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sara_beth_11's review against another edition
2.0
Only giving it two stars instead of one because the story was structured in a fairly interesting way.
modeste's review
3.0
Het goede nieuws?
Als geen ander weet Palliser de sfeer uit het Victoriaanse tijdperk op te roepen.
Het slechte nieuws: ik zou er voor geen geld ter wereld geboren willen geweest zijn.
Een tijdssegment - als je de romans mag geloven - dat gekarakteriseerd leek
door een hypocriete, maatschappelijke moraal. Waar reputaties gekraakt werden niet op basis van iemands daden, maar op basis van wat anderen te roddelen hadden. Waar iedereen door de mangel werd gehaald op basis van toevalligheden, aanwezigheid op ongepaste tijdstippen of omgang met iemand die reeds als paria werd bestempeld op ook al dubieuze motieven.
Het boek is dan ook een allegaartje van dorpspraat, achterklap, gossip en vermoedens. Een soort "Dag Allemaal" van het Engeland van midden de 19e eeuw.
En daar gaat het boek m.i. een beetje in de mist wegens te traag, teveel op roddels gericht en met speculaties op elkaar gepropt en te weinig actie. De uiteindelijke ontknoping is niet onaardig maar redt voor mij de eerste vrij saaie 250 bladzijden niet. Ik herinner me zijn eerste werk "The quincunx" als veel spannender maar dan spreken we wel over een leeservaring van 30 jaar geleden. Tempora en voortschrijdende mores zullen bij ondergetekende lezer ongetwijfeld ook hun werk verricht hebben.
Als geen ander weet Palliser de sfeer uit het Victoriaanse tijdperk op te roepen.
Het slechte nieuws: ik zou er voor geen geld ter wereld geboren willen geweest zijn.
Een tijdssegment - als je de romans mag geloven - dat gekarakteriseerd leek
door een hypocriete, maatschappelijke moraal. Waar reputaties gekraakt werden niet op basis van iemands daden, maar op basis van wat anderen te roddelen hadden. Waar iedereen door de mangel werd gehaald op basis van toevalligheden, aanwezigheid op ongepaste tijdstippen of omgang met iemand die reeds als paria werd bestempeld op ook al dubieuze motieven.
Het boek is dan ook een allegaartje van dorpspraat, achterklap, gossip en vermoedens. Een soort "Dag Allemaal" van het Engeland van midden de 19e eeuw.
En daar gaat het boek m.i. een beetje in de mist wegens te traag, teveel op roddels gericht en met speculaties op elkaar gepropt en te weinig actie. De uiteindelijke ontknoping is niet onaardig maar redt voor mij de eerste vrij saaie 250 bladzijden niet. Ik herinner me zijn eerste werk "The quincunx" als veel spannender maar dan spreken we wel over een leeservaring van 30 jaar geleden. Tempora en voortschrijdende mores zullen bij ondergetekende lezer ongetwijfeld ook hun werk verricht hebben.
julie_sapienza's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
4.0
In this sordid Victorian mystery, seventeen year-old Charles returns to his family home after getting kicked out of college, only to find his mother and sister living in a horror movie. Lots of weird noises in the night, meaningful glances and hints at unspeakable deeds, that sort of thing. Richard is a mellow guy, being addicted to opium, and mostly just wants to smoke his pipe and poke every girl in the county with his manhood. Sadly, he is constantly distracted from his simple pleasures by the escalating madness around him. Someone is sending obscene anonymous letters to the ladies and mutilating farm animals, and more than a few fingers are pointed at Richard. Richard, being a little slow on the uptake, blunders into the parlors of the local gentry, and finds that these ladies and gentlemen are anything but. Vicious gossip, social bullying and rumor mongering abound. Victorian mean girls really are the worst.
It's well written, suspenseful and clever, though the ending was a little disappointing after the build-up. If you're tired of filthy, horny, unreliable narrators, you most likely will not enjoy this. I find that filthy, horny, unreliable narrators tickle my funny bone. I had such fun reading this I feel I must be very indecent and unladylike indeed.
It's well written, suspenseful and clever, though the ending was a little disappointing after the build-up. If you're tired of filthy, horny, unreliable narrators, you most likely will not enjoy this. I find that filthy, horny, unreliable narrators tickle my funny bone. I had such fun reading this I feel I must be very indecent and unladylike indeed.
jmatkinson1's review against another edition
5.0
Richard Shenstone has been sent down in disgrace from Cambridge. He has been rusticated after his friend died, he was found to owe a lot of money and his opium habit became out of control. His father has recently died and his mother and sister have moved from Thurchester to a lonely house on the sea marsh. The house is full of secrets and, as Richard fights his addiction, strange things start to happen in the area - animals are being maimed and threatening letters are being sent. Is Richard the perpetrator or is he being set up to be an innocent dupe?
Palsied is a superb novelist with a real talent for creating Victorian gothic novels and this is no exception. I loved The Quincunx and look forward to the next in line. Each character has secrets and, in Shenstone, Palliser has created a hero whom it is hard to love but who one ends up willing to see through the miasma. The plot is clever and ultimately very sad - no one is innocent. The sense of time and place are fabulous and the little devices Palliser uses, such as the novelist being a character himself as narrator, are spot on. This is an accomplished and impressive novel and joins a cadre of work of the highest level.
Palsied is a superb novelist with a real talent for creating Victorian gothic novels and this is no exception. I loved The Quincunx and look forward to the next in line. Each character has secrets and, in Shenstone, Palliser has created a hero whom it is hard to love but who one ends up willing to see through the miasma. The plot is clever and ultimately very sad - no one is innocent. The sense of time and place are fabulous and the little devices Palliser uses, such as the novelist being a character himself as narrator, are spot on. This is an accomplished and impressive novel and joins a cadre of work of the highest level.
teresadennis's review against another edition
3.0
Atmospheric. If you liked the Quincunx, you probably like this one. Ultimately left me unsatisfied.
pelicaaan's review against another edition
1.0
I loved The Quincunx when I read it 25 years ago. I admire the author's skill and cleverness in putting together all the layers of this puzzle of a novel, but it was persistently unpleasant and really did not work for me. I realize that Palliser is not writing comedies, but a small touch of humor might have gone a long way towards lightening a long, grim novel.
katmackie's review against another edition
4.0
I received my copy through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
Having never read any of the author's other work, this book piqued my interest purely by a glance at the synopsis. Early on it was obvious that Palliser knows his stuff, for this is historical fiction on a highly practiced level.
The narrator and protagonist is Richard Shenstone, a seventeen year old student returned from school to his newly poor family and dilapidated house. As Shenstone's life is transformed around him, he struggles to grapple with family secrets and public humiliations, all that lead to a nasty crime. Shenstone, being only a teenager (in more trouble than usual, but still), is not a reliable narrator, which I believe makes the story as strong as it is. As a reader you are thrown many curve balls while more of the mysteries unravel. Just when you think you know the answer something else is thrown into the mix that alters the outcome.
All that being said, the unreliable narrator is definitely not for everyone. It certainly makes it harder to connect more personally with the protagonist (for me at least). But, this was all to the advantage of the mystery of the story. It took me a little while to calibrate correctly for this story, I have to say, but once I understood more about the character of Richard I was drawn deeper inside. This is a book that gets more and more enthralling as you continue to pursue it's answers, with a satisfying conclusion.
I can already tell that this one is going to have very mixed reviews. But if you're a fan of: Historical fiction, curve balls, bitchy socialites, and murder, then there is definitely something here for you.
Having never read any of the author's other work, this book piqued my interest purely by a glance at the synopsis. Early on it was obvious that Palliser knows his stuff, for this is historical fiction on a highly practiced level.
The narrator and protagonist is Richard Shenstone, a seventeen year old student returned from school to his newly poor family and dilapidated house. As Shenstone's life is transformed around him, he struggles to grapple with family secrets and public humiliations, all that lead to a nasty crime. Shenstone, being only a teenager (in more trouble than usual, but still), is not a reliable narrator, which I believe makes the story as strong as it is. As a reader you are thrown many curve balls while more of the mysteries unravel. Just when you think you know the answer something else is thrown into the mix that alters the outcome.
All that being said, the unreliable narrator is definitely not for everyone. It certainly makes it harder to connect more personally with the protagonist (for me at least). But, this was all to the advantage of the mystery of the story. It took me a little while to calibrate correctly for this story, I have to say, but once I understood more about the character of Richard I was drawn deeper inside. This is a book that gets more and more enthralling as you continue to pursue it's answers, with a satisfying conclusion.
I can already tell that this one is going to have very mixed reviews. But if you're a fan of: Historical fiction, curve balls, bitchy socialites, and murder, then there is definitely something here for you.
lazygal's review against another edition
3.0
Decent historical fiction based on a "diary" and "letters" found by the author.
When I say decent, what I mean is that the place and time are set quite well: we're in the Dickensian/Victorian era, but instead of London we're in a marsh-side village. Richard, 17-years-old (and it pays to continually remember his age) has been "rusticated" from Cambridge, for reasons that slowly are revealed. Not that long before, he read in the paper of his father's death - his mother, when asked, didn't want him to come for the funeral! Obviously, Richard has some questions about this. When he arrives at their new home, he sees that circumstances have radically changed, that his mother and sister have an incredible antipathy to him and want him gone - and fast. What caused all of this? And then incredibly crude anonymous letters start to appear, accusing townspeople of vile acts, while at the same time animals are being mutilated. How - are - they related?
It's never clear to me why his mother just doesn't say "here's what happened with your father, here's why I want you gone", choosing instead to be incredibly mean and elliptical in her actions and speech. Richard is, as most young men are, clueless about how women and how to behave, and he constantly falls in and out of love with the girls in the town. As for the townspeople, both in their village and the nearest city, they're mostly stereotypes. Well drawn stereotypes, but stereotypes nonetheless.
ARC provided by publisher.
When I say decent, what I mean is that the place and time are set quite well: we're in the Dickensian/Victorian era, but instead of London we're in a marsh-side village. Richard, 17-years-old (and it pays to continually remember his age) has been "rusticated" from Cambridge, for reasons that slowly are revealed. Not that long before, he read in the paper of his father's death - his mother, when asked, didn't want him to come for the funeral! Obviously, Richard has some questions about this. When he arrives at their new home, he sees that circumstances have radically changed, that his mother and sister have an incredible antipathy to him and want him gone - and fast. What caused all of this? And then incredibly crude anonymous letters start to appear, accusing townspeople of vile acts, while at the same time animals are being mutilated. How - are - they related?
It's never clear to me why his mother just doesn't say "here's what happened with your father, here's why I want you gone", choosing instead to be incredibly mean and elliptical in her actions and speech. Richard is, as most young men are, clueless about how women and how to behave, and he constantly falls in and out of love with the girls in the town. As for the townspeople, both in their village and the nearest city, they're mostly stereotypes. Well drawn stereotypes, but stereotypes nonetheless.
ARC provided by publisher.
magdon's review against another edition
3.0
Lots of atmosphere but I didn't feel like the end lived up to all the mystery.