The Lantern

Jul 19, 2011 Lora marked it as to-read

Shelves: adult-lit

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:

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Sep 02, 2011 Bonnie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller, ghosties, full-of-wonderful, arcs-read, adult, literary-fiction, gothic, edelweiss-netgalley

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 descriptiveness to my review a...more

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Sep 04, 2011 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 20th-century-postwar-to-late, fiction, goth-goth-baby, romantical, tres-francais, its-the-quiet-ones, worlds-lost-dead-and-dying

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...more 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 accidentally ran into in the kitchen trying to sneak some cookies without being seen before she ran back upstairs to curl up in baggy sweats and drink her tea.

I had absolutely no interest in the first woman, but unfortunately her voice controlled at least the first third of the novel. Our introduction to Eve, her romance with her brooding rich suitor, and her first encounters with her new house in France after they decide to run away together were rather pedestrian. Her fantasies seemed store-bought, like she’d just finished reading a Williams-Sonoma catalog, or just been released from those house porn-tastic Nancy Meyers movies from the last couple of years. She rushed through her exposition with shorthand borrowed from advertising, descriptions of men half-remembered from romance novels, and buzzwords out of ‘middlebrow’ domestic novels. That first chunk of pages felt like it rushed towards a goal- of you the reader identifying this book with Rebecca as quickly as possible (to the extent that if you don’t get it, Lawrenson tells you about it), and then consequently, safely identifying with Eve the same way you do with that unnamed narrator. Except that she didn’t properly do the work that du Maurier did. She mentioned her name and expected that to be enough for those of us excited by that connection.

For the rest who haven’t read it? She listed off as many identifiers as she could as fast as possible to get upper-middle class women from the US and the UK to see themselves, quickly- being overworked, feeling isolated and insecure, dreaming of escaping, specifically to the countryside of the ‘Old World’ where the likes of A Year in Provence and Under the Tuscan Sun has made ‘fixing up a cottage’ in a place where people Know How to Live a cure all for life’s problems, and of course marrying a sexy rich man who finally makes you happy and releases you from all your cares. This woman’s voice grated on me really quickly. I really don’t need to see Rebecca polished up so that Normal people can safely identify with it, because it now supports middle class values and reflects Your Life. The genre of the mysterious old house, the magical atmosphere of a place where it seems like every stone should be preserved because its earned it, the divine things that can be found in the everyday domestic is well trodden, and trodden by writers with far more gifts than Lawrenson, who don’t need a glossy magazine to tell them what magic looks like. Also, Lawrenson wants to explain the magic at the end- all of it. That is… not the point, and left me feeling like I do at the end of a Law and Order episode, not the way I do at the end of a good thriller. Also, just as a quick laundry list of other stuff I didn’t like: I felt like she forced in characters and elements from Rebecca that weren’t needed just to have them there, the Max character was nothing more than a cipher and their relationship therefore had none of the poignancy of the other book and none of the emotional impact at the end, the old woman narrator’s chapters were pretty inconsistent in quality, and the ‘modern’ translations of the plot from Rebecca felt a bit gimmicky- ‘Look! You know this is modern because I just made a topical reference!’. It also meant that she spent a lot of time talking about her avoidance of the modern for the majority of the book as well- because then she had to explain why she didn't do some things she could have with modern equipages. I’m not trying to solve your mystery! I want to experience the mystery! Stop trying to give me forensic evidence, and get back to the part where you tell me about the wind rustling through the trees in the courtyard, and haunting lights in the forest. Such a waste!

‘Cause that’s the thing. What saved this book for me was the shy other woman, who did talk about those things. She was very timid at the beginning, but found her voice in fits and starts throughout the course of the book. I liked this other woman quite a lot. I felt like Lawrenson was afraid to show her at the beginning, for fear of losing that mainstream audience she seemed to want to draw into the book. But she was really at her best when she forgot about her plot and just looked around her, describing the place she’s so in love with. She had a quiet power when writing about the names of the winds, the color of the lanterns on the stones in her courtyard, the sounds, sights, and smells of an overripe high summer in the country, or the seeming incongruity of her fantasy escape in the depths of winter. I kind of wish she had just written a lovely essay, or short travel book about walking through the French countryside, or one of those great first person inner exploration novels that the French are so good at. Her strength is clearly in her love for Place. I can totally see how this Dark Family Secrets plot would have occurred to her- living with the past sets one’s imagination on overdrive, and indeed that is part of the point the book makes. But it is hard not to see this book as at least a little bit of a waste of what seemed like her true passions. Still, there were enough of these breaths and pauses that she did eventually succeed in creating the atmosphere that I was looking for at the beginning- it just took a much longer time than I had hoped that it would. There was a chunk of the book towards the end where I finally got swept away… until the unnecessarily dry, unraveling ending, which, as I mentioned, took me out of the mood I should have had finishing this.

I should also mention that the sections with the old woman narrating were occasionally intriguing (when Lawrenson wasn’t focusing on just plot), and I thought she had a few moments that really did express true insight into why people do the things that they do. Her narrator’s Bluebeard moment and the motivations behind that were well done, and I absolutely loved the story of the blind girl and her world of smells and perfumes. The sense of smell is the foremost of the senses used and advocated in this book, and I think she was right to do it. It made her descriptions much more visceral and often easier to connect with. It was certainly a better examination of the power of smell than the weird use of it that has seemed to pop up everywhere since Edward’s weird smell thing with Bella in Twilight.

I think that ultimately if you’re already into this domestic Gothic novel business and eager to enjoy a Rebecca imitator, you’ll probably like this. Just give it some time to settle down, and a few pages for the shy other woman to come talk to you. When she stops being self-conscious for two seconds and relaxes enough to be honest about her passions, she has some lovely things to show you.(less)

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Sep 12, 2011 Stephanie rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: noone

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 why a woman a...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Jeannette rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Jeannette by: Hannah

Shelves: dual-time-lines, suspense, france, 2013-read, adult-fiction, family-stories, ghost-stories

Final Rating closer to 4-1/2 stars

This book earned the extra half-star for the "wow!" that escaped my lips as I read the last page.

What I love most about this book is the descriptive writing. So many sights, sounds, and smells are described in vivid detail: the smell of Maman’s almond cookies, the colors of the hills marching to the horizon, the crumbling decay of the old farmhouse. It is this wonderful, expressive prose that pulls you along as the author offers the story up in tiny bites, alter...more

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Aug 21, 2012 Sheila rated it 1 of 5 stars

This is a story about a present day activity in an old house in France with an at first happy unmarried couple who become unhappy as the story progresses. However it also switches back to the former family who owned the estate and farmed the property along with their story. It is very confusing at first, but once in and understanding what's happening it becomes easier. I must stay it ties with the slowest book I've ever read. If you like description after description of colors, flowers, perfumes...more

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Nov 25, 2011 Deborah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: angels-or-spirits, death-and-dying, ethnic-content, hardback-i-own, just-couldn-t-finish-it, latest-reads, new-author-for-me, paranormal, psychological, woman-writer, having-difficulty-finishing

"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.

The scents seem to permeate the st...more "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.

The scents seem to permeate the story too much–no pun intended, and they often don’t make sense; the combinations she expresses are improbable. That's giving lenience for the symbolic, even! I grew so tired of hearing about them in every other paragraph. Fragrances need to be dabbed here and there to have the right impact, don’t you think? Just so in literature; they would have a bigger impact sparingly used.

It’s also a cardinal rule in literature that when an author focuses too much on description and not enough on characterization, the book will not be a good one. Is it me, or is there just too much description here? For instance, we can’t possibly know or understand Dom, the primary male protagonist, because there’s been very little character development.

What may be the biggest issue is that the author spent a great deal of time describing what I believe she sees out the window and inside of her “crumbling hamlet in Provence, France.” (From her bio. on the book cover we find that she lives there as much as possible.) In the novel, you can really see that she's inspired by her surroundings, but the story she's telling seems adjunct to that. This makes for a painfully slow and uninteresting story with tension and suspense that is much too drawn out.

A true story about her love of Provence, her hamlet, gardens and lower cellar would have been ever so much more exotic and interesting. It's the trying to create a story around those descriptions that makes this novel fail, to me. Provence, her hamlet, it's rennovations and discoveries would make a fascinating non-fiction account.

I’m worried that Ms Lawrenson has tried so hard to write a modern version of “Rebecca” that it’s fallen flat. I’m sad about it. I’m struggling to want to read this novel. I struggling to finish it because I don't like giving up. It's difficult. It would be great to have a contemporary novel in the vein of "Rebecca," but sometimes one simply can't compete with the classics. Those who hyped a comparison weren't helping Ms Lawrenson.

So far, 3 struggling stars scented by woodland violets in apple wine infusion with a hint of ash from a long-awaited crackling fire, dripping with lasting notes of a salamander's foot crossing the moss that once laid lightly on mist-drenched, mountain wood.

Deborah/TheBookishDame :[(less)

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Jul 12, 2012 Sacha rated it 2 of 5 stars

"I've been having a love affair with Provence for more than 25 years," says Deborah Lawrenson. As if that wouldn't be obvious to anyone who reads this book. "The Lantern" is her first novel to be published in the United States and it reads like a love letter to the coastal region, nearly all its splendor illustrated through artful and meticulous descriptive passages. Though some might think this is an inarguable strength, it ends up being her greatest weakness, the novel's verbiage resulting in...more "I've been having a love affair with Provence for more than 25 years," says Deborah Lawrenson. As if that wouldn't be obvious to anyone who reads this book. "The Lantern" is her first novel to be published in the United States and it reads like a love letter to the coastal region, nearly all its splendor illustrated through artful and meticulous descriptive passages. Though some might think this is an inarguable strength, it ends up being her greatest weakness, the novel's verbiage resulting in plot and pacing casualties.

In five parts, two stories are told: one is by Eve, a young woman who has run off with her lover Dom to live at Les Genévriers, a dilapidated farmstead in the south of France; the other is Bénédicte Lincel, the previous owner of the property. Eve struggles to connect with Dom and learn about his previous relationship with ex-wife Rachel, something he insists on keeping to himself. Bénédicte begins her story when she is a child and goes all the way to old age, recounting the malevolent nature of her brother Pierre and at one point disclosing an event at Les Genévriers that has been a mystery to the public for decades.

Lawrenson takes more care with her beloved backdrop of Provence than with her characters. Many pages are used as a canvas for the author to paint a loving portrait of the lush surroundings, the reader smothered with exhaustive and lavish prose describing vegetation, climate, and lingering scents. Don't get me wrong - I love an author who can paint a picture with words, not to mention do it with a setting as romantic as Provence. But Lawrenson churns out an irksome surplus, making the book too long at 383 pages. The end result is a text that creates a consistent loss of focus. I kept thinking to myself whenever I came upon another passage describing smells, winds and such, "Oh, just get on with it already, would you?" Plot execution is so sluggish that the novel doesn't gain momentum until more than halfway in to the book. I read out of sheer tenacity to finish what I had started, determined to know everyone's secrets as well as how it all ends.

Once she did get the ball rolling I read in a frenzy, waiting for those secrets to hit me over the head and leave me reeling from their unveiling and eager to recommend the book to friends and family. Her conclusion was disappointing and I found myself connecting the dots towards the end, Lawrenson choosing not to execute any twists that may have taken me by surprise (I felt disappointed by that too). The final pages left me with one parting thought: "Is that all?" It was like coming to the table ready for a steak dinner and getting a couple of rice cakes instead - it satisfied my need to chew on something but it didn't have much flavor or sustenance.

Upon finishing, I felt the story was pointless, and I realized it was because the author had failed to make me care about the characters. Both of the female voices here are bland. The reader would probably not know the difference between the two if it wasn't for the supporting characters they mention while telling their own stories (and it's the only indicator - the voices switch every chapter). And speaking of chapters, they're very brief; they make it impossible for a reader to soak in one character's story before they're switched to the next, another frustrating aspect. I struggled to find the symbolism behind the book's title - perhaps Eve was Dom's "lantern" per se, letting him know that despite the weight of his terrible secret that she still wanted him and that he was "not alone in the dark".

I really wanted to love "The Lantern". The prologue's promise of dark secrets whet my appetite, as did its haunted house and ghost themes (which were inadequate in their execution). I wanted a glorious escape, a lush and suspenseful feast for the imagination. "The Lantern" is now a mere hors d'oeuvre for me in a banquet of literary fiction books. If copious description of setting and an excruciatingly slow-building plot are to your taste, then by all means partake. If you like several satisfying courses followed by a smashing dessert, then go with another cook. Lawrenson may be a skilled purveyor of prose, but the balance of flavors within "The Lantern" is too uneven for my palate.(less)

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Nov 20, 2012 Megan D. Neal rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: just-not-for-me, 2011, adult-fiction, available-at-my-library

I couldn't finish this one. The overblown "lushness" of the language just turned me off. I felt like the author was trying too hard to make each sentence a work of art, and by the end of it I had no idea what she said. The other thing that bothered me was the blatant similarity to Du Maurier's Rebecca. There were other things I found wrong, but I won't belabor the point.

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Nov 19, 2011 Kristin rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

Upset I wasted time reading this book...

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Aug 06, 2012 Maia B. rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: beach-reads, boring, nothing-special, mystery, horrible-ending, vile-characters, too-long

I dithered for a long time over what rating to give this book. On the one hand, I did finish it. On the other, it was jerky, tediously written, peopled with very dull characters, too long, practically plotless, and a blatant copy of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca.

So...I went with one star. (For the record, that means I didn't like it.)

We meet "Eve" (not her real name, as she says), she meets Dom, and they move to Provence. There's very little falling in love. There's very much skipping over of this...more

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Jun 27, 2011 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-mt-bookpile

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 exploring each other's pasts...more

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Jan 25, 2012 Kristine rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, historical, mystery, novel, realistic-fiction, own-it-and-have-read

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 and promotio...more

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May 30, 2012 Beth rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: dumped-books

Far to descriptive which was unnecessary. Gave up on this

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Sep 22, 2011 Michelle added it · review of another edition

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...more 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 it while surrounded by her own mysterious goings-on. It is a brilliant stroke of writing, to recognize the inevitable comparisons while not-so-subtly pointing out why the comparisons are not as accurate as one may initially perceive.

The Lantern is strong enough to stand on its own accolades, of which there are many. Told between the former mistress of Les Genevriers and its current mistress, Ms. Lawrenson deftly weaves the probable and improbable elements together. At its heart, however, is the larger than life Les Genevriers and the greater backdrop of Provence. The descriptions of the area alone are worth the read, as Ms. Lawrenson forces the reader to stop and smell the lavender as well as the roses. Provence comes alive under her descriptive narrative.

The strong writing makes up for the weaker elements of the story. Of the two narrators, Eve is definitely the weaker one, as she blusters her way into understanding the truth, falling prey to misdirection and her own inability to stick to her resolve. Her vacillating nature becomes fairly whiny towards the end of the novel, in direct contrast to Benedicte’s narration and strength of character. Unfortunately, Eve is given the louder voice of the two, and the reader must overcome any lack of sympathy towards her to get some resolution.

The Lantern is one novel that I feel would be better as an audio book than written, and reviews of the audiobook support my hypothesis. With the narrator switches every chapter, and only the most subtle of clues is given to help the reader with the switch, a reader can quickly lose track of who is speaking at any given time. The reader needs the verbal cues that accompany the audio performance, making it easier for the reader to follow along and discern which character is narrating. This would also help set the tone a bit more, as the reader can listen to the story instead of having to decipher who is speaking.

Still, The Lantern, in print, is the perfect read for this time of year. The weather is such a key element in setting the mood throughout the novel, and as the weather turns blustery throughout the United States, the reader will be drawn into the spookier elements of the story. Ms. Lawrenson excels at forcing the reader to guess the truth behind the hauntings; just when the reader thinks all is resolved, she throws another misdirection or clue into the story. The epilogue itself will leave the reader with goosebumps and a sense of appreciation for everything Ms. Lawrenson accomplished throughout the novel.

The Lantern is going to continue to be a highlight of the season because it is one of those novels that seemingly has it all - a gorgeous backdrop, shady characters with mysterious and unknown pasts, tragedy, and hauntings. While it isn’t quite as strong as the novel to which it is being compared the most, it is able to stand on its own thanks to the strength of Ms. Lawrenson’s writing and the beauty and charm of Provence that comes alive under her pen. This is the perfect read to help you get into an autumn frame of mind.

Acknowledgements: Thank you to Danielle Plafsky at Harper Books for my review copy!
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Aug 11, 2011 Angelina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, fiction, read-around-the-worl

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 initially. They are c...more

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Sep 10, 2011 Mari rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: net-galley

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 becomes obsessed w...more

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Sep 08, 2011 Heather Panella rated it 2 of 5 stars

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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May 02, 2013 Life Between Coffee Spoons rated it 2 of 5 stars

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 and promotio...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Sarah T. rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

This book was given to me by my boyfriend's mother. It's not the usual subject matter I go for (romance mixed with mystery wrapped up in a chick-lit type feel). Lawrenson's writing is beautiful and poetic, very flowery; however, I think she often went a bit overboard with her landscape descriptions. I understand why she went into as much detail as she did, as the setting played an important role in the plot, but it ended up being distracting. The story itself was intriguing, and she did a great...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Ricki Treleaven rated it 5 of 5 stars

This week, I read The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson. The story reminds me of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, but instead of a Cornish setting, The Lantern is set in Provence.

The Lantern is a feast for the senses. In her acknowledgements, Lawrenson said her idea for the story about a blind perfumer came from from the French cosmetic comapany L'Occitane en Provence. The company's products have strips of Braille on their packaging because in 1997, the company started a foundation, Provence Dans Tous l...more This week, I read The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson. The story reminds me of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, but instead of a Cornish setting, The Lantern is set in Provence.

The Lantern is a feast for the senses. In her acknowledgements, Lawrenson said her idea for the story about a blind perfumer came from from the French cosmetic comapany L'Occitane en Provence. The company's products have strips of Braille on their packaging because in 1997, the company started a foundation, Provence Dans Tous les Sens (All the Senses of Provence), to introduce children to perfume creation. The blind perfumer's storyline is one of two in the book. It is set before, during, and a few years after World War II. Marthe Lincel, the perfumer, is a secondary character to her sister, Benedicte, who tells the story of their family from her point of view.

Parallel to Marthe and Benedict's tale is Eve and Dom's love story, which is set in the present. Eve and Dom have bought Les Genevriers, an abandoned hamlet with a large house and several small cottages and out buildings. The hamlet is surrounded by the beauty of Provence, including lavender fields and orchards. Les Genevriers is also the Lincel's family home. The parallel gothic stories are creepy, and I appreciate how expertly Lawrenson weaves the plots together. Both plots build, and the suspense kept me completely engaged throughout the stories.

When Eve and Dom arrive at Les Genevriers, they are in love, happy and optimistic about pursuing their individual interests in their new home: Dom is interested in composing music, and Eve wants to collect and translate traditional Provencal folk tales into English. But as winter approaches, odd happenings and doubt haunts Eve. She realizes that she does not really know much about Dom, and she knows next to nothing about Dom's ex-wife, Rachel. Ghosts, missing college co-eds, several mysteries, and skeletons found in Les Genevriers' garden threaten their already fragile relationship. Eve begins to doubt Dom's actions and motivations because he will not open-up to her; he is evasive, secretive, and distracted. Before there is any hope for a future together, they must reconcile the past.

I enjoyed The Lantern, and could hardly put it down. The hype surrounding this book is warranted, and Lawrenson's gorgeous descriptions of Provence will take your breath away.
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Feb 22, 2013 Hannah Fielding rated it 4 of 5 stars

Set in a crumbling farm house in Provence, France, The Lantern tells the story of the residents of two house. The present occupants, Eve and Dom, have purchased their house after a whirlwind romance, but Dom is a man with a hidden past. The previous occupants from the 1930/40s – three siblings; Benedicte, Marthe and Pierre – also have a turbulent story to tell.

Over the course of the book many secrets are revealed with devastating consequences. The novel starts and ends with a love story which is...more Set in a crumbling farm house in Provence, France, The Lantern tells the story of the residents of two house. The present occupants, Eve and Dom, have purchased their house after a whirlwind romance, but Dom is a man with a hidden past. The previous occupants from the 1930/40s – three siblings; Benedicte, Marthe and Pierre – also have a turbulent story to tell.

Over the course of the book many secrets are revealed with devastating consequences. The novel starts and ends with a love story which is intertwined with grief and guilt and mystery, lies and deceit. The author has a wonderful way of controlling the atmosphere – swinging between heavenly, sensuous and uplifting descriptions of the tastes, scents and stunning sights of southern France that meander and inspire, and dark, evocative and intriguing descriptions of blindness, insanity, depression and despair that create a page-turning plot.

Written from the points of view of Eve and Benedicte, their individual stories illustrate how their lives and the past intertwine. Benedicte describes the story of her life through a series of reflections in her old age, triggered by visions of people from her past, such as her blind sister who was a master perfumer and her malevolent and troubled brother. Eve’s story is about her search for answers to Dom’s dark moods and why he is withdrawing from her: what is he hiding and why won’t he speak about his ex-wife? She also describes the mysterious goings-on in the house, the strange shadows and flickering lights and scents and perfumes that appear to have no source.

Some of the most interesting descriptions in this book come from the link to perfume and lavender, scents which almost lift up from the page and embrace you. In fact, because of Benedicte’s sister’s blindness and profession, smell is a very important part of this book:

… I was becoming ever more alert to the sensuous power of smell. They say that the loss of one of the senses makes the others more acute. I’d go further: it makes the sense of the people around them grow more intense, too. Not only was I smelling in the way she taught me, but I was seeing, really seeing, details on her behalf that I might never have noticed otherwise. Like an atmosphere, like a taste, it is felt and experienced, and then it is gone. You can’t record it like music or conversation or a picture. You have to smell it again, and remember.
Benedicte also gives an interesting account of her time working on a lavender farm and the medicine and perfumes made with it.

Two characters in the book are writers, and I very much enjoyed references to this which spoke to the writer in me, such as:

Where lies the line between books and life, fact or fiction? Of seeing and being seen? It was only now, when events were unfolding, that I recognized, from books rather than experience, that I truly appreciated the boundaries between reality and art.

This book is a really interesting read, with stunning descriptions and so much going on. It reminds you that people are often not as they first seem and that being able to trust another is so important.

Deborah Lawrenson does an amazing job at keeping you guessing until the very end at how these two stories and the lives of these characters are going to resolve. I really identified with the two main characters, Eve and Benedicte, and was shocked by the events that unfolded as other characters revealed their true selves. But despite the turmoil and heartache, I was left satisfied by the happy ending for Eve.

A brilliant book that I struggled to put down. Just thinking about brings forth the smell of lavender…(less)

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Feb 21, 2013 Ryan Murdock rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson is set in a mysterious old farmhouse in Provence, France. And that location permeates every page, the way the sun soaks through the olive leaves and lavender fields of the south.

Rather than try to sum up the book, I’ve copied and pasted the Amazon outline to get you up to speed so we can talk substance:

[QUOTE[ Set in the lush countryside of Provence, Deborah Lawrenson’s The Lantern is an atmospheric modern gothic tale of love, suspicion, and murder, in the tradi...more The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson is set in a mysterious old farmhouse in Provence, France. And that location permeates every page, the way the sun soaks through the olive leaves and lavender fields of the south.

Rather than try to sum up the book, I’ve copied and pasted the Amazon outline to get you up to speed so we can talk substance:

[QUOTE[ Set in the lush countryside of Provence, Deborah Lawrenson’s The Lantern is an atmospheric modern gothic tale of love, suspicion, and murder, in the tradition of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. Drawn to a wealthy older man, Eve embarks on a whirlwind romance that soon offers a new life and a new home—Les Genévriers, a charming hamlet amid the fragrant lavender fields of Provence. But Eve finds it impossible to ignore the mysteries that haunt both her lover and the run-down old house. The more reluctant Dom is to tell her about his past, the more she is drawn to it—and to the mysterious disappearance of his beautiful ex-wife. An evocative tale of romantic and psychological suspense, The Lantern masterfully melds past and present, secrets and lies, appearances and disappearances—along with our age-old fear of the dark.

But as Lawrenson writes on the back cover endnotes, “Ultimately, though, The Lantern is a novel about the unquiet life of old houses.” And for me that sums up the essence of this book.

The narrative plays out in two parallel stories that alternate chapter by chapter, eventually converging at the end of the book. It’s perfectly paced, and each chapter left me helpless to resist turning the page to see what happens next. I ditched out on work, evaded my responsibilities and put off sleep just to read a couple more sections. And by some strange coincidence, my wine and olive consumption increased by quite a lot...

Lawrenson’s richly layered descriptions of the land, the seasons, the herbs and plants — and even the musty old rooms — are beautifully lush, but never cloying. She draws on every sense to bring those dead still summer days to life. And I was right there with Eve and Dom in winter too, shivering with cold as the mistral shook the shutters and tugged at the roof tiles.

And even beyond the engaging plot, the compelling characters and painterly descriptions, you find a wonderful collection of insights, the kind that make me dog ear a page and pull out my reader’s notebook:

“I sometimes wonder how much of our life is rooted in the imagination, in the stories we tell ourselves and others in order to make sense of what has happened along the way.”

How much of your personal narrative is true, and how much a “self-protective coating” to help you cope with your past? “Everyone has them,” Lawrenson writes, “not only the people who have survived terrible families, though clearly they will have a larger canon than most.”

This is a beautifully written book, with not a stone out of place.

I became a fan of Deborah Lawrenson’s work with Songs of Blue and Gold, in which she drew her inspiration from the life of Lawrence Durrell and his time in Corfu. The Lantern sees her in top form, weaving an even tighter tale this time around.

I couldn’t put it down. Get yourself a copy today. (less)

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Feb 19, 2013 Katherine Jones rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Lantern, the latest offering by journalist-cum-novelist Deborah Lawrenson appeared on several must-read lists in the past year or so. Lawrenson spent her childhood in Kuwait, China, Belgium, Luxembourg and Singapore before settling in England, where she studied and worked as a journalist. She now divides her time between Kent, England, and a hamlet in Provence, which provides the sensual setting for The Lantern.

While traveling in Switzerland, Eve falls for the enigmatic Dom. She allows him t...more

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Nov 06, 2012 Catherine Ryan Howard rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm in the south of France at the moment, not exactly in the lavender fields but close enough to have this be the perfect read for me. But while it has left me craving a little "mas" (traditional Provencal house) to call my own, it's also left me a little disappointed.

The Lantern follows two storylines: that of Eve and Dom, and of the previous occupants of their house who lived there some decades before. In the present day storyline it's an updated Rebecca, and if I was reviewing the book on ju...more

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Oct 29, 2012 Diane rated it 2 of 5 stars

This Gothic novel is set in contemporary Provence, with a woman and her much older husband, who harbors dark secrets from his past. It alternates between this story and another story that took place in the same house 50 years earlier, about three siblings (one of whom is blind) who live in the house at the time when economic changes are ruining the family financially. The book is supposed to be inspired by Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca," a book I enjoyed very much. All in all, it sounded like a g...more

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Jul 14, 2012 Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars

OK, so some things I'll tell you upfront that I didn't like are the long winded-ness of some areas. I bet I could cut out a 1/3 of that book and still feel like I got the entire story. I appreciate character development and scene setting but sometimes... enough is enough. I get how the trees were and the horizon and how they are together.. etc. When it doesn't add something specifically to the story I feel like it should be taken out. I also felt like all of the added fluff made it a little more...more

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Jul 08, 2012 Beverly Diehl rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-womens-fiction, horror-gothic, romance, reincarnation-ghosts

This was the most amazingly sensual novel I have ever read. Sometimes purple prose has its place:

It was one of those days so intensely alive and aromatic, you could hear as well as smell the fig tree in the courtyard. Wasps hummed in the leaves as the fruit ripened and split; globes of warm, dark purple were dropping, ripping open as they landed with sodden gasps.

There are two concurrent storylines: that of Bénédicte Lincel and her sister Marthe, former owners of Les Genévriers, from the past, a...more

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May 21, 2012 Gwyneth Stewart rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Romance, mystery, ghosts, Daphne duMaurier and Provence. What more could one want?
I admit I picked up this book because of the cover, the rows of lavender leading up to the old stone building. When I saw that it was a mystery/ghost story based on Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca, I had to read it.
The story begins much as Rebecca does, with a young, lonely, somewhat naive woman meeting an older man who is sophisticated and mysterious and somewhat tragic. But instead of heading back to his English estat...more

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May 09, 2012 K rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, suspense

Gothic ghost story meets Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca in this wonderful novel that spans several decades. There is also a blend of the “who can you trust” and “who he really is” that is seen in other great books (I am thinking of my recent review of the debut English novel Before I Go To Sleep).

An unnamed “spirit” introduces the book as she observes two unknown people in her home. The home is an old decrepit farmhouse named Les Genevriers in Provence France. Eve and Dom met and fell in love while...more Gothic ghost story meets Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca in this wonderful novel that spans several decades. There is also a blend of the “who can you trust” and “who he really is” that is seen in other great books (I am thinking of my recent review of the debut English novel Before I Go To Sleep).

An unnamed “spirit” introduces the book as she observes two unknown people in her home. The home is an old decrepit farmhouse named Les Genevriers in Provence France. Eve and Dom met and fell in love while traveling in Switzerland and returned to their lives in England but their commitment didn’t include a marriage. Eve had a bad relationship that had ended and Dom had a former wife named Rachel of whom he refuses to discuss. Independently wealthy from the sale of his company Dom can do anything he wishes. So when Dom announces he is moving to Provence France Eve decides to give up her freelance translation jobs and go with him. Both fall in love with Les Genevriers and Dom quickly buys it.

Les Genevriers is isolated on a hill near a small French town. It had been left alone and forgotten for many years since the death of Benedicte Lincel, the last member of the Lincel family that had owned and farmed the area for generations. Through Benedicte’s “diary” we slowly learn about the farmhouse’s family when life meant hard work and self-sufficient living. We meet Benedicte when she is a child with Marthe and Pierre as her siblings. Marthe loses her sight early in her life and is sent away to a school for the blind when she is of age. Pierre is a mean-spirited and troubled boy who Benedicte fears. As the industrial age and World War intrudes on the family their lives begin to change. Tenants who have helped make the farm workable leave for better jobs and lives in the cities. Pierre quickly leaves and severs all connections with the family. Later Benedicte’s despondent father shoots himself in the kitchen leaving just Benedicte and her mother to cope with the farm. Marthe becomes a well-known perfume maker with her very sensitive nose.

Eve and Dom settle into current day ramshackle Les Genevriers not really knowing it’s past. At first all is idyllic and plans are made to slowly rebuild the farmhouse. But as they explore the vast building and outbuildings they begin to find secret rooms and items hidden and forgotten from the past. Eve begins to wonder about the home when she suddenly smells mysterious scents wafting through the rooms and senses she is not alone at times even with Dom away.

Then at a neighbor’s party a stranger, Sabine, mentions to Eve of having met Dom and his ex-wife Rachel in this same village at an earlier time even though Dom denies knowing her or having been in the area before. When Eve pressures Dom to tell her more about Rachel Dom vehemently refuses to talk and begins to pull away from Eve. When ghostly lanterns start to show up on the paths outside the home and bones are found under an old swimming pool that is being torn out Eve begins to become obsessed with Dom’s previous life and his ex-wife Rachel who seems to have disappeared.

Slowly the two stories come together. The suspense is almost terrifying at times as Benedicte’s tale slowly unfolds, including the sudden disappearance of Marthe and the reappearance of Pierre, and Eve’s doubts about Dom and her suspicions of her new “friend” Sabine who keeps pushing Eve to research Rachel’s past life in France.

English author Lawrenson does a wonderful job of building the two stories and slowly linking them together. Her prose is gentle and lyrical so you almost feel as if you are in Provence of the past as the lavender fields become so important to the perfume industry while the life of the self-sufficient farm families begin to disappear. And when Lawrenson describes Eve’s leisure life with books, music and food at Les Genevriers you can almost feel the breezes flowing through the farmhouse and smell the flowers as they run rampant in the yard. But there is always that small bit of suspicion that something is just not right …

Deborah Lawrenson has published other novels but The Lantern is the first United States book. While based in Kent England she also spends time in “a crumbling hamlet” in Provence. It should be interesting to see if her previous books follow The Lantern over to the United States in the near future.

Recommended reading for those who like romantic suspense, gothic haunting and supernatural events, stories of Provence France and historical mysteries. Those who liked Before I Go to Sleep, Distant Hours, or Rebecca would like this book.

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topics	posts	views	last activity
A new mystery gen...: Les GenEvriers, a house in the South of France: dark old house?.	3	8	May 14, 2013 05:56am
A Novel Idea Book...: Comments from 12/13/12 Discussion	1	4	Dec 14, 2012 09:20am
A Novel Idea Book...: The Lantern landscape short film	1	2	Dec 11, 2012 05:46pm
A Novel Idea Book...: ‘The Lantern’: Shades of Daphne du Maurier and Hitchcock	1	4	Dec 04, 2012 01:48pm
A Novel Idea Book...: Reading is Fashionable Deborah Lawrenson Interview	1	1	Dec 04, 2012 01:47pm
A Novel Idea Book...: * Discussion questions for The Lantern	3	6	Nov 14, 2012 12:05pm
A Novel Idea Book...: Here's what the Washington Post has to say about The Lantern	1	2	Nov 13, 2012 06:45pm

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