A modern gothic novel of love, secrets, and murder--set against the lush backdrop of Provence
Meeting Dom was the most incredible thing tha... read full description
reviews
Oct 21, 2011
I just won this on Goodreads giveaway! Since I've never won anything in my life (true story), I'm really excited.
I feel like this dog:
I feel like this dog:
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(33 people liked it)
Dec 30, 2011
Bonnie
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The Lantern was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for HarperCollins.
4.5 stars
The Lantern is a superbly written and beautiful story that is completely enthralling. I found it hard to put down because the mystery of the story is so fascinating. I found the author’s writing style to be quite wordy at first, but each description causes the scene to unfold as if you were actually experiencing it. I’ve incorporated several lines from the story itself to add some of that descri More...
4.5 stars
The Lantern is a superbly written and beautiful story that is completely enthralling. I found it hard to put down because the mystery of the story is so fascinating. I found the author’s writing style to be quite wordy at first, but each description causes the scene to unfold as if you were actually experiencing it. I’ve incorporated several lines from the story itself to add some of that descri More...
15 comments
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(7 people liked it)
Sep 04, 2011
Kelly
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There are two women controlling this book. I don’t mean the two female characters whose voices carry the narrative of the book, though perhaps they are an unwitting reflection of this phenomenon. I mean, the women who wrote this book. The first was the woman who opened the door to me, wearing perfectly fitted Lucky jeans and an enormous diamond ring, who ushered me quickly into her living room where the other members of the monthly book club awaited, and the second was a shy sister who I acciden
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(24 people liked it)
Sep 12, 2011
Stephanie
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Lush and as languid as the fig drunken wasps described in its pages, The Lanterns switches between the past and the present but the present day feels anachronistic and drugged by the atmosphere of the past. Although the lush imagery delighted my senses a quarter of the way through I still was looking for a plot. I was reminded of Harris' Five Quarters of the Orange.
Then disaster. I was assaulted by a scene of animal cruelty so intense it made me retch. Although I was eager to learn w More...
Then disaster. I was assaulted by a scene of animal cruelty so intense it made me retch. Although I was eager to learn w More...
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(11 people liked it)
Sep 05, 2011
I read along for quite some time before I knew how I felt about The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson. Normally I will only read so far before I decide whether or not I can finish it and give it a positive review and recommendation, but The Lantern had me confused. I was either holding a piece of literary work of genius, or a book that was not worth finishing.
After getting the characters straight in my mind with all of the jumping back and forth, without any indication of what place in ti More...
After getting the characters straight in my mind with all of the jumping back and forth, without any indication of what place in ti More...
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(5 people liked it)
Nov 25, 2011
Deborah
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"The Lantern" by Deborah Lawrenson ~ Far Cry from Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca"
The Dame's Impression's :
I’m having such a difficult time with this book. I’ve wanted to love it after all the hype, but it’s difficult. First, I’m turned off by the author’s trying so hard to be cultured and elegant, or making much of it. Maybe it’s our American up-bringing, but isn’t understatement preferable? So much seems contrived and overdone. It made the book move very slowly.
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The Dame's Impression's :
I’m having such a difficult time with this book. I’ve wanted to love it after all the hype, but it’s difficult. First, I’m turned off by the author’s trying so hard to be cultured and elegant, or making much of it. Maybe it’s our American up-bringing, but isn’t understatement preferable? So much seems contrived and overdone. It made the book move very slowly.
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(7 people liked it)
Nov 19, 2011
Kristin
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Upset I wasted time reading this book...
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(5 people liked it)
Dec 29, 2011
Laura
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This was another book highly recommended by a friend (as in, "what ever you do, Get.This.ARC. at ALA"). And was she ever right! Usually I'm not the biggest fan of books with tons of description (my brain doesn't quite work that way, and I tend to get lost) but here it really worked.
This is two stories intertwined. The first is a Rebecca-esque tale of a younger (unnamed) woman with little family who meets an older man and falls in love. Of course there's no time spent ex More...
This is two stories intertwined. The first is a Rebecca-esque tale of a younger (unnamed) woman with little family who meets an older man and falls in love. Of course there's no time spent ex More...
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Jan 25, 2012
Kristine
rated it: 
Tales inspired by literary classics can be interesting, fresh, and original. Sadly, I don't think Lawrenson's US debut lived up to this potential, though I can see where some readers would enjoy her tale. It took two attempts before I could get into the book enough to read it all the way through, largely because I felt from page one that it was trying far too hard and was essentially rewriting "Rebecca" (a fact not helped by how many times that novel was mentioned in the description an
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(2 people liked it)
Jan 29, 2012
The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson is garnering a lot of attention these days because of the many comparisons to the outstanding Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Yet, these comparisons only do The Lantern a disservice because while it is similar, it is distinct and well-written enough to more than stand on its own as a modern Gothic novel. Wisely, Ms. Lawrenson does not shy away from the comparisons. Instead, she acknowledges them by specifically mentioning du Maurier’s masterpiece, having Eve read i
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Aug 11, 2011
Angelina
rated it: 
I had a hard time entering the story. It didn't completely grab me in the beginning. I had to warm up to it. I had to put a little thought into it, because Lawrenson doesn't spell everything out for the reader. Instead, she dares the reader to apply a bit of introspection, which is the underlying theme that I took away from this book.
The dual plot line was intriguing, but it was the process that left an impression. Both girls/women are happy to live on the surface of things initia More...
The dual plot line was intriguing, but it was the process that left an impression. Both girls/women are happy to live on the surface of things initia More...
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(2 people liked it)
Dec 08, 2011
Mari
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Let me start by saying this book was good, not great. I'm not sure if part of my confusion was due to reading an ARC on my ipad. Some of the chapter numbers were sideways, some normal. I was reading into this... trying to decide if this would help me understand who was narrating a particular chapter, or if we were time traveling to the historical part of the book. I never figured this out.
I wasn't emotionally attached to the characters but I can say I enjoyed Eve's story. She More...
I wasn't emotionally attached to the characters but I can say I enjoyed Eve's story. She More...
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(1 person liked it)
Sep 08, 2011
Heather
rated it:
While the language in this book was beautiful and the premise of the story was a good one, there just was not much to it. I really didn't see the threads of the various storylines come together until the last 50 or so pages and the build up didn't lead to anything overly exciting.
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Feb 04, 2012
Bookworm
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About:
The Lantern is a modern Gothic story about a bookish woman who moves to a farmhouse in the French countryside with her musician boyfriend and slowly discovers that not all is what it seems.
The couple, Eve and Dom, purchase an abandoned farmhouse named Les Genevriers located in the French countryside. Slowly but surely, they renovate it and discover hidden rooms. It seems the house itself is trying to reveal long kept secrets. They meet charming neighbors and are invited over More...
The Lantern is a modern Gothic story about a bookish woman who moves to a farmhouse in the French countryside with her musician boyfriend and slowly discovers that not all is what it seems.
The couple, Eve and Dom, purchase an abandoned farmhouse named Les Genevriers located in the French countryside. Slowly but surely, they renovate it and discover hidden rooms. It seems the house itself is trying to reveal long kept secrets. They meet charming neighbors and are invited over More...
Jan 14, 2012
Julia
rated it:
Eve meets Dom while on a work trip to Switzerland. They fall in love and move to a deserted and derelict farmhouse in Provence. Initially they are blissfully happy and wrapped up in one another, but gradually strains appear in the relationship. She knows that he was married before and that he visited the region with his wife Rachel, but he refuses to discuss why the relationship ended or what happened to Rachel. She begins to wonder how much she can trust him and whether there may be a sinis
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Dec 29, 2011
Chenoa
rated it:
I'm trying sooo hard to read this book,I really am.
The details of the setting are fantastic but the only character that appeals to me is Dom and that's because he seems to have some sort of mysterious secret and an ex who fell off the side of the earth.
The problem I have with this book is it changes characters too much and some of them are alive and others are ghosts and it's just so hard to keep track of. I keep putting it down because I'm like "Wait what?" all t More...
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(2 people liked it)
Dec 22, 2011
RJ
rated it:
It was a few pages BEFORE she mentioned the contemporary protagonist reading Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier that I said to myself--this seems a lot like...and then in the end, that's what it was..a modern Rebecca, less well told, less suspenseful and sauntering into a past that was more provocative but naively explored.
Set up--A modern woman follows her new love to the countryside of France, where he alternately becomes withdrawn, morose then tender and ardent. He is haunted by his former More...
Set up--A modern woman follows her new love to the countryside of France, where he alternately becomes withdrawn, morose then tender and ardent. He is haunted by his former More...
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Nov 23, 2011
Wow. It's been a while since I have DNF'd something so quickly, but wow. There may be folks who really like this book, but within the first few pages I knew I would not be able to read an entire book written by this author.
The author attempts to recreate a scene in Provence. She uses vivid adjectives and nouns, but it feels like she swallowed a thesarus. I can't remember the last time I've had to look up that many words in a single book, let alone the first chapter of the book. (s More...
The author attempts to recreate a scene in Provence. She uses vivid adjectives and nouns, but it feels like she swallowed a thesarus. I can't remember the last time I've had to look up that many words in a single book, let alone the first chapter of the book. (s More...
Oct 07, 2011
Melissa
rated it:
In comparison to the likes of the classics or even the more modern Thirteenth Tale or Kate Morton novels, the Latern is a less than entralling gothic novel. It centers around two stories. The first is of a modern day woman who has moved to France with the love of her life - who may or may not be a murderer. The second is the life story of a woman who feels guilt over the mysterious happenings centered around her family. The Lantern uses the standard cliques, including a mysteriously absent wi
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(3 people liked it)
Oct 05, 2011
Pam
rated it:
http://iwriteinbooks.wordpress.com/2011/...
I have never been one for scary movies. Even more indie, artsy “psychological thrillers” don’t really appeal to me. There is, every now and then, though, a story that is so hauntingly (literally) beautiful that I can’t pass it up. The Lantern is one such story. Two stories intertwined, several decades apart, follow the lives of several women and fewer men, as they struggle with identity, discovery and, of course, murder.
The present d More...
I have never been one for scary movies. Even more indie, artsy “psychological thrillers” don’t really appeal to me. There is, every now and then, though, a story that is so hauntingly (literally) beautiful that I can’t pass it up. The Lantern is one such story. Two stories intertwined, several decades apart, follow the lives of several women and fewer men, as they struggle with identity, discovery and, of course, murder.
The present d More...
Sep 14, 2011
Carolyn
rated it:
While trolling the aisles of the bookstore with a birthday gift card singeing my pocketbook, I came across The Lantern just when I was about to give up finding a book to suit my mood. What was I in the mood for? Something mysterious, romantic, Gothic even, with a beautiful setting and a crumbling old house, preferably in Europe, but with no vampires. Ta da! - this was it; and it delivered on all those counts. Deborah Lawrenson writes beautifully, and I savored this book, rolling her words thr
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Aug 31, 2011
Ryan
rated it:
This is going to be one of those reviews that's heavily influenced by the amount of time passed between finishing the book and writing the review. If I had sat down to write this review a day or two after finishing the book, it would have been a blabbering mess of praise and worship I'm not sure a word of it would have been coherent, but it would have been glowing none the less. This will still be a positive review, simply because I did enjoy the books, it just won't be the overtly exuberant.
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Aug 26, 2011
Dianne
rated it:
This book was a little hard for me to grasp at the beginning because it really didn't flow at first, and it took awhile for the characters to evolve. I kept on reading though, because it is so beautifully written, very poetic and eventually--and not too far into it, I began really connecting with the characters and the story. I'm so glad that I continued reading because this book became very intriguing and addictive!
I really liked reading about the past and present and how they connect More...
I really liked reading about the past and present and how they connect More...
Aug 21, 2011
Amy
rated it:
Deborah Lawrenson’s first novel to be published in the US should come with a warning label: this book is highly addictive, be prepared to do nothing else but read until the last page is tuned. Granted it does take about fifty pages or so to get a feel for the style and to learn that there are two stories being told; one of a modern day couple, the other a story of the family that last inhabited the county house in Provence where the novel is set. Evocative of the classic Rebecca by Daphne du Ma
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Aug 12, 2011
Leeswammes
rated it:
This is the story of Eve who moves to the Provence (France) with her boyfriend Dominic, who is a lot older than her. He was previously married but refuses to talk about this wife, Rachel.
When a local woman, Sabine, tells Eve that she knew Rachel, who disappeared without trace, Eve doesn’t know what to think of her husband and his secrets.
Alternated with Eve’s story is the narrative of Bénédicte Luncel, who used to live in the farmhouse where Dominic and Eve now live. Bit by b More...
When a local woman, Sabine, tells Eve that she knew Rachel, who disappeared without trace, Eve doesn’t know what to think of her husband and his secrets.
Alternated with Eve’s story is the narrative of Bénédicte Luncel, who used to live in the farmhouse where Dominic and Eve now live. Bit by b More...
Aug 06, 2011
Fleur
rated it:
Isn’t it lovely when a novel sweeps you away?
Deborah Lawrenson’s The Lantern swept me to Provence. To lush countryside so wonderfully evoked that I saw the sights, I heard the sounds, and most of all there were scents, such wonderful scents …
Eve was swept away too. She fell in love with Dom, an older music producer, and they planned a new life together, restoring a run down farmhouse in the country.
At first they were both happy, enjoying an extended honeymoon, bu More...
Deborah Lawrenson’s The Lantern swept me to Provence. To lush countryside so wonderfully evoked that I saw the sights, I heard the sounds, and most of all there were scents, such wonderful scents …
Eve was swept away too. She fell in love with Dom, an older music producer, and they planned a new life together, restoring a run down farmhouse in the country.
At first they were both happy, enjoying an extended honeymoon, bu More...
Aug 02, 2011
Barbara
rated it:
The best word I can think of to describe The Lantern is dreamy. It moves slowly but with dark mysterious undercurrents. The story of Les Genevriers (The Junipers), an 1887 farmhouse in Provence, is told alternately by Benedicte, a woman who lived there her whole life (and perhaps continues to live there after death) and Eve, who has come to live there with her lover, Dom. Both Eve and Dom are British; Dom buys Les Genevriers after Benedicte's death.
My one complaint about The Lantern More...
My one complaint about The Lantern More...
Jul 24, 2011
Richard
rated it:
Rating: 3.875* of five
The Book Report: Nameless Narratrix tells us the tale of woe of loving a man who did Something Awful. She tells us this while living in his Provencal hameau, which is haunted by some dead French people as well as a few living ones. The hameau is crumbling, with plaster and masonry all falling at random times and in random places. The house gives the new couple a gift or two, including an old iron lantern that figures into the sad life story of the last French pr More...
The Book Report: Nameless Narratrix tells us the tale of woe of loving a man who did Something Awful. She tells us this while living in his Provencal hameau, which is haunted by some dead French people as well as a few living ones. The hameau is crumbling, with plaster and masonry all falling at random times and in random places. The house gives the new couple a gift or two, including an old iron lantern that figures into the sad life story of the last French pr More...
Jul 23, 2011
Lisa
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jul 14, 2011
Virginia
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Reading "The Lantern", by Deborah Lawrenson, was sometimes difficult, and often frustrating. There are wonderful elements present in the work. The lush beauty of Provence, France and all its bounty is the key to why the characters remain at a location where horrific events occur. The story is told in two different first-person narratives from different time frames in the same setting. Each one of their stories is evocative and intriguing. However, the book advances in a "two steps
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