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juushikaTitle: The Little Stranger
Author: Sarah Waters
Published: New York: Riverhead Books, 2009
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 466
Total Page Count: 167,671
Text Number: 491
Read Because: listed here, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: 1947, rural England: Dr. Faraday, the son of a maid who has risen to the position of a country doctor, is called to the aging Hundred Hall. There he falls in with the family in their attempt to hold out against the changing times and some sinister force that may reside in Hundreds itself. The Little Stranger is near to flawless. Its gentle pace and surprising tension aren't always a perfect pair—at times, the book is achingly slow. But what a lovely mix of historical setting and gothic trapping. Hundreds has a rich sense of place, as evocative, even romantic, in its decline as its beauty. The supernatural dread that suffuses it is creative and ominous, and works in tandem with the post-War context; the end (while not as revelatory as I'd been lead to expect) has a quiet satisfaction. The Little Stranger is intentional, bittersweet, thoughtful—and still an utter delight, steeped in gothic tropes and truly transporting. I adored it. This is my first book by Sarah Waters, but it won't be my last.
Author: Sarah Waters
Published: New York: Riverhead Books, 2009
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 466
Total Page Count: 167,671
Text Number: 491
Read Because: listed here, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: 1947, rural England: Dr. Faraday, the son of a maid who has risen to the position of a country doctor, is called to the aging Hundred Hall. There he falls in with the family in their attempt to hold out against the changing times and some sinister force that may reside in Hundreds itself. The Little Stranger is near to flawless. Its gentle pace and surprising tension aren't always a perfect pair—at times, the book is achingly slow. But what a lovely mix of historical setting and gothic trapping. Hundreds has a rich sense of place, as evocative, even romantic, in its decline as its beauty. The supernatural dread that suffuses it is creative and ominous, and works in tandem with the post-War context; the end (while not as revelatory as I'd been lead to expect) has a quiet satisfaction. The Little Stranger is intentional, bittersweet, thoughtful—and still an utter delight, steeped in gothic tropes and truly transporting. I adored it. This is my first book by Sarah Waters, but it won't be my last.
