ulrikedg's review against another edition
3.0
Child: That woman in the park ignored me.
Father: She must be crazy!
Thus begins a ghost story in which the ghost is the most likeable character.
Having read The Moonstone, I'm aware that Collins writes superb caricatures of unpleasant characters (Drusilla Clack). He seems to be doing the same thing here, but with less context it's harder to identify.
The most disappointing aspect of this story was Gillian Anderson's narration. Others have criticized her "breathiness". I think Anderson made a style choice--it's a ghost story, meant to be whispered under the covers inside a tent. That part didn't really bother me. However, while she handles the dialog with aplomb, the narration between the bits of speech was hard to listen to. Anderson starts each sentence on the same note and ends each sentence a different note. It's like she's reading a list of sentences instead of telling a story. This seems to be a trend with female British narrators, and while Anderson isn't nearly as bad as Susan Duerden, Kate Reading is proof that it doesn't have to be that way at all! It's a shame because Anderson has such a pleasant voice that she should be a pleasure to listen to. Instead, I increased to speed to 1.2x just to get through the non-dialog parts of this very short book!
Father: She must be crazy!
Thus begins a ghost story in which the ghost is the most likeable character.
Having read The Moonstone, I'm aware that Collins writes superb caricatures of unpleasant characters (Drusilla Clack). He seems to be doing the same thing here, but with less context it's harder to identify.
The most disappointing aspect of this story was Gillian Anderson's narration. Others have criticized her "breathiness". I think Anderson made a style choice--it's a ghost story, meant to be whispered under the covers inside a tent. That part didn't really bother me. However, while she handles the dialog with aplomb, the narration between the bits of speech was hard to listen to. Anderson starts each sentence on the same note and ends each sentence a different note. It's like she's reading a list of sentences instead of telling a story. This seems to be a trend with female British narrators, and while Anderson isn't nearly as bad as Susan Duerden, Kate Reading is proof that it doesn't have to be that way at all! It's a shame because Anderson has such a pleasant voice that she should be a pleasure to listen to. Instead, I increased to speed to 1.2x just to get through the non-dialog parts of this very short book!
carolynmorgan's review against another edition
3.0
Eerie novella. Some strange plot devices but an enjoyable read.
affiknittyreads's review against another edition
4.0
An eerie story for fall, well-performed by Gillian Anderson!
lady_nett's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting little gothic tale. It was easy to get confused if you were not paying attention and even when you were I had to go back to a few things as I randomly found myself lost. It was beautifully writte though.
amcheri's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes folks get what they deserve.
I thoroughly enjoyed this short story made even better by the fantastic narration performed by Gillian Anderson. That accent! Swoon!
I thoroughly enjoyed this short story made even better by the fantastic narration performed by Gillian Anderson. That accent! Swoon!
tarana's review against another edition
1.0
Short ghost story written in 1800s. Started strong and fizzled out. Gillian Anderson was difficult to understand with her choice of 'breathy voice'. I am hearing impaired, so keep that in mind.