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2.93 AVERAGE
2.93 AVERAGE
Plot: A group of guests come together one Christmas Eve, to tell ghost stories as is the custom on this night. The stories range from sad and melancholic to bizarre and strange.
This book also incorporated a selection of other stories by Jerome K. Jerome.
My thoughts: I picked this up not knowing anything about Jerome K. Jerome. The cover looked pretty modern, so I assumed it was going to be a collection of short ghost stories – the kinds I used to buy in visitor centres on family holidays, such as “Ghost Stories of New England” – oh yes, my sister and I really bought ALL of those!
In fact, Jerome K. Jerome died in 1927, so it’s not exactly modern! Nevertheless, I like old books, so I read on. The story was interesting and entertaining, as the guests get more and more drunk, but it really wasn’t what I was expecting. It was filled with wit and I get the feeling this is supposed to be more humour than actual ghost story, so it was a little bit disappointing. And on top of that, it was short – very short! I thought I was just about to get some proper ghosts when all of a sudden, it ended.
The other stories were similar – I actually really enjoyed a couple, but the style of this author appears to be rambling off topic before coming back to the story at hand, and that just didn’t quite sit with me for the most part.
This book also incorporated a selection of other stories by Jerome K. Jerome.
My thoughts: I picked this up not knowing anything about Jerome K. Jerome. The cover looked pretty modern, so I assumed it was going to be a collection of short ghost stories – the kinds I used to buy in visitor centres on family holidays, such as “Ghost Stories of New England” – oh yes, my sister and I really bought ALL of those!
In fact, Jerome K. Jerome died in 1927, so it’s not exactly modern! Nevertheless, I like old books, so I read on. The story was interesting and entertaining, as the guests get more and more drunk, but it really wasn’t what I was expecting. It was filled with wit and I get the feeling this is supposed to be more humour than actual ghost story, so it was a little bit disappointing. And on top of that, it was short – very short! I thought I was just about to get some proper ghosts when all of a sudden, it ended.
The other stories were similar – I actually really enjoyed a couple, but the style of this author appears to be rambling off topic before coming back to the story at hand, and that just didn’t quite sit with me for the most part.
3,5/5
- Well, I expected more ghost stories and was therefore not really in the mood for the other stories
- The other stories are more like train-of-thought-stories
- Some I really enjoyed, some just went somewhere where I couldn't follow (more like I didn't felt like following).
- I loved his writing style + humour, so I'll try some other works of him
- Well, I expected more ghost stories and was therefore not really in the mood for the other stories
- The other stories are more like train-of-thought-stories
- Some I really enjoyed, some just went somewhere where I couldn't follow (more like I didn't felt like following).
- I loved his writing style + humour, so I'll try some other works of him
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Jerome's style, at least in this collection, is to blend wry British understatement with bombastic pontification about the state of man and the world. Only the former is enjoyable.
The actual ghost stories were fun, but the "other tales" were dreadful moralistic essays.