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seanbeatty's review against another edition
3.0
I’d had moments. I’d suggest reading The Grey Woman and leaving it at that. Lois the Witch will not scratch your witchy itch.
emmaisnotavampire's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I don’t usually love short stories, I tend to prefer getting lost in the pages of a more intricate plot; however, I have been absolutely devouring pretty much anything even remotely gothic lately, especially if written by a woman, so I still picked this up quite enthusiastically. Sadly, I was quickly disappointed with my poorly informed choice.
What I wish I had known about Gaskell is that, despite being acquainted with both, her writing is definitely closer to Dickens than to Brönte, much more realistic than mysterious and dark. As a result, these Gothic Tales, despite surely being good tales, were not gothic at all! I kept waiting for a gloomy, supernatural or at least seemingly so twist that just would not happen (in most cases at least), and ended up just getting bored.
I don’t actually dislike Dickens at all, so if her more socially focused realistic works are anything like that I am quite curious to read them, but Gaskell’s gothic side didn’t really resonate with me, unfortunately.
What I wish I had known about Gaskell is that, despite being acquainted with both, her writing is definitely closer to Dickens than to Brönte, much more realistic than mysterious and dark. As a result, these Gothic Tales, despite surely being good tales, were not gothic at all! I kept waiting for a gloomy, supernatural or at least seemingly so twist that just would not happen (in most cases at least), and ended up just getting bored.
I don’t actually dislike Dickens at all, so if her more socially focused realistic works are anything like that I am quite curious to read them, but Gaskell’s gothic side didn’t really resonate with me, unfortunately.
tishtashtosh's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
sarahcoller's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Ugh, what a slog.
Anything I've read by Gaskell has bored me to tears --- except maybe her biography of Charlotte Bronte, which was the first thing I ever read about the Brontes so it was all new information. I thought I'd give her another try and figured Gothic Tales would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, the majority of these tales had very little about them to render them "gothic", in my opinion. They were boring, convoluted --- not even weird or creepy --- just dull with large doses of melodrama.
I was really only semi-interested in two: <i>Lois the Witch</i> and <i>The Grey Woman</i>. <i>Lois the Witch</i> was one of the most touching fictional stories regarding the witch trials I've read. I really did end up liking it in the end. <i>The Grey Woman</i>, though pretty coincidental and far-fetched, did manage to keep my attention.
Something I did pick up on when reading <i>Curious, if True</i> was that the struggle I was having was partly based on the fact that I wasn't making the connections that her contemporaries would have been making. In reading the endnotes to this story, I found that it was full of references to 18th and 19th century literature -- especially fairy tales. Since I know next to nothing about fairy tales and childhood literary characters of the time, I missed so much of this story. Just goes to show that the more we read, the more we know!
Anything I've read by Gaskell has bored me to tears --- except maybe her biography of Charlotte Bronte, which was the first thing I ever read about the Brontes so it was all new information. I thought I'd give her another try and figured Gothic Tales would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, the majority of these tales had very little about them to render them "gothic", in my opinion. They were boring, convoluted --- not even weird or creepy --- just dull with large doses of melodrama.
I was really only semi-interested in two: <i>Lois the Witch</i> and <i>The Grey Woman</i>. <i>Lois the Witch</i> was one of the most touching fictional stories regarding the witch trials I've read. I really did end up liking it in the end. <i>The Grey Woman</i>, though pretty coincidental and far-fetched, did manage to keep my attention.
Something I did pick up on when reading <i>Curious, if True</i> was that the struggle I was having was partly based on the fact that I wasn't making the connections that her contemporaries would have been making. In reading the endnotes to this story, I found that it was full of references to 18th and 19th century literature -- especially fairy tales. Since I know next to nothing about fairy tales and childhood literary characters of the time, I missed so much of this story. Just goes to show that the more we read, the more we know!
karinlib's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this collection of short works by Gaskell. There was only one story, or should I say fragments that I didn't think was very good and that was Disappearances.
wandererzarina's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
perjacxis's review against another edition
3.0
I thought I would love this collection, but unfortunately, it was a mixed bag for me. My favourites were The Old Nurse’s Story, The Poor Clare and Lois the Witch.
nebje's review against another edition
3.0
Muy interesante lectura. La mayoría de cuentos no me han dicho mucho, pero alguno me ha gustado mucho. Mis favoritos: "La bruja Lois" y "La dama gris".
Es un acercamiento muy interesante a la narrativa gótica porque hay mucha variedad en los relatos.
Es un acercamiento muy interesante a la narrativa gótica porque hay mucha variedad en los relatos.