Reviews

Die Stunden vor Morgengrauen by Celia Fremlin

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maya_prsnc's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

teresatumminello's review against another edition

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4.0

Thanks to Laura's review, I acquired a copy of this book, first published in 1958, and read it almost right away. Fremlin captures brilliantly the sleep deprivation of a young mother, as she tries to fulfill the endless daily needs of her three children (one a nursing infant) and a husband who comes across as useless and selfish to us, but is certainly of his time. He’s the breadwinner, of course, though Fremlin is not interested in him. Louise is her focus.

Besides Louise, I was interested in the character of her mother-in-law, a woman viewed as not "grandmotherly," though she's perhaps a role model for the later Laura. If not, her portrayal brings up questions as to how she might’ve raised her son. She sticks up for Louise at an early juncture and seems to be the only one who sees Louise’s strength, though she phrases it rather brutally near the end.

I was less interested in the unraveling of the mystery, most of which I’d already gleaned, but it brought to mind an essay I read just this week on “crime fiction” of the same time period (give or take a decade) written by women. In the essay, https://shirleyjacksonstudies.org/?p=109, Toth posits that Shirley Jackson subverts the genre for her own purposes in [b:Hangsaman|131177|Hangsaman|Shirley Jackson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1302734503l/131177._SY75_.jpg|1825944], also giving [a:Dorothy B. Hughes|80430|Dorothy B. Hughes|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1455297574p2/80430.jpg]’s [b:In a Lonely Place|591354|In a Lonely Place|Dorothy B. Hughes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388379708l/591354._SY75_.jpg|1392412] as an example of the same. Though not specifically about men acting violently toward women, as the others are, Celia Fremlin’s The Hours Before Dawn shares this subversion of genre.