tacochelle's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
3 girls and a teacher from an Australian private academy disappear after climbing up to the titular Hanging Rock during their school picnic. No bodies are ever found, and the event haunts everyone remotely connected to it, some more tragically than others. There's a hint of something supernatural about the whole thing, but it's never confirmed. While the truth of the mystery was published decades later, I don't thinks it's needed. It'd less about the mystery and more about how their absence affects their world. A little slow, but really interesting, and weird enough to be right up my alley.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Rape, Vomit, and Blood
picnicatthehangingtree's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Beautifully written and atmospheric
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Classism, Emotional abuse, Blood, Gore, Grief, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, and Child abuse
Minor: Alcoholism, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Rape
s_l's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I liked it and it was pretty interesting, and emotionally it did have a clear ending
I don't think it was built correctly for the ending it had (which - yeah, there was another chapter that got cut, I guess the plan was a bit different), and it's more about the life of people around the disappearance rather than the actual mystery itself but it was still a nice read
I don't think it was built correctly for the ending it had (which - yeah, there was another chapter that got cut, I guess the plan was a bit different), and it's more about the life of people around the disappearance rather than the actual mystery itself but it was still a nice read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Child death, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol
Minor: Vomit
edamamebean's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I’ve been wanting to pick this up for at least three or four years. It was just as good, if not better, than I hoped it would be. Lovers of open-shut mysteries won’t like it very much, as it leaves you with more questions than answers, but those questions linger long after the last page. This one will definitely stick with me and I won’t be surprised if I end up reading it again someday.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Grief, Colonisation, and Suicide
erinbarton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
gutts's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, and Suicide
Minor: Incest
chiaralestino's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I really enjoyed the flow of the story and the mystical energy surrounding the setting, which was really impactful as a result of effective imagery. A mix of intricate and vague details gave the book a somewhat fantastical backdrop despite being set in rural 1900s Australia. It was interesting to me how the events of the book really contrasted the vestal symbols of the young girls' white dresses, flowers and vanity.
The book definitely had moments where it lost its magic for me, however the writing never felt boring. I still wish it was creepier throughout the whole text. Another reason why it isn't more than 5 stars is because it felt like it has very obvious flaws that are characteristic of white-Australian writing from the past. Despite this, I expected it to be worse so it's a nice surprise that I enjoyed it.
The book definitely had moments where it lost its magic for me, however the writing never felt boring. I still wish it was creepier throughout the whole text. Another reason why it isn't more than 5 stars is because it felt like it has very obvious flaws that are characteristic of white-Australian writing from the past. Despite this, I expected it to be worse so it's a nice surprise that I enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Child death
Moderate: Drug abuse and Suicide
Minor: Body horror
nellcummins's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Death
elzbethmrgn's review against another edition
dark
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
3.5
Mysterious mystery is mysterious
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Child death, and Fire/Fire injury
laurenzokro's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Despite this being set in the summer, I found fall to be a very suitable time to be reading this - a mysterious disappearance that juxtaposes beautiful, vivid descriptions of the Australian natural landscape. The manner in which the book simultaneously tapped into these themes, and made them complement one another, was definitely its strongest aspect; Joan Lindsay was able to seamlessly transform a relaxing, jubilant, picturesque picnic on a sunny day into an unspoken, yet unmistakably omnipresent, horror that had much more far-reaching consequences than one would expect such a mere picnic outing to have. Yet Lindsay still made routine reference to Hanging Rock’s beauty and that of surrounding areas (even the beauty found in the world of Appleyard College) in spite of all that had occurred. This had the effect of magnifying just how jarring the effect was on the lives of those directly and indirectly involved, as well as depicting how quickly one’s sense of the familiar can be a painful - and in fact disturbing - reminder of the dark events that transpired.
My main complaint had to do with their being perhaps too much left to the imagination, and too much left unsaid. Although I understand and agree with the need to have some element of mystery as to what actually happened to the vanishing girls, it was done in a way that wasn’t really subtle -
Overall, I definitely respect what it was trying to do in terms of crafting a story that could show the simultaneous beauty and horror behind the natural world, as well as
how humans interact with tragic events (sensationalizing and personalizing them as well, as we saw with the townsfolk and the schoolfolk, respectively). While I do appreciate the intrigue that played into the story’s telling, it at times felt a little more undeveloped when intended to come across as unsolvable/unexplainable. Nevertheless I do think this is an enjoyable read for the imagery alone, which definitely kept me very invested in my reading.
My main complaint had to do with their being perhaps too much left to the imagination, and too much left unsaid. Although I understand and agree with the need to have some element of mystery as to what actually happened to the vanishing girls, it was done in a way that wasn’t really subtle -
Spoiler
for example, we read early on about Edith watching the girls walk away and her being unable to keep up, but not only is that moment never spoken of again (albeit partially due to Edith’s forgetting of it) but it appears entirely insignificant a detail - nothing explained later in the narrative is even remotely connected to this moment. I get the idea of trying to set an unsettling tone early on, but the way that it was completely ignored made it feel like what we read about at the picnic was not of any importance. This was again frustrating with the disappearance of Miss McCraw alongside the girls, with Edith again referencing having seen her and the detail not being brought up ever again. I understand the point of leaving some details unexplained and some aspects up to the imagination, but it felt like there was just no connection in the actual mystery itself - everything that happened felt so unaligned that it felt as though we were dealing with entirely separate mysteries rather than having them weave together.Overall, I definitely respect what it was trying to do in terms of crafting a story that could show the simultaneous beauty and horror behind the natural world, as well as
how humans interact with tragic events (sensationalizing and personalizing them as well, as we saw with the townsfolk and the schoolfolk, respectively). While I do appreciate the intrigue that played into the story’s telling, it at times felt a little more undeveloped when intended to come across as unsolvable/unexplainable. Nevertheless I do think this is an enjoyable read for the imagery alone, which definitely kept me very invested in my reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Suicide, and Murder