Reviews

A Dark-Adapted Eye by Barbara Vine

daschneider's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

High quality writing and plotting, immersive story, with very complex details leading to the mystery's solution. 

catechism's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

billymac1962's review against another edition

2.0

There's a running joke between me and a friend of mine about jazz music. We'd be out at a club or jazz festival, and once the music moves into an obscure fusion phase, he'd lean over to me and say, "See, here's where the music gets too smart for me".

I had a similar feeling after finishing this novel. There were far too many characters to keep track of and I actually had to write down on a piece of paper the family tree to have any hope of continuing to read forward.
While I admire her for coming up with such a convoluted web, ultimately I found the novel a chore, with zero payoff.
Thank goodness this is not the first novel I had read by Ruth/Barbara because this one would have surely turned me off her. Amazon reviewers love this one, which is why I read it, but maybe this one was just too smart for me.

nancie's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

tilbard's review against another edition

3.0

Sad in so many ways

Though well written, I was relieved to finish the final page. It is a grim, dark story that gave me no pleasure.

slipperose's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a slow, slow burn of a psychological thriller. The beginning was confusing, as the narrator immediately starts dropping the names of people and places that we have never encounter, but that is by design. Give Rendell/Vine a chance to begin unwinding her mystery. There are layers and layers of ambiguity, differences in perception based on age and gender, and unreliable memories. While dated in its descriptions of feminine beauty, homosexuality, and more, it was somewhat progressive when written. Feels like a foundational work for contemporary crime fiction writers, like Tana French.

  

karebear0099's review against another edition

4.0

This is the second Barbara Vine book I have read, the first being Anna’s Book. I enjoyed the style of both very much. There were a few elements in the book I found kind of distasteful. Overall the book is compelling and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I gave it three stars because of the bits I didn’t like but then didn’t feel like that did this book justice so changed it to 4 stars.

This book was written in 1986 and was set mostly in the 1940’s. So, it is dated and not PC by today’s standard. Chad, who is a likable/nice guy who is gay, is having a sexual relationship w/another character who is 13 when they first get involved. He’s an adult at that time. It’s off putting and doesn’t fit, kind of seems to stigmatize gay people or imply they are pedophiles (Chad is the only gay character in the book or at least the only one whose sexuality is labeled as gay). So I wasn’t a fan of that. Secondly, there’s other offhand references about people acting like someone is “retarded” or autistic... again not a fan and kinda off putting. But overall I thought the book was really good, just could have done without those elements.

Also adding- the beginning is confusing, I felt confused for several pages and things were hard to follow at the start. Also, the side stories about the missing/murdered 2 year olds were hard to follow with way too many characters.

pilesandpiles's review against another edition

4.0

There is a lot going on in A Dark-Adapted Eye, and it is sloo-o-o-o-w and not entirely satisfying. You have to be determined to get past the first third of the book, because before you can even find out what the whodunit is (WHO got murdered??) you are going to be informed of the killer's ex-step-grandparents, their second cousins, where their father lived as a child, what class each of their ancestors would have been perceived as, and who disapproved of which marriage in their entire family lineage. There's probably a dissertation out there that talks about how this novel deals with British rural class transitions, landownership, and gender. It's all sort of amusing if you're the kind of person who thinks you would have loved to sit down with Rose for three hours and hear the story of the love she lost on the Titanic. Ultimately this read like Daphne du Maurier with a bit of VC Andrews.

katdid's review against another edition

5.0

22/06/23
Finding all these Vines almost unbearably sad re-reading them as a middle-aged woman. I think this is probably still my favourite though --it's the structure and the time period (Britain during WWII and soon after), and the claustrophobia of the world created.

Spoiler

Vera's poverty, and desperation -- heartrending! The detail of Eden's face streaked with tears when she forcibly removes Jamie from Vera's care towards the end, just magnificent. And trying to imagine Vera's feelings during her trial and while awaiting execution.

beemini's review against another edition

4.0

I borrowed this book after seeing it had won an Edgar Prize, and because I had yet to read any Ruth Rendell, who I have just learned about but who is apparently one of the best English mystery writers. I've read that this is one of the first mysteries (published in 1993) not to have an unambiguous explanation for all plot points, and one can see how Rendell influenced contemporary mystery writers like Tana French, with layers of ambiguity, the unreliability of memory, and psychological depth. Also present are the English obsessions with class, status, and manners, village gossip, a rich sense of WWII slice-of-life detail, and an examination of interwar and post-war gender roles. Repression is the name of the game. It was a leisurely read, at times so vague I had to double back and check names, but always in control of itself.