Reviews

Skräcken på Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver

booksandthebronxgirl's review against another edition

3.0

It dragged a lot in some parts and in others it was very interesting and enjoyable.

janalena's review against another edition

5.0

Languid, but not slow. Atmospheric and and full of dread, classic horror. Paver is a master of this genre, melding supernatural scares with deep character studies. I enjoyed every chilling word. Excellent performance on the audible version as well.

jessswith's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

whisperingdelirium's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad

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

4.0

sarahbc93_'s review against another edition

3.0

This is one of those books where you spend a large portion of it waiting for something to happen and then when something does happen, you have to go back and read it to make sure you've read it properly. It is a little slow to get going, but once it does get going then parts of it are quite interesting. In many ways, the exploration of Christianity is a little too in depth, but that is just my own opinion. I would have liked to know more about Edmund other than just he liked to get nasty and eventually went mad.

Also, the narrative jumps around quite a bit so I was never quite sure who was going to be narrating it next, although I suppose you could argue that that actually helps with the unsettling feel of the narrative.

katie_brady's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

adrienne_l's review against another edition

4.0

For fifty years, Maud Stearne of Wake's End, now an old crumbling manor outside the village of Wakenhyrst, has guarded the mysteries surrounding the day her father Edmund Stearne committed murder with a pickaxe and fell down an eel-filled well.  Confined to the Broadmoor Hospital for the criminally insane for his crime, after his death it was revealed that Stearne spent his imprisonment creating a total of three haunting paintings that gripped the public's imagination and reawakened interest in the case.  But Maud, the only witness to the crime, has steadfastly refused to divulge her story.  Until now. 

Wakenhyrst is a rural Gothic novel, primarily set in Edwardian England shortly before World War I.  The bulk of the story consists of Maud's account of the events of 1913 and the diary entries of Edmund Stearne.  This is my third book by the author after reading [b:Dark Matter: A Ghost Story|8350864|Dark Matter A Ghost Story|Michelle Paver|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1504563569l/8350864._SY75_.jpg|13203928] and [b:Thin Air: A Ghost Story|28335600|Thin Air A Ghost Story|Michelle Paver|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1453812852l/28335600._SY75_.jpg|48382650] earlier this year.  Paver set all three books in the same general time period (early 1900s) and she does an excellent job of authentically evoking life a century ago.  That could be a good or bad thing for some readers.  Wakenhyrst almost feels like it's from an even earlier period than the other two, but that's probably because instead of reading about young men on international adventures, our main character here is an intelligent and capable girl who is confined by the rules and restrictions that society and religion placed on women of her time in rural England.  

Paver's writing is excellent as usual and I was easily immersed in the story.  While there are hints at supernatural and folkloric elements here, I must admit that I was disappointed these elements weren't stronger.  As in her previous novels that I've read, the touches of horror in Wakenhyrst are subtle in the extreme.  But since Wakenhyrst is quite a lot longer than Dark Matter and Thin Air, perhaps that's why the absence of the paranormal element was more keenly felt for me this time around.  

I would recommend this to fans of slow burn Gothic, historical fiction.  

3milyr0se's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

3.5

ninett's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

I read this book as part of a halloween readathon challenge on bookly. In keeping with classic gothic style, it's set in a manor house and the weather is awful the entire time. I felt Paver really did her best here to personally antagonise me with the absolutely despicable man she wrote to be Maud's father, and I am sure

that getting lobotomised is comeuppance enough for this man, but I do wish something happened to him to make him regret his actions more desperately...

 
I liked how Ivy was written in as a multifaceted person who had motivations in line with her very unfortunate circumstances, not just as a bitch whole and pure. 

Poor Maman, poor Clem, poor Jubal, poor Chatterpie

the_bookkeeper's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0