holywood style action thriller elements that I didn't enjoy. Making sexual violence to women a sensationalised element of the story makes me uncomfortable. The mismatched lovers didn't work for me and I just couldn't buy into them. The main twist was the one I hope the author was not going to choose because it was obviously the person whom Hollywood would have chosen and to be honest doesn't make sense.
Still, I would recommend this to someone wanting to read a face paced action adventure story beside a pool or something. It's meant to be a face paced ride that you don't think too much about.
A grimly dark noir investigations novel set in a fascinating future where bodies/sleeves are dispensible and saving your consciousness onto a machine/stack/backup and thus avoiding real death forever is an actuality.
In this case, the moderate star rating is not the author's fault it is mine. Well written 4 or 5 Star material falling short only due to this reader not really liking this kind of crime noir tale.
I may expand on this at a later date.
In this case, the moderate star rating is not the author's fault it is mine. Well written 4 or 5 Star material falling short only due to this reader not really liking this kind of crime noir tale.
I may expand on this at a later date.
I am summing this up as a physically beautiful book but a pretty disappointing read.
image:
From my reading of the reviews, the Essex Serpent is a book that divides readers into those loving it (the majority) and those finding it a disappointment (a large minority). For balance I will link to a couple of glowing reviews below and concentrate on what I did not like about the book.
This book has an “ingredient list” of all the things I should have loved.
A gothic sensation tale similar to the Wilkie Collin's [b:The Woman in White|5890|The Woman in White|Wilkie Collins|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1295661017s/5890.jpg|1303710].
Placing characters with contemporary mindsets in a historic setting. Something I did not think would work until I read John Boyne's [b:The Heart's Invisible Furies|33253215|The Heart's Invisible Furies|John Boyne|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490803456s/33253215.jpg|51438471] but work it does.
A contemporary take on Victorian Literature similar to Michel Faber's [b:The Crimson Petal and the White|40200|The Crimson Petal and the White|Michel Faber|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1408937589s/40200.jpg|1210026].
Themes of Science versus Christian versus Pagan beliefs. A fascinating discussion point to an atheist like me that has studied some Christian and Pagan beliefs.
A fascinating discussion of the current Victorian evolutionary and medical science. Notably, I am a former scientist myself with a small collection of old scientific texts.
Themes of friendship and love and where one becomes the other.
Themes of sexual repression in the Victorian era. A lot of unrequited love (both heterosexual and homosexual).
A lot of social commentary on the dire state of housing in Bethnal Green in London in the Victorian era.
Beautiful (but as I say below) cold prose with some lovely descriptions of landscape
“Essex has her bride’s gown on: there’s cow parsley frothing by the road and daisies on the common, and the hawthorn’s dressed in white; wheat and barley fatten in the fields, and bindweed decks the hedges.”
However, none of the elements worked for me due to the beautiful but cold and distant prose that was used throughout. While reading I felt that that the prose was a crystal cold blue (nods to the character Stella) display glass, that never truly let me see and feel the book's characters and settings. I could see that they were there but they were deliberately being kept from me. Why was this Ms. Perry? After a couple of weeks of thought on the subject, I still cannot say. Here are some of the possibilities I came up with.
This book uses the third person omniscient which often separates the reader from the characters. This may have been true in this case but I note I was concurrently reading two other books that also used the third present omniscient namely Stephen Kings [b:'Salem's Lot|11590|'Salem's Lot|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327891565s/11590.jpg|3048937] and Larry McMurtry's [b:Lonesome Dove|256008|Lonesome Dove|Larry McMurtry|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1378573063s/256008.jpg|3281465] and didn’t feel separated from the characters in these novels. Infact I rather enjoyed the Texan accent of the narrator in Lonesome Dove going to show that the third person Narrator has his/hers/its own unqiue voice. So maybe the voice of Sarah Perry’s narrator did not engage me?
The other possibility is that the Essex Serpent lacks clear narrative which is the quintessential reason for using third person omniscient in my opinion. It’s one of the best voices to tell an epic story but not a book based upon it’s characterisations and themes such as this one?
In places Perry was jumping around from one character to another too quickly and that did give rise to an unsettled feeling as I was never in one characters “head” long enough.
Too many themes - see above - in too few pages. There is a lot of themes above but in a 400 page novel there is not enough time to settle in and fully explore all the themes. In this case less themes is more. Or maybe more pages per theme?
Everyone is in love with the main protagonist. Though I found that totally forgivable while reading [b:The Clay Girl|28691857|The Clay Girl|Heather Tucker|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1455173005s/28691857.jpg|48888628], though maybe in the case of the Clay Girl I agreed with them?
Overall this book is not going to be for everyone so I recommend checking out a couple of reviews, flicking through some pages on a comfy chair in your library or book store before picking it up or discarding it.
Here are a couple of more positive reviews.
https://thereadheadblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/16/the-essex-serpent-sarah-perry-review/
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2031064885?book_show_action=false
4th February update: Wow I just realised today that not liking this book lost me a Goodreads friend, who's reviews I always enjoyed. This and Sealskin were the only books we had opposing views on. That is a shame and very sad. So rather controversially I guess I now have another reason not to like this book.
image:
From my reading of the reviews, the Essex Serpent is a book that divides readers into those loving it (the majority) and those finding it a disappointment (a large minority). For balance I will link to a couple of glowing reviews below and concentrate on what I did not like about the book.
This book has an “ingredient list” of all the things I should have loved.
A gothic sensation tale similar to the Wilkie Collin's [b:The Woman in White|5890|The Woman in White|Wilkie Collins|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1295661017s/5890.jpg|1303710].
Placing characters with contemporary mindsets in a historic setting. Something I did not think would work until I read John Boyne's [b:The Heart's Invisible Furies|33253215|The Heart's Invisible Furies|John Boyne|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490803456s/33253215.jpg|51438471] but work it does.
A contemporary take on Victorian Literature similar to Michel Faber's [b:The Crimson Petal and the White|40200|The Crimson Petal and the White|Michel Faber|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1408937589s/40200.jpg|1210026].
Themes of Science versus Christian versus Pagan beliefs. A fascinating discussion point to an atheist like me that has studied some Christian and Pagan beliefs.
A fascinating discussion of the current Victorian evolutionary and medical science. Notably, I am a former scientist myself with a small collection of old scientific texts.
Themes of friendship and love and where one becomes the other.
Themes of sexual repression in the Victorian era. A lot of unrequited love (both heterosexual and homosexual).
A lot of social commentary on the dire state of housing in Bethnal Green in London in the Victorian era.
Beautiful (but as I say below) cold prose with some lovely descriptions of landscape
“Essex has her bride’s gown on: there’s cow parsley frothing by the road and daisies on the common, and the hawthorn’s dressed in white; wheat and barley fatten in the fields, and bindweed decks the hedges.”
However, none of the elements worked for me due to the beautiful but cold and distant prose that was used throughout. While reading I felt that that the prose was a crystal cold blue (nods to the character Stella) display glass, that never truly let me see and feel the book's characters and settings. I could see that they were there but they were deliberately being kept from me. Why was this Ms. Perry? After a couple of weeks of thought on the subject, I still cannot say. Here are some of the possibilities I came up with.
This book uses the third person omniscient which often separates the reader from the characters. This may have been true in this case but I note I was concurrently reading two other books that also used the third present omniscient namely Stephen Kings [b:'Salem's Lot|11590|'Salem's Lot|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327891565s/11590.jpg|3048937] and Larry McMurtry's [b:Lonesome Dove|256008|Lonesome Dove|Larry McMurtry|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1378573063s/256008.jpg|3281465] and didn’t feel separated from the characters in these novels. Infact I rather enjoyed the Texan accent of the narrator in Lonesome Dove going to show that the third person Narrator has his/hers/its own unqiue voice. So maybe the voice of Sarah Perry’s narrator did not engage me?
The other possibility is that the Essex Serpent lacks clear narrative which is the quintessential reason for using third person omniscient in my opinion. It’s one of the best voices to tell an epic story but not a book based upon it’s characterisations and themes such as this one?
In places Perry was jumping around from one character to another too quickly and that did give rise to an unsettled feeling as I was never in one characters “head” long enough.
Too many themes - see above - in too few pages. There is a lot of themes above but in a 400 page novel there is not enough time to settle in and fully explore all the themes. In this case less themes is more. Or maybe more pages per theme?
Everyone is in love with the main protagonist. Though I found that totally forgivable while reading [b:The Clay Girl|28691857|The Clay Girl|Heather Tucker|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1455173005s/28691857.jpg|48888628], though maybe in the case of the Clay Girl I agreed with them?
Overall this book is not going to be for everyone so I recommend checking out a couple of reviews, flicking through some pages on a comfy chair in your library or book store before picking it up or discarding it.
Here are a couple of more positive reviews.
https://thereadheadblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/16/the-essex-serpent-sarah-perry-review/
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2031064885?book_show_action=false
4th February update: Wow I just realised today that not liking this book lost me a Goodreads friend, who's reviews I always enjoyed. This and Sealskin were the only books we had opposing views on. That is a shame and very sad. So rather controversially I guess I now have another reason not to like this book.
4.5 Stars rounded up because of the ending.
What can you say about this one? This novel is written in the first person from the perspective of Daniel. As his Daddy declares, at one juncture of the story, 14/15 year old Daniel is one unusual boy. He has a beautiful lyrical way of seeing the world and a gentle more traditionally feminine way of behaving. Both his Daddy and his older sister Cathy are physically violent , and yet they are both steady souls of principles and character. They all try to live what should be a peaceful quite life in the house they built in the woods.
This novel almost feels 19th century as they have books rather than TV, they hunt (and poach) the lands around them for food, the teenagers smoke with full permission of their father, their Daddy makes a living by bare knuckle boxing etc. However,the story is actually set in relatively recent times.
The simplicity of the family life in the woods, the atmospheric writing and the undertones of violence create a gothic feel to this novel. It slowly builds to it’s conclusion and then leaves you there. I’m still at that cliff edge looking at what just happened. Actually I see another GRs reviewer said “the book sucked me in and spat me out when it was done with me.” So Phew not just me then.
Prize lists should get you reading and enjoying books that you otherwise would never have heard about so I have to congratulate the Man Booker Prize section committee on this one.
On weaknesses of the book, I have no problem with Daniels use of lyrical language when thinking and dialect when speaking. After all, he is an unusual boy that has led an unusual life and has had books where others had TV. However, there is an instance of a visitor to the house in the early hours of the morning describing a dead body that verged into language that simply wouldn’t be spoken by most people. Other than that thee were only minor flaws here and there.
This is not recommended for the faint-hearted but if you are fond of Gothic fiction and can take some graphic violence towards the end (bare-knuckle fighting etc) - consider it recommend to you.
What can you say about this one? This novel is written in the first person from the perspective of Daniel. As his Daddy declares, at one juncture of the story, 14/15 year old Daniel is one unusual boy. He has a beautiful lyrical way of seeing the world and a gentle more traditionally feminine way of behaving. Both his Daddy and his older sister Cathy are physically violent , and yet they are both steady souls of principles and character. They all try to live what should be a peaceful quite life in the house they built in the woods.
This novel almost feels 19th century as they have books rather than TV, they hunt (and poach) the lands around them for food, the teenagers smoke with full permission of their father, their Daddy makes a living by bare knuckle boxing etc. However,the story is actually set in relatively recent times.
The simplicity of the family life in the woods, the atmospheric writing and the undertones of violence create a gothic feel to this novel. It slowly builds to it’s conclusion and then leaves you there. I’m still at that cliff edge looking at what just happened. Actually I see another GRs reviewer said “the book sucked me in and spat me out when it was done with me.” So Phew not just me then.
Prize lists should get you reading and enjoying books that you otherwise would never have heard about so I have to congratulate the Man Booker Prize section committee on this one.
On weaknesses of the book, I have no problem with Daniels use of lyrical language when thinking and dialect when speaking. After all, he is an unusual boy that has led an unusual life and has had books where others had TV. However, there is an instance of a visitor to the house in the early hours of the morning describing a dead body that verged into language that simply wouldn’t be spoken by most people. Other than that thee were only minor flaws here and there.
This is not recommended for the faint-hearted but if you are fond of Gothic fiction and can take some graphic violence towards the end (bare-knuckle fighting etc) - consider it recommend to you.
Unfortunately, this book did not live up to its cover. I loves me a traditional haunted house story and I may have written one or two myself :) However, in my opinion, this book suffers from mediocre writing and storyline.
It's written from a first person perspective and the protagonist simply tells us what is going on and repeats the dialogue. All the time! Personally, I would have like the good old fashioned showing, not telling technique, some description or actually any description. One of the first weird happenings is a jar of beetroot mysteriously being thrown from a Fridge. Come now its beetroot, the colour of blood, with broken glass on the lovely white tiled floor. The protagonist had come across this scene without knowing what has happened? I would have loved if the author had used these elements to create what could have been an opening blood chilling scene.
Anyway, my opinion does not concur with most reviews of this. So please don't take me at my word. If you go onto Amazon and use the look inside feature you can read the opening pages and see if this style of writing is for you. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me.
It's written from a first person perspective and the protagonist simply tells us what is going on and repeats the dialogue. All the time! Personally, I would have like the good old fashioned showing, not telling technique, some description or actually any description. One of the first weird happenings is a jar of beetroot mysteriously being thrown from a Fridge. Come now its beetroot, the colour of blood, with broken glass on the lovely white tiled floor. The protagonist had come across this scene without knowing what has happened? I would have loved if the author had used these elements to create what could have been an opening blood chilling scene.
Anyway, my opinion does not concur with most reviews of this. So please don't take me at my word. If you go onto Amazon and use the look inside feature you can read the opening pages and see if this style of writing is for you. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me.