Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

26 reviews

mylargirl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

"It was simply that, in admiring the house, I wanted to possess a piece of it--or rather, as if the admiration itself, which I suspected a more ordinary child would not have felt, entitled me to it. I was like a man, I suppose, wanting a lock of hair from the head of a girl he had suddenly and blindingly become enamoured of."

The above passage, in the opening pages of The Little Stranger tells you all you need to know to understand the horrifying events which follow.

The dull protagonist, Dr Faraday, presents himself to the reader as a rational, unbiased observer of the misfortunes that befall the occupants of Hundreds Hall, but is he really?

The Little Stranger is many things at once. On its surface it is a gothic horror story in the tradition of The Turn of the Screw and The Haunting of Hill House. It is also an examination of the shifting class structure of post war England, and a feminist take on the gothic tradition of the damsel in distress who must be rescued by a pure-hearted male hero. But who is the hero here and who (or what) is the villain? 

I have to admit that at times I found reading this book frustrating. I wanted to yell at the characters to get away from the obvious source of their torment. But of course, that is the point. The victims in the book are trapped in their roles and can't stop what is coming to them. 

Part of the fun in reading a story told from the point of an unreliable narrator is in determining what is fact, what is malicious misdirection and what is wishful thinking. The final paragraphs make the true source of the evil at Hundreds Hall clear, but to anyone who has been paying attention, it is less of a shocking revelation and more of a sickening confirmation of what we suspected all along. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Misogyny, Suicide, Violence, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

exhumedprince's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Medical content, and Classism

Minor: Child death and Self harm

jaren's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Suicide, and Death of parent

saltedsnail's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child death

sofipitch's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-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? No

3.75

Pretty boring and predictable for a haunted house story. I didn't much care for any of the characters, no strong feelings one way or another, the horror elements weren't strong

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, Suicide, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child death

annaki_laila's review against another edition

mysterious slow-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

2.5

A gothic novel that forgets it's  supposed to be a gothic novel. The first third is promising, the supernatural elements begin to appear and the suspense is there. Then halfway through, the narrator swiftly becomes unlikeable as he initiates a relationship with one of the main characters (with an age gap of over a decade and some generally uncomfortable vibes). The relationship should've been a subplot at most, but it begins to take up far too many pages, and as it continues the narrator just gets more and more selfish and irritating. I began skim-reading some parts at this point because there were so many pages of stuff that was annoying and unrelated to the whole supernatural plot. Having finished the book now, I can safely say that the relationship being romantic was unnecessary. Whatever overarching points about class were being made (which weren't as strong as I thought they'd be based on the blurb anyway) could've been made with the relationship being purely platonic. Anyway!! Rant over, save your time and probably just don't read this book, or read it with lowered expectations, because it really doesn't contain much 'gripping' or 'chilling' content like the blurb describes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Racial slurs and Sexual assault

digitalroses's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Suicide, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Cursing, Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, and War

amyvcaroline's review against another edition

sad slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Suicide

cavernism's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.75

A Sarah Waters book without any lesbians whatsoever?? But I didn't even care because this is SO dang good. Very spooky, and gets more and more unsettling as the book goes on. It's a slow burn, and you start to dislike the narrator more and more (which is a good thing for the book's structure) and the ending just - WOW. A great gothic story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Suicide, and Grief

caseythereader's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail