A review by blewballoon
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

dark funny lighthearted medium-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

3.5

Excellent prose, Washington Irving creates some really great imagery which often times felt like visual gags in writing. The exaggerated tone of the descriptions made me want to watch the animated adaptation, I could so easily picture the scene in a Looney Tunes or Donald Duck cartoon. For my attention span, these descriptions sometimes caused me to lose focus and I had to backtrack to remember the actual bones of the story. 

Similarly to Dracula, this reads to me as more of a comedy than a scary story. Unlike with Dracula, the narrative voice came off as cynical and the characters are a not likable. Any adaptation that presents Ichabod as a good and sincere man is taking liberties. None of the other characters are better, they are just different caricatures.

Overall, somehow both a better and worse experience than I expected. The prose was fun to listen to on audiobook, but if it had been longer it probably would have worn out its welcome due to lack of captivating characters and plot.
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