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101st out of 305 books
—
483 voters
Sleep, Pale Sister
Before the sweet delight of Chocolat, before the heady concoction that is Blackberry Wine, and before the tart pleasures of Five Quarters of the Orange, bestselling author Joanne Harris wrote Sleep, Pale Sister -- a gothic tourde-force that recalls the powerfully dark sensibility of her novel Holy Fools.
Originally published in 1994 -- and never before available in the Unit...more
Originally published in 1994 -- and never before available in the Unit...more
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
August 30th 2005
by William Morrow Paperbacks
(first published 1994)
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This was actually the first of Joanne Harris' books that I've read, which strikes me as odd since I consider myself a fan. But I realized that that "fan" status is based solely on the viewing of the movie Chocolat (Johnny Depp, Juliette Binoche) because the story was so wonderful. But that, of course, is absurd, because movies and their books are rarely more than representative of one another.
Having said that, I had high hopes that stayed with me through about the first half of this book, at whi...more
Having said that, I had high hopes that stayed with me through about the first half of this book, at whi...more
Nov 03, 2011
Tocotin
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
my-own-books
Bought this book because the title sounded intriguing, and there was a promise of some of the story being set in a brothel. The beginning was really good, but then it became more and more predictable, then mystical in a very cheap way, and then simply boring. At one point I started to wonder if and how anything was going to happen, because the story seemed to be so close to the end, and there were still over 100 pages remaining.
It tried very hard to be a VERY Gothic novel (the word "Gothic" was...more
It tried very hard to be a VERY Gothic novel (the word "Gothic" was...more
One of Joanne's first and 'lost' books which entices, shocks and lulls you into it's gripping clutches.
Told in the different voices of the main characters we unravel the story of Henry Chester who has dark hidden secrets and his lovely, young wife Effie as they become seduced by dark shadowy characters and drugs into a world of blackmail and intrigue.
Madness plays a big part in this novel, whether it has its roots in drugs, temperament, grief, lust or superstition but we definately see a spiral...more
Told in the different voices of the main characters we unravel the story of Henry Chester who has dark hidden secrets and his lovely, young wife Effie as they become seduced by dark shadowy characters and drugs into a world of blackmail and intrigue.
Madness plays a big part in this novel, whether it has its roots in drugs, temperament, grief, lust or superstition but we definately see a spiral...more
Joanne Harris, you never fail to mesmerize me.
Just a little before reading this, I read Gentlemen and Players, and it instantly proved to me the beauty and genius of her writing. She has a true talent of capturing ones mind, twisting ones heart, and using her word-play to prove her skill and delicacy. I just realized how annoying and sappy that sounded...
Simply put, she has made her way into a position as one of my favorite writers, capable of the gothic and the whimsicle, and one of the most t...more
Just a little before reading this, I read Gentlemen and Players, and it instantly proved to me the beauty and genius of her writing. She has a true talent of capturing ones mind, twisting ones heart, and using her word-play to prove her skill and delicacy. I just realized how annoying and sappy that sounded...
Simply put, she has made her way into a position as one of my favorite writers, capable of the gothic and the whimsicle, and one of the most t...more
Sleep, pale sister is Joanne Harris' second novel and written before her success. It's nothing like Harris later books. Totally different, even thou some of Harris "standard things" such as chocolate and gypsies and dark pasts appear. "A hauntingly evocative laudanum-dream of a novel" it stands on the cover. That's quite right. I would indeed call the novel mad. All the persons in it are mad, crazy. Haunted by their pasts. The novel is also very confusing since there are four different Is who te...more
This book is rather reminiscent of the sensation novels written by Mary Elizabeth Braddon and Wilkie Collins in the latter half of the 19th Century, though the subject matter of Sleep, Pale Sister is much more risqué than any of those works published back then. It’s a sort of twist on the Gothic ghost story and the madwoman in the attic theme, interlaced with a mystical Middle Eastern flavor.
I loved that the book is told through a split narrative. Each voice is so different, adding various laye...more
I loved that the book is told through a split narrative. Each voice is so different, adding various laye...more
I have read this book several times (I should probably just buy it for all the times I go to the library for it) and every time I notice something different. The first time I read it, I didn't really understand the storyline, because it requires you to pay close attention to details and everyone's history--not too difficult, in the long run.
The characters were just so different and interesting that I couldn't help but get sucked in by this book. Effie is so weak physically but she is spiritually...more
The characters were just so different and interesting that I couldn't help but get sucked in by this book. Effie is so weak physically but she is spiritually...more
A reproduced edition, this was actually first written before the author achieved any real recognition, and you can tell this as the whole novel reads as if it's some sort of practise run, almost as if Harris is dipping her toes in the water to see what sort of response she'll get.
Dark, very dark, Sleep, Pale Sister is set in Victorian London, the story being told by 4 different narrators - Henry, Effie, Mose and, Fanny, all of them weak and not one of them particularly likable characters, I espe...more
Dark, very dark, Sleep, Pale Sister is set in Victorian London, the story being told by 4 different narrators - Henry, Effie, Mose and, Fanny, all of them weak and not one of them particularly likable characters, I espe...more
An elderly artist paints a young girl-child and falls in love with his impression of her, as a sweet creature who can only be totally obedient. A rake sees her, at which time she discovers passion in having her affair with him. Then, she starts developing an alter ego, which leads to tragic consequences.
None of the main characters were "nice," in any way. They were all deeply flawed, making me sympathize with them, pity them, and hate them.
The story jumps from one point of view to the next, with...more
None of the main characters were "nice," in any way. They were all deeply flawed, making me sympathize with them, pity them, and hate them.
The story jumps from one point of view to the next, with...more
Atmosfera gotica e onirica, poeti e pittori preraffaelliti, passione per donne-bambine, una pizzico di perversione che non guasta mai e abbondanti dosi di laudano...questa è la ricetta del libro della Harris, che personalmente non ho trovato così ben riuscita.
Ogni capitolo racconta la storia dal punto di vista di uno dei personaggi principali, come se fosse il loro diario, ma questa tecnica che di solito è abbastanza azzeccata in questo caso porta solo smarrimento nel lettore.
La parte iniziale...more
Ogni capitolo racconta la storia dal punto di vista di uno dei personaggi principali, come se fosse il loro diario, ma questa tecnica che di solito è abbastanza azzeccata in questo caso porta solo smarrimento nel lettore.
La parte iniziale...more
This book fit squarely into my super-love category. Mysterious, sensual, provocative, magical. On the cover a reviewer calls this book "a hauntingly evocative laudanum-dream of a novel" and I must say I agree completely. I have not read any of Ms. Harris's other books and I hesitate to, because this book seems to be a departure from her other type of work...and since I LOVE this book I imagine her other work might not work for me as well. But who knows? I might pick up Blackberry Wine.
But I dig...more
But I dig...more
Jan 17, 2010
Nikki
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction-alternatehistory
Joanne Harris' second novel probably could have done with more editing before it was re-released, it's true. At first glance it's quite different to her other writing, but slowly you can see themes in it that come up over and over again in her writing. Slowly it becomes more and more creepy and mystical and strange, from something that was more like realism. Creepy both in the supernatural sense and in the creepy pervert sense, really.
The writing is pretty compelling, just like her other writing...more
The writing is pretty compelling, just like her other writing...more
From what I've read of other reviews, every one dislikes this book. I have the opposite opinion. I love this book. I love the darkness of it and the intregue. There is that taste of the Victorian morbid love of death and disception. I love that time period in the art and the clothing, so this book was right up my alley, literally. True that this book is not like her others which are more full of life, love, and intertwined history with her other books of fiction. This one contains more of a goth...more
Sleep, Pale Sister / 9780061843181
"Sleep, Pale Sister" grabs you from the first page and never lets go. As you are dragged through the lives of a pale victim and her three persecutors, you are shown by turns the motivations and inner thoughts of her tormentors, by the compelling switches between narrative viewpoint. This is one of the hardest tricks to pull off in novels, yet Harris manages to make it look effortless. Each tormentor addresses themselves to us, explains their motives and urges th...more
"Sleep, Pale Sister" grabs you from the first page and never lets go. As you are dragged through the lives of a pale victim and her three persecutors, you are shown by turns the motivations and inner thoughts of her tormentors, by the compelling switches between narrative viewpoint. This is one of the hardest tricks to pull off in novels, yet Harris manages to make it look effortless. Each tormentor addresses themselves to us, explains their motives and urges th...more
A darkly gothic tale indeed, engaging and provocative in parts if certainly not without its flaws. Those flaws mainly comprising of two and, when the book gets one of those right it seems to go awry with the other. The constant switching of narrators between the four main characters can create a rather dislocating experience and make it difficult to really connect with any of them. Then, particularly with the unnecessarily drawn out ending, when it does linger on any one voice for long enough it...more
Very bstrange book - but I couldn't seem to put it down. You just have to see what is going to happen!
Originally published in 1994 -- and never before available in the United States -- Sleep, Pale Sister is a hypnotically atmospheric story set in nineteenth century London. When puritanical artist Henry Chester sees delicate child beauty Effie, he makes her his favorite model and, before long, his bride. But Henry, volatile and repressed, is in love with an ideal. Passive, docile, and asexual, th...more
Originally published in 1994 -- and never before available in the United States -- Sleep, Pale Sister is a hypnotically atmospheric story set in nineteenth century London. When puritanical artist Henry Chester sees delicate child beauty Effie, he makes her his favorite model and, before long, his bride. But Henry, volatile and repressed, is in love with an ideal. Passive, docile, and asexual, th...more
Oh god, this was awful. This was so, so awful. To all other fans of Joanne Harris's later work (she's best known as the author of Chocolat; this was her second book, after which she took a long baby-raising break): do not read this book. This is like seeing the "before" shot of a plastic surgery triumph. This is like going in the back storeroom of a high-end fashion brand and seeing all the clothes wrinkled in cheap plastic wraps, poorly presented and stuffed into industrial cardboard boxes. Thi...more
I'm generally not into gothic stories, but wanted to read another book by the author of "Chocolat" and I do enjoy historical fiction. This novel takes place in 19th century London. It is a story of an artist, Henry Chester, who becomes obsessed with painting a young girl. He later marries her although older, and she has an affair with another artist. The characters are all flawed and rather unlikeable. It was difficult at times to tell which character was doing the talking at the start of each c...more
I just finished reading two other Joanne Harris books, so I decided to read this one. To be brutally honest, the story was really bizarre and I'm not entirely sure I understand what happened.
What's the book about? Well, just take a middle aged artist who's also a pedophile, his slightly creepy, very thin, very young, drug addict wife, a brothel owner, one of its' patrons and a girl that died twenty years ago, add in a little witchcraft and a death scene befitting Romeo and Juliet and there you...more
What's the book about? Well, just take a middle aged artist who's also a pedophile, his slightly creepy, very thin, very young, drug addict wife, a brothel owner, one of its' patrons and a girl that died twenty years ago, add in a little witchcraft and a death scene befitting Romeo and Juliet and there you...more
I didn't finish this book. It was well written and certainly followed the Victorian theme of a twisted desire for morality and the male suppression of delicate females through encouraging an overdependence on laudanum. The supernatural effects were a bit much for me, as was spending too much time inside the mind of a child molester. If I had liked any of the four main characters better, I might have persisted. Instead, it was a relief to get away from them and flee their twisted world. I hate to...more
I am reading this book using Audible.com it is beautifully written and the reader is fantastic - he is Stephen Pacey and I do like his voice. The story is excellent with the usual Joanne Harris hint of magic.
The story starts with Henry Chester who is a very victorian puritanical artist looking for a model for his very twee portraits. He spots Effie who is nine years old in the park and soon he is painting numerous pictures of this very innocent looking girl. Eventually he marries her she is 17 a...more
The story starts with Henry Chester who is a very victorian puritanical artist looking for a model for his very twee portraits. He spots Effie who is nine years old in the park and soon he is painting numerous pictures of this very innocent looking girl. Eventually he marries her she is 17 a...more
Decisamente surreale, mi ha lasciato in alcune parti senza parole e senza la forza di riuscire a staccare gli occhi dalle pagine,che scorrevano veloci sotto il mio sguardo...
Ad un certo punto non si riusciva più a capire se c'era una separazione tra il reale e il surreale....
I personaggi descritti in maniera impeccabile...ho odiato henry dalle prime pagine in cui è apparso, mentre il modo in cui é stato descritto Mose mi é piaciuto... Ricco di sfumature e di "vite"
Bella anche l'ambientazione nel...more
Ad un certo punto non si riusciva più a capire se c'era una separazione tra il reale e il surreale....
I personaggi descritti in maniera impeccabile...ho odiato henry dalle prime pagine in cui è apparso, mentre il modo in cui é stato descritto Mose mi é piaciuto... Ricco di sfumature e di "vite"
Bella anche l'ambientazione nel...more
I enjoyed reading this gothic, ghostly story. The author has a gift for description so the book really drew me in and I read it quickly.
The story is about, well how to say this without giving the story away, it concerns a painter and a young woman that he becomes obsessed with. The painter isn't quite normal, the young woman is charmed and later alarmed as the painter shows himself to be a pretty twisted individual. Then we get involved with another man, a con artist kind of guy, and also a Mad...more
The story is about, well how to say this without giving the story away, it concerns a painter and a young woman that he becomes obsessed with. The painter isn't quite normal, the young woman is charmed and later alarmed as the painter shows himself to be a pretty twisted individual. Then we get involved with another man, a con artist kind of guy, and also a Mad...more
'Sleep, Pale Sister' is one of Joanne Harris's earliest novels and due to popular demand was re~released and when you read it, you will find out why. Sleep, Pale Sister tells the story of Effie and the men in her life who set out to hurt in the cruelest manner possible. Effie finds a way to have her revenge in this dark novel. The chapters are told from the perspective of each separate characters which makes the story more interesting, you find out more about their pasts, the people they are.
A...more
A...more
Nonostante la pubblicazione in Italia sia avvenuta solo nel 2005, in realtà Il fante di cuori e la dama di picche (titolo originale: Sleep, pale sister) è uno dei primissimi romanzi di Joanne Harris, pubblicato nel lontano 1993 quando ancora le sue ambientazioni ricorrevano in un'Inghilterra gotica e spettrale.
Tuttavia già si scopre, anche in un romanzo così diverso rispetto a quelli a cui la Harris ci ha abiutati da Choloat, la particolare magia che l'autrice sa infondere nelle sue parole e nel...more
Sleep, Pale Sister was originally published in 1994 and was republished after Joanne Harris became popular with Chocolat. I haven't read Chocolat yet, but I am definitely her fan after finishing Sleep, Pale Sister. The novel is enrapturing in its prose, and the writing really does read like poetry throughout the book. The story is at once beautiful and sad, and I found myself hypnotized by Harris' world of drugs, lust, and betrayal. You don't have to like the characters to appreciate the writing...more
Sleep, Pale Sister / 0-06-078711-2
"Sleep, Pale Sister" grabs you from the first page and never lets go. As you are dragged through the lives of a pale victim and her three persecutors, you are shown by turns the motivations and inner thoughts of her tormentors, by the compelling switches between narrative viewpoint. This is one of the hardest tricks to pull off in novels, yet Harris manages to make it look effortless. Each tormentor addresses themselves to us, explains their motives and urges th...more
"Sleep, Pale Sister" grabs you from the first page and never lets go. As you are dragged through the lives of a pale victim and her three persecutors, you are shown by turns the motivations and inner thoughts of her tormentors, by the compelling switches between narrative viewpoint. This is one of the hardest tricks to pull off in novels, yet Harris manages to make it look effortless. Each tormentor addresses themselves to us, explains their motives and urges th...more
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I probably would have given this closer to 3 is I could give points. Probably a 3.8. I felt silly reading this book. I have never done drugs so I don't truly know what it feels like but I felt like I did while I was reading this. I enjoying this while I was reading it. Not a read in a few hours kind of like. But I found that when I finished it I didn't really like it. So I guess I would call this a good in the moment book. Not super memorable. I will probably forget that I read this is a few mon...more
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Joanne Harris was born in Barnsley in 1964, of a French mother and an English father. She studied Modern and Mediaeval Languages at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge and was a teacher for fifteen years, during which time she published three novels; The Evil Seed (1989), Sle...more
More about Joanne Harris...
Joanne Harris was born in Barnsley in 1964, of a French mother and an English father. She studied Modern and Mediaeval Languages at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge and was a teacher for fifteen years, during which time she published three novels; The Evil Seed (1989), Sle...more
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