hshoue's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Domestic abuse, and Alcoholism
jasmyn9's review against another edition
2.0
I have always been a lover of Wuthering Heights so I thought this would be right up my alley. The writing style, very formal and journal like, did remind me of the classic and it was well done. However, the story itself didn't do as much for me as I had hoped.
It starts with a noble, Hammel, traveling to the far and uncivilized north for a change of scenery. The story sort of begins here with him having a horrible run-in with his landlord. I was incredibly confused because the characters in the book did not seem anything like the back blurb at this point. But then we jump back in time quite a ways as the housekeeper tells Hammel the story of Lina and Damek. This is the majority of the story is told from Anna's perspective, looking back and telling her story.
Lina and Damek's story is the perfect tragic romance and fits the gothic description very well. Doomed from the start by so many things. There was just too much to it though. The story seemed to drag on too much, the history being told with many rambling sidetracks. The story is intriguing and wanting to know how it ended kept me going, but at times it was hard to do.
*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*
- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/03/review-black-spring-by-alison-croggon.html#sthash.Nj4bN0vn.dpuf
It starts with a noble, Hammel, traveling to the far and uncivilized north for a change of scenery. The story sort of begins here with him having a horrible run-in with his landlord. I was incredibly confused because the characters in the book did not seem anything like the back blurb at this point. But then we jump back in time quite a ways as the housekeeper tells Hammel the story of Lina and Damek. This is the majority of the story is told from Anna's perspective, looking back and telling her story.
Lina and Damek's story is the perfect tragic romance and fits the gothic description very well. Doomed from the start by so many things. There was just too much to it though. The story seemed to drag on too much, the history being told with many rambling sidetracks. The story is intriguing and wanting to know how it ended kept me going, but at times it was hard to do.
*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*
- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/03/review-black-spring-by-alison-croggon.html#sthash.Nj4bN0vn.dpuf
maestrocp's review against another edition
3.0
Truly beautiful and stylistic narrative, but altogether, a book of misfortunes, tragedies and love that isn't horrible enough to be horrifying, nor wondrous enough to be transforming, but gloomily, unrelentingly, everyday, and hopeless in all of the plagues that befall these characters. Their sadness must be borne, and there is no hope for redemption in it.
kiiouex's review against another edition
4.0
This was a weird one, but I think I liked it very much. Grim and unrelenting and enjoyable!
I picked it up because I read 'The Gift' a long, long time ago and liked that too, and have only just now learned that it's meant to be some sort of retelling of Wuthering Heights, only I don't care because I've never read that. On it's own merits it's an interesting everyone-is-terrible, only-slightly-magical stories about remote little townships that pay Blood Taxes and follow grueling vendetta laws. Excellent!
The framing device is a bit awkward, and Anna is maybe Too Good - or maybe the book needed one person with their shit together - but no, I had a good time with it.
Cover's reaaaaaal spooky though.
I picked it up because I read 'The Gift' a long, long time ago and liked that too, and have only just now learned that it's meant to be some sort of retelling of Wuthering Heights, only I don't care because I've never read that. On it's own merits it's an interesting everyone-is-terrible, only-slightly-magical stories about remote little townships that pay Blood Taxes and follow grueling vendetta laws. Excellent!
The framing device is a bit awkward, and Anna is maybe Too Good - or maybe the book needed one person with their shit together - but no, I had a good time with it.
Cover's reaaaaaal spooky though.
perednia's review against another edition
2.0
Wuthering Heights is one of those seminal works that can sweep away a reader. Often, the earlier a reader discovers this work, the stronger a hold the story of doomed lovers Catherine and Heathcliff can be.
So it’s no wonder that Alison Croggon was inspired by the Emily Bronte novel in writing Black Spring, about doomed lovers Lina and Damek. They live in a harsh European setting in an inhospitable land, away from the softer, more sophisticated life in the south of their land. Wizards live among them, vendetta is a way of life and these willful children are determined to live as they prefer, society be damned.
Croggon’s novel follows the same narrative as the Bronte novel, from a stranger meeting a deranged Heathcliff, um, Damek, and seeing the ghost of Catherine, um, Lina, to the inevitable ending.
Added to the tale is a touch of paranormal. Lina is a witch, which usually means a death warrant, but she is protected by the king. When her father dies and his estate is given to a rough toadie, the local wizard plays a role. A highly structured vendetta that lasts for years showcases how noble the condemned men who have killed in vengeance are (yes, really) and, in a last-minute poke, is supposed to show why the nobility are above all that.
Croggon excels in creating a highly effective atmosphere of overwrought emotion that is as foundational to her setting as the harsh landscape. She also pays full homage to the novel and characters that inspired her own work.
Black Spring raises the same reservations that Wuthering Heights does. Although Lina despairs of being loved for herself and not coveted as a possession, and the society in which she lives gives women little chance of that happening, the idea that it is only as half of a couple that one truly is alive does not bolster this independent spirit. But for those readers who think Bella’s love of Edward is the height of attainment, Black Spring will fit their interest for more in the same vein.
So it’s no wonder that Alison Croggon was inspired by the Emily Bronte novel in writing Black Spring, about doomed lovers Lina and Damek. They live in a harsh European setting in an inhospitable land, away from the softer, more sophisticated life in the south of their land. Wizards live among them, vendetta is a way of life and these willful children are determined to live as they prefer, society be damned.
Croggon’s novel follows the same narrative as the Bronte novel, from a stranger meeting a deranged Heathcliff, um, Damek, and seeing the ghost of Catherine, um, Lina, to the inevitable ending.
Added to the tale is a touch of paranormal. Lina is a witch, which usually means a death warrant, but she is protected by the king. When her father dies and his estate is given to a rough toadie, the local wizard plays a role. A highly structured vendetta that lasts for years showcases how noble the condemned men who have killed in vengeance are (yes, really) and, in a last-minute poke, is supposed to show why the nobility are above all that.
Croggon excels in creating a highly effective atmosphere of overwrought emotion that is as foundational to her setting as the harsh landscape. She also pays full homage to the novel and characters that inspired her own work.
Black Spring raises the same reservations that Wuthering Heights does. Although Lina despairs of being loved for herself and not coveted as a possession, and the society in which she lives gives women little chance of that happening, the idea that it is only as half of a couple that one truly is alive does not bolster this independent spirit. But for those readers who think Bella’s love of Edward is the height of attainment, Black Spring will fit their interest for more in the same vein.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
‘After the last long winter, I needed to get as far away from the city as I possibly could.’
This young adult novel was inspired by ‘Wuthering Heights’, so I approached it with great caution. On the one hand, I wanted to see how Ms Croggon’s story would develop. On the other hand, ‘Wuthering Heights’ is my favourite novel, and I am deeply wary of other authors encroaching on any of its territory.
I was pleasantly surprised. On both counts. While I could recognise aspects of ‘Wuthering Heights’ in the structure of the story, and in similarity of characters and in echoes of language throughout the novel, ‘Black Spring’ has its own tale of betrayal and vengeance. Magic, rather than family, defines the world. The land that Lina and Damek inhabit is a bleak land, full of superstition, suspicion and watchfulness, ruled by wizards and the harsh, strict rules of vendetta. The narrators are Anna (Lina’s maid) and Hammel (a traveller to the magical north).
‘Vendetta is a black vine, a parasite that fruits only graves.’
Lina has the violet eyes that mark her as a witch, she is only protected from persecution by her rank. But her position is no defence against tragedy, can provide her no security against heartbreak. A tragic heroine, with some similarities to Cathy Earnshaw. And Damek? He is no Heathcliff. And yet, he is like Heathcliff in some ways.
I found that I enjoyed reading this novel better if I didn’t compare it to ‘Wuthering Heights’. The story has its own gothic, romantic, tragic trajectory.
‘I shall never complain of the tedium of the city again.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
This young adult novel was inspired by ‘Wuthering Heights’, so I approached it with great caution. On the one hand, I wanted to see how Ms Croggon’s story would develop. On the other hand, ‘Wuthering Heights’ is my favourite novel, and I am deeply wary of other authors encroaching on any of its territory.
I was pleasantly surprised. On both counts. While I could recognise aspects of ‘Wuthering Heights’ in the structure of the story, and in similarity of characters and in echoes of language throughout the novel, ‘Black Spring’ has its own tale of betrayal and vengeance. Magic, rather than family, defines the world. The land that Lina and Damek inhabit is a bleak land, full of superstition, suspicion and watchfulness, ruled by wizards and the harsh, strict rules of vendetta. The narrators are Anna (Lina’s maid) and Hammel (a traveller to the magical north).
‘Vendetta is a black vine, a parasite that fruits only graves.’
Lina has the violet eyes that mark her as a witch, she is only protected from persecution by her rank. But her position is no defence against tragedy, can provide her no security against heartbreak. A tragic heroine, with some similarities to Cathy Earnshaw. And Damek? He is no Heathcliff. And yet, he is like Heathcliff in some ways.
I found that I enjoyed reading this novel better if I didn’t compare it to ‘Wuthering Heights’. The story has its own gothic, romantic, tragic trajectory.
‘I shall never complain of the tedium of the city again.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
nogenreleftbehind's review against another edition
2.0
I have always been a lover of Wuthering Heights so I thought this would be right up my alley. The writing style, very formal and journal like, did remind me of the classic and it was well done. However, the story itself didn't do as much for me as I had hoped.
It starts with a noble, Hammel, traveling to the far and uncivilized north for a change of scenery. The story sort of begins here with him having a horrible run-in with his landlord. I was incredibly confused because the characters in the book did not seem anything like the back blurb at this point. But then we jump back in time quite a ways as the housekeeper tells Hammel the story of Lina and Damek. This is the majority of the story is told from Anna's perspective, looking back and telling her story.
Lina and Damek's story is the perfect tragic romance and fits the gothic description very well. Doomed from the start by so many things. There was just too much to it though. The story seemed to drag on too much, the history being told with many rambling sidetracks. The story is intriguing and wanting to know how it ended kept me going, but at times it was hard to do.
*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*
- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/03/review-black-spring-by-alison-croggon.html#sthash.Nj4bN0vn.dpuf
It starts with a noble, Hammel, traveling to the far and uncivilized north for a change of scenery. The story sort of begins here with him having a horrible run-in with his landlord. I was incredibly confused because the characters in the book did not seem anything like the back blurb at this point. But then we jump back in time quite a ways as the housekeeper tells Hammel the story of Lina and Damek. This is the majority of the story is told from Anna's perspective, looking back and telling her story.
Lina and Damek's story is the perfect tragic romance and fits the gothic description very well. Doomed from the start by so many things. There was just too much to it though. The story seemed to drag on too much, the history being told with many rambling sidetracks. The story is intriguing and wanting to know how it ended kept me going, but at times it was hard to do.
*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*
- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/03/review-black-spring-by-alison-croggon.html#sthash.Nj4bN0vn.dpuf
mxacp96's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
wasnt my jam. I liked listening to the book but i couldnt get into it. This is my 2nd try with this book.
lberestecki's review against another edition
2.0
I was really disappointed by this book. I loved Croggon's "Pellinor" series (great world building, interesting plot, awesome characters), so I had high hopes for this book, and it paled in comparison to her previous works. I felt that the world building in this book was rather weak, and the addition of magic seemed half-hearted and unnecessary. There was no real explanation of the magic, and the story could have been essentially the same without it. As written, the magical aspect felt like it was just thrown in without much planning or development.
It was also difficult not to unfavorably compare the book to Wuthering Heights. The story is clearly heavily based one Bronte's novel, which the author makes no secret of. Interpretations of famous works can often be interesting and good, but Croggon didn't make the story different enough for the reader to not come away feeling like it was basically Wuthering Heights fan fiction. I'll definitely still read whatever Croggon publishes next based on the merits of the Pellinor books, but I was extremely disappointed with this book.
It was also difficult not to unfavorably compare the book to Wuthering Heights. The story is clearly heavily based one Bronte's novel, which the author makes no secret of. Interpretations of famous works can often be interesting and good, but Croggon didn't make the story different enough for the reader to not come away feeling like it was basically Wuthering Heights fan fiction. I'll definitely still read whatever Croggon publishes next based on the merits of the Pellinor books, but I was extremely disappointed with this book.