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Maligna
Alice e Joe têm em comum a paixão pela arte - ela é pintora e ele é músico - e, em tempos, estiveram também unidos pelo amor que sentiam um pelo outro. As suas vidas seguiram diferentes rumos, mas o reencontro é inevitável. Joe tem agora uma nova namorada, Ginny, que provoca em Alice uma intensa perturbação. A beleza etérea e singular de Ginny repele-a, e o seu sinistro grupo de amigos atemoriza-a.
Os hábitos estranhos da jovem deixam Alice suficientemente inquieta para levar a cabo uma investigação por conta própria. E o que descobre vai mudar tudo. Ginny tem em seu poder um velho diário que conta a trágica história de amor de Daniel Holmes e Rosemary Virginia Ashley, cujo poder de sedução não conhece limites. Só que Rosemary morreu há meio século… mas o seu magnetismo não está certamente extinto.
À medida que as histórias se entrelaçam, passado e presente fundemse; Alice apercebe-se de que o seu ódio instintivo em relação à nova namorada de Joe pode não se dever apenas ao ciúme, já que algo em Ginny a arrasta irremediavelmente para um universo de insondável obsessão, vingança, sedução e sangue…
Os hábitos estranhos da jovem deixam Alice suficientemente inquieta para levar a cabo uma investigação por conta própria. E o que descobre vai mudar tudo. Ginny tem em seu poder um velho diário que conta a trágica história de amor de Daniel Holmes e Rosemary Virginia Ashley, cujo poder de sedução não conhece limites. Só que Rosemary morreu há meio século… mas o seu magnetismo não está certamente extinto.
À medida que as histórias se entrelaçam, passado e presente fundemse; Alice apercebe-se de que o seu ódio instintivo em relação à nova namorada de Joe pode não se dever apenas ao ciúme, já que algo em Ginny a arrasta irremediavelmente para um universo de insondável obsessão, vingança, sedução e sangue…
340 pages, Capa Mole
First published January 1, 1992
79 people are currently reading
1405 people want to read
About the author
Joanne Harris
124 books6,272 followersJoanne Harris is also known as Joanne M. Harris
Joanne Harris is an Anglo-French author, whose books include fourteen novels, two cookbooks and many short stories. Her work is extremely diverse, covering aspects of magic realism, suspense, historical fiction, mythology and fantasy. She has also written a DR WHO novella for the BBC, has scripted guest episodes for the game ZOMBIES, RUN!, and is currently engaged in a number of musical theatre projects as well as developing an original drama for television.
In 2000, her 1999 novel CHOCOLAT was adapted to the screen, starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. She is an honorary Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and in 2022 was awarded an OBE by the Queen.
Her hobbies are listed in Who's Who as 'mooching, lounging, strutting, strumming, priest-baiting and quiet subversion'. She also spends too much time on Twitter; plays flute and bass guitar in a band first formed when she was 16; and works from a shed in her garden at her home in Yorkshire.
Joanne Harris is an Anglo-French author, whose books include fourteen novels, two cookbooks and many short stories. Her work is extremely diverse, covering aspects of magic realism, suspense, historical fiction, mythology and fantasy. She has also written a DR WHO novella for the BBC, has scripted guest episodes for the game ZOMBIES, RUN!, and is currently engaged in a number of musical theatre projects as well as developing an original drama for television.
In 2000, her 1999 novel CHOCOLAT was adapted to the screen, starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. She is an honorary Fellow of St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and in 2022 was awarded an OBE by the Queen.
Her hobbies are listed in Who's Who as 'mooching, lounging, strutting, strumming, priest-baiting and quiet subversion'. She also spends too much time on Twitter; plays flute and bass guitar in a band first formed when she was 16; and works from a shed in her garden at her home in Yorkshire.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 235 reviews
June 29, 2014
I have been wanting to read Joanne Harris's first book for a very long time. Now I got the chance and I'm afraid it wasn't the best experience ever.
I found the story a bit confusing towards the end, and that was a disappointment because the whole action was all jumbled. I got the idea of what happened, but I am afraid that I may have lost something in the confusion of narrators' voices. I couldn't understand if it was Daniel's voice or the omniscient narrator's voice from Alice's parts that was being used.
This messy ending ruined the story for me. I won't say that I was finding it a great story, but it was dark and entertaining enough to keep me going. Then, that end, confusing as it was, made this story a complete letdown.
On the positive side, however, it was a relief to read a story in which vampires are vicious, cruel, with a lust for blood. Fortunately, there are no vampires falling in love with a human being in this book.
I found the story a bit confusing towards the end, and that was a disappointment because the whole action was all jumbled. I got the idea of what happened, but I am afraid that I may have lost something in the confusion of narrators' voices. I couldn't understand if it was Daniel's voice or the omniscient narrator's voice from Alice's parts that was being used.
This messy ending ruined the story for me. I won't say that I was finding it a great story, but it was dark and entertaining enough to keep me going. Then, that end, confusing as it was, made this story a complete letdown.
On the positive side, however, it was a relief to read a story in which vampires are vicious, cruel, with a lust for blood. Fortunately, there are no vampires falling in love with a human being in this book.
August 7, 2014
Split between the 1940s and a modern narrative (1980s/90s?), The Evil Seed tells of the havoc wreaked in the lives of two sets of characters by a beautiful and ruthless 'nightwalker'. (Basically a vampire, although this kind doesn't conform to many of the popular myths, eg being unable to venture out in daylight.) In 1948, Cambridge scholar Daniel Holmes rescues a girl called Rosemary from drowning; he falls madly in love, only for her to start a relationship with his best friend. His story, charting a gradual descent into obsession and madness, is written as a journal. In the modern narrative, also set in Cambridge, an artist named Alice is disconcerted when her ex-boyfriend Joe asks her to offer a spare room to his strange new girlfriend, the ethereal Ginny.
The Evil Seed was Joanne Harris's first novel, reissued after her success with Chocolat etc, and the author's foreword suggests she is now somewhat embarrassed by it. It's easy to see why: it is frequently amateurish and the style doesn't seem to have much in common with her later work (although, only having read two other books by Harris, I'm not an expert). Many of the events stretch the limits of plausibility, to say the least - I'm not talking about the vampire stuff, but things like Joe expecting Alice to let Ginny stay in her house (who would ever do this?!), and Joe seeming completely unfazed at the idea that Ginny might be a heroin addict, as if such a thing is no big deal. The characters' emotions are all over the place and they often contradict themselves several times during the course of a few pages.
That said, I still enjoyed this. It's atmospheric, compelling and fun, and although I would have preferred a more subtle approach (it definitely descends into horror towards the end), there's enough gothic intrigue to keep it genuinely interesting. I don't think I can really say that I would recommend it, but I never wanted to give up on it, and I don't regret reading it either. I wanted it to distract me from certain things I don't want to think about at the moment, and it did its job rather well.
The Evil Seed was Joanne Harris's first novel, reissued after her success with Chocolat etc, and the author's foreword suggests she is now somewhat embarrassed by it. It's easy to see why: it is frequently amateurish and the style doesn't seem to have much in common with her later work (although, only having read two other books by Harris, I'm not an expert). Many of the events stretch the limits of plausibility, to say the least - I'm not talking about the vampire stuff, but things like Joe expecting Alice to let Ginny stay in her house (who would ever do this?!), and Joe seeming completely unfazed at the idea that Ginny might be a heroin addict, as if such a thing is no big deal. The characters' emotions are all over the place and they often contradict themselves several times during the course of a few pages.
That said, I still enjoyed this. It's atmospheric, compelling and fun, and although I would have preferred a more subtle approach (it definitely descends into horror towards the end), there's enough gothic intrigue to keep it genuinely interesting. I don't think I can really say that I would recommend it, but I never wanted to give up on it, and I don't regret reading it either. I wanted it to distract me from certain things I don't want to think about at the moment, and it did its job rather well.
November 3, 2019
Joanne Harris considera questo libro un po' come il suo figlio negletto, e lo scrive in una nota introduttiva.
Io non la vedo così.
Io l'ho apprezzato tanto, per me come romanzo gotico moderno funziona, eccome.
dice l'autrice in un'intervista.
Ed è questo che mi avvince in questo ed in altri romanzi, l'incedere di questa atmosfera scespiriana di ineluttabilità, del male potente, più forte del bene purtroppo, e dell'impossibilità di fronteggiarlo e della nostra debolezza di fronte ad esso.
Secondo me, oltre agli artisti preraffaelliti e al classico tema gotico del vampirismo la scrittrice ha di certto risentito l'influenza di un'altro romanzo che è tra i miei preferiti Ghost Story di Peter Straub.
Io non la vedo così.
Io l'ho apprezzato tanto, per me come romanzo gotico moderno funziona, eccome.
Ognuno ha un lato oscuro del proprio carattere,
e nell'oscurità c'è un'attrazione irrevocabile
dice l'autrice in un'intervista.
Ed è questo che mi avvince in questo ed in altri romanzi, l'incedere di questa atmosfera scespiriana di ineluttabilità, del male potente, più forte del bene purtroppo, e dell'impossibilità di fronteggiarlo e della nostra debolezza di fronte ad esso.
Secondo me, oltre agli artisti preraffaelliti e al classico tema gotico del vampirismo la scrittrice ha di certto risentito l'influenza di un'altro romanzo che è tra i miei preferiti Ghost Story di Peter Straub.
October 8, 2018
Haunting and spectacular.
October 26, 2025
#️⃣5️⃣8️⃣2️⃣ Read & Reviewed in 2025 🍩🧁
Date : 🗓️ Sunday, October 19, 2025 🎁💐🍝
Word Count📃: 96k Words 🎉🍬✨
— !! 𖦹「 ✦ 🍪 Happy Birthday🎂 ✦ 」✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩
My 57th read in "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY MONTH!!! :DDDD 👏🍭🍨" October.
3️⃣🌟, the pov was HELLLLLLAAAA confusing.
——————————————————————
➕➖0️⃣1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣4️⃣5️⃣6️⃣7️⃣8️⃣9️⃣🔟✖️➗
Thank you @Dannii fer the buddy read!
The only bad part of this book is the pov switches. At constantly switches from third person pov to first person pov but we were untold who's pov is it. It would be much more intuitive and convenient to just idk — TELL WHOSE POV WE ARE RIGHT NOW AT THE START OF THE CHAPTER rather then to just let the readers guess who the hell is the one talking? Because it was the most confusing at the ending where the pov switches just one crazy. The action scenes were all jumbled & messy, it was not great overall as the only interesting character in the entire team was Rafe 😐.
This is also somehow of vampire story which was extremely random,. It was a great story on violence and then vampires were just inserted on random occasions. I don't even think that vampires were in any way valuable to this story. It's more of a love story other than anything else. Its very gothic and dark academia vibes but other than that, the characters were really flat and i didn't care about any of them, PROBABLY BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHO IS THE ONE TALKING EACH CHAPTER.
Date : 🗓️ Sunday, October 19, 2025 🎁💐🍝
Word Count📃: 96k Words 🎉🍬✨
— !! 𖦹「 ✦ 🍪 Happy Birthday🎂 ✦ 」✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩
My 57th read in "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY MONTH!!! :DDDD 👏🍭🍨" October.
3️⃣🌟, the pov was HELLLLLLAAAA confusing.
——————————————————————
➕➖0️⃣1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣4️⃣5️⃣6️⃣7️⃣8️⃣9️⃣🔟✖️➗
Thank you @Dannii fer the buddy read!
The only bad part of this book is the pov switches. At constantly switches from third person pov to first person pov but we were untold who's pov is it. It would be much more intuitive and convenient to just idk — TELL WHOSE POV WE ARE RIGHT NOW AT THE START OF THE CHAPTER rather then to just let the readers guess who the hell is the one talking? Because it was the most confusing at the ending where the pov switches just one crazy. The action scenes were all jumbled & messy, it was not great overall as the only interesting character in the entire team was Rafe 😐.
This is also somehow of vampire story which was extremely random,. It was a great story on violence and then vampires were just inserted on random occasions. I don't even think that vampires were in any way valuable to this story. It's more of a love story other than anything else. Its very gothic and dark academia vibes but other than that, the characters were really flat and i didn't care about any of them, PROBABLY BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHO IS THE ONE TALKING EACH CHAPTER.
October 20, 2025
Actual rating 2.5/5 stars.
Alice bumps into her ex, Joe, and discovers he has found the love of his life and is eager to introduce the woman from his past to the one he has built his future around. Alice finds Ginny unsettling. She certainly has a strange allure but her charm fails to work on Alice and she becomes determined to find out the truth about who she really is and why all around her fall under her spell.
The writing was certainly masterful and I loved the tense and gothic atmosphere. However, I cared little for any of the characters and the perspective switches weren't indicated at the top of the page and so sometimes was lost for a few paragraphs about whose storyline we were following at any one time. I did like how the story developed but the conclusion baffled me a little, leading me to feel a little flat about the book as a whole.
Alice bumps into her ex, Joe, and discovers he has found the love of his life and is eager to introduce the woman from his past to the one he has built his future around. Alice finds Ginny unsettling. She certainly has a strange allure but her charm fails to work on Alice and she becomes determined to find out the truth about who she really is and why all around her fall under her spell.
The writing was certainly masterful and I loved the tense and gothic atmosphere. However, I cared little for any of the characters and the perspective switches weren't indicated at the top of the page and so sometimes was lost for a few paragraphs about whose storyline we were following at any one time. I did like how the story developed but the conclusion baffled me a little, leading me to feel a little flat about the book as a whole.
May 18, 2017
Joanne Harris' first novel is nowhere near as good as her later work. It's a clunky vampire novel, with dual timelines. Half of the novel is set in the 1950s, while the other half is set in modern times. However the two parts are essentially the same- a manipulative and beautiful female vampire arrives in Cambridge, bewitches a gullible young man and continues her killing spree.
There were some interesting elements to this novel. I liked Harris' particular rules for vampires. I found myself really liking the modern protagonist, Alice. She was plucky and at least semi-resourceful. It was a shame that the 1950s protagonist, Daniel, was a bit of a wet flannel . He alternatively seemed to love and hate the main vampire, Rosemary. I think we are meant to sympathise with him, but instead he just comes across as juvenile and contradictory.
The ending is a mess. I vaguely followed what happened, but the events in the last 20 pages or so were not clearly described at all.
There were some interesting elements to this novel. I liked Harris' particular rules for vampires. I found myself really liking the modern protagonist, Alice. She was plucky and at least semi-resourceful. It was a shame that the 1950s protagonist, Daniel, was a bit of a wet flannel . He alternatively seemed to love and hate the main vampire, Rosemary. I think we are meant to sympathise with him, but instead he just comes across as juvenile and contradictory.
The ending is a mess. I vaguely followed what happened, but the events in the last 20 pages or so were not clearly described at all.
June 13, 2017
"Something inside me remembers…"
I loved this book, but then it was hard not to, as it has many of the elements I like: mystery, obsession, death, vampires, an old diary, complicated relationships, a great title and a gorgeous cover. I’ve been known to buy books based on less than the above mentioned things. But this, I must admit, having spent a day reading most of it, was such a great story I was sad to see it end.
From the start I was captivated by Alice, who makes her living from art. There is a scene where the author describes Alice at work, painting a scene of ethereal beauty, so immersed in her work she forgets herself or the time and I thought, how very much like Joanne Harris she is, because I was so engrossed in this book I wasn’t able to put it down and I was surprised to see hours had passed and I hadn’t moved from my chair on the balcony under the mango tree, because this book had me under a spell.
There’s a dreamy quality to the writing, a Gothic thread running through the whole story, and it turns and twists bringing new elements to the surface. The story is told from the point of view of two narrators, Daniel Holmes, whose tale begins after the Second World War, and Alice, who bring the story into present day. I liked how their experiences were like two halves that joined together made it complete.
Their stories have a central point – Rosemary, the young girl of ethereal beauty who brings destruction and death wherever she is. There were times when I wondered if Rosemary wasn’t a victim herself, condemned never to rest, bringing tragedy to all the men who loved her, and they, in return, not being able to let go of her, commit the sin that will bring about a new cycle of destruction. And so it goes, a wheel within a wheel, unbroken in time, because to truly break it would mean forgetting and they can’t do that, no one who has known her can.
I have another book by Joanne Harris, Blueeyedboy, bought years ago on a whim because I had always wanted to read something by the author of Chocolat, a movie I loved even if I haven’t read the book. I’m now glad that I started with this because it only made me want to read more of her work. I was surprised to see quite a few negative reviews on goodreads, people complaining of this and that, how certain elements are not believable. Oh well, if you can’t suspend your disbelief (remember, this is a vampire novel), then maybe this is not the book for you.
I’m glad this is the kind of novel where vampires are old (in age only, of course), cruel and beautiful and at the same time as vulnerable as they are ferocious in their hunger. I wish there was a sequel. I wish I knew who Rosemary truly was and where she was born and how she came to be such a destructive force over such a long time. But even if I will never know her whole story, I can still love the book because like all good stories, it’s made of shadow and light and the shadow is intriguing enough that whatever comes into the light is enough to make it unforgettable.
I will remember…
I loved this book, but then it was hard not to, as it has many of the elements I like: mystery, obsession, death, vampires, an old diary, complicated relationships, a great title and a gorgeous cover. I’ve been known to buy books based on less than the above mentioned things. But this, I must admit, having spent a day reading most of it, was such a great story I was sad to see it end.
From the start I was captivated by Alice, who makes her living from art. There is a scene where the author describes Alice at work, painting a scene of ethereal beauty, so immersed in her work she forgets herself or the time and I thought, how very much like Joanne Harris she is, because I was so engrossed in this book I wasn’t able to put it down and I was surprised to see hours had passed and I hadn’t moved from my chair on the balcony under the mango tree, because this book had me under a spell.
There’s a dreamy quality to the writing, a Gothic thread running through the whole story, and it turns and twists bringing new elements to the surface. The story is told from the point of view of two narrators, Daniel Holmes, whose tale begins after the Second World War, and Alice, who bring the story into present day. I liked how their experiences were like two halves that joined together made it complete.
Their stories have a central point – Rosemary, the young girl of ethereal beauty who brings destruction and death wherever she is. There were times when I wondered if Rosemary wasn’t a victim herself, condemned never to rest, bringing tragedy to all the men who loved her, and they, in return, not being able to let go of her, commit the sin that will bring about a new cycle of destruction. And so it goes, a wheel within a wheel, unbroken in time, because to truly break it would mean forgetting and they can’t do that, no one who has known her can.
I have another book by Joanne Harris, Blueeyedboy, bought years ago on a whim because I had always wanted to read something by the author of Chocolat, a movie I loved even if I haven’t read the book. I’m now glad that I started with this because it only made me want to read more of her work. I was surprised to see quite a few negative reviews on goodreads, people complaining of this and that, how certain elements are not believable. Oh well, if you can’t suspend your disbelief (remember, this is a vampire novel), then maybe this is not the book for you.
I’m glad this is the kind of novel where vampires are old (in age only, of course), cruel and beautiful and at the same time as vulnerable as they are ferocious in their hunger. I wish there was a sequel. I wish I knew who Rosemary truly was and where she was born and how she came to be such a destructive force over such a long time. But even if I will never know her whole story, I can still love the book because like all good stories, it’s made of shadow and light and the shadow is intriguing enough that whatever comes into the light is enough to make it unforgettable.
I will remember…
May 12, 2010
My friend gave me 'The Evil Seed' as a gift. 'The Evil Seed' was her debut novel and due to popular demand was re~published (this also happened with her second novel, 'Sleep, Pale Sister', which I have also read and enjoyed).
I really enjoyed reading 'The Evil Seed', the story was excellent, two stories are told interwined throughout the book, the story of Robert, Daniel and Rosemary and the story of Alice, Joe and Ginny, are Ginny and Rosemary the same woman? well you will have to read and find out.
As in 'Sleep, Pale Sister' I notice that the female characters were alot more stronger than the male characters, I do not know if this occurs in Joanne Harris's other books (I will need to find out), I found it refreshing to read such strong female characters, the male characters are dependable, which for me created a good balance.
A truly scary gothic book, I loved the setting (Cambridge), I truly believe 'The Evil Seed' would make an excellent film.
I really enjoyed reading 'The Evil Seed', the story was excellent, two stories are told interwined throughout the book, the story of Robert, Daniel and Rosemary and the story of Alice, Joe and Ginny, are Ginny and Rosemary the same woman? well you will have to read and find out.
As in 'Sleep, Pale Sister' I notice that the female characters were alot more stronger than the male characters, I do not know if this occurs in Joanne Harris's other books (I will need to find out), I found it refreshing to read such strong female characters, the male characters are dependable, which for me created a good balance.
A truly scary gothic book, I loved the setting (Cambridge), I truly believe 'The Evil Seed' would make an excellent film.
March 5, 2013
Joanne Harris can take the story of the hare and the tortoise as her raw material and use this to construct a majestic novel. In this case it is a potentially very lame theme of vampirism. But in her hands it becomes a three-generation saga with mystery, intrigue and perfectly formed characters - no werewolves, no glistening skin and no crap. In fact the characters and plot are the focus, not the cliché’s about vampires. There is blood and gore but it is not gratuitous. As with all her work the plot twists and turns into corners where you cannot imagine a solution, but somehow (and credibly) she adds a simple new twist and we are back on track. She is a master story teller and this is the fourth of her books that I have enjoyed. I like the way she thinks almost as much as her unequalled use of descriptive language - surely unique in this genre. Both narrators are outstanding and I would highly recommend this set.
December 4, 2008
I wouldn't normally read books about vampires and I was disappointed by this book. I read it because I have enjoyed other books written by Joanne Harris. The clumpy story line and voice of the book made it hard to want to pick up and read. I could tell that it was Harris' first book and she had not yet found her 'voice' that she has in later books. It took me a long time to finish.
November 23, 2015
Não terminado.
January 29, 2015
Um daqueles livros que nem sei muito bem como classificar. Gosto de livros sobre o fantástico mas achei este um pouco confuso, sempre a saltar entre 2 momentos no tempo mas que baralhava um bocado por não ser muito claro esse salto, só depois de lermos algumas linhas. Não foi uma leitura que me tivese prendido mas também não dei por mal emprego o tempo que perdi a le-lo. Mas nota-se que não é de todo o género de livro para o qual esta autora esteja vocacionada
November 17, 2019
Could not get into this at all. Very strange. Gave it 100 pages to see if any better but unfortunately it wasn't
August 27, 2014
Okay, let's see... I liked this book however I didn't liked that much. The things that I really loved in this one were the atmosphere and the scenerio and also how Joanne Harris used vampires. It wasn't a cheesy vampire's story, thank god (I wouldn't probably handle it to be honest). Towards Rosemary/Ginny I have these hate and "love" feelings, you see, she manipulated people and made them love her at the point that they would risk their lives to protect her, it was her plan of course. Like this I kind of liked her because she had power, she knew how to play and survive. However, the way she pretended to be innocent and made others sound like they were wrong made me kind of hating her. I really liked Daniel, he loved her but he would be able to kill her to end his suffering, I think. Joe and Robert were just blind. One thing is right for sure: love can blind us. Somehow I liked very much Rafe, don't ask me why. Perhaps he made me think of Dorian Gray, they aren't alike but Rafe made me remember Dorian and that amused me.
It wasn't my first book of Joanne Harris but I can say that her writing style developed very well. The dark atmospheres are a common thing in her other books and it makes me really happy; I love how she describes it. And I think this is all I have to say... If I remember anything else I'll probably just add it later on. [As usually my ability to review is just fantastic.. not really but, oh well, it's better than nothing]
It wasn't my first book of Joanne Harris but I can say that her writing style developed very well. The dark atmospheres are a common thing in her other books and it makes me really happy; I love how she describes it. And I think this is all I have to say... If I remember anything else I'll probably just add it later on. [As usually my ability to review is just fantastic.. not really but, oh well, it's better than nothing]
February 9, 2014
Este é o primeiro livro da autora, e está bem patente o principio de uma maravilhosa escritora, que escreve livros de uma maneira muito peculiar , entre o sonho e a realidade, entre o presente e o passado entre o real e a pura magia, é assim que eu vejo as histórias de Joanne Harris.
Considero que a primeira vez que lemos Joanne Harris estranhamos a sua maneira de escrever mas ao longo da leitura vamos ficando encantadas pela sua escrita peculiar, para mim foi assim, estranhei e depois fiquei viciada.
Este primeiro livro foi interessante de ler e constatar a evolução da escritora, aqui estão as primeiras sementes da sua futura escrita, se este fosse o primeiro livro que tivesse lido da autora de certeza que iria ler os outros , pois adorei esta estranha história sobre vampiros, original e muito bem escrita.
Gostei.
Considero que a primeira vez que lemos Joanne Harris estranhamos a sua maneira de escrever mas ao longo da leitura vamos ficando encantadas pela sua escrita peculiar, para mim foi assim, estranhei e depois fiquei viciada.
Este primeiro livro foi interessante de ler e constatar a evolução da escritora, aqui estão as primeiras sementes da sua futura escrita, se este fosse o primeiro livro que tivesse lido da autora de certeza que iria ler os outros , pois adorei esta estranha história sobre vampiros, original e muito bem escrita.
Gostei.
February 10, 2015
So this was Harris' debut novel that was out of print until people clamoured and they released it. Harris herself seems rather on point about the work in her introduction.
I normally love Harris, but not this one.
Mortal Love by Elizabeth Hand is somewhat similar and far better. (and no, I don't think there was any plagarism or what not. The sprig of idea is simiilar, and plots are far different).
I normally love Harris, but not this one.
Mortal Love by Elizabeth Hand is somewhat similar and far better. (and no, I don't think there was any plagarism or what not. The sprig of idea is simiilar, and plots are far different).
June 3, 2019
Loved this story gothic atmospheric, a great read.
August 27, 2018
A escrita desta autora é peculiar e interessante, capta os desejos mais escondidos do leitor de maneira a que este não consiga pousar o livro. A história é um pouco assustadora (se for captada do ponto de vista da Alice e do Daniel), uma vez que o ser humano perde todo o controlo do seu corpo, física e mentalmente. Sei que este é o primeiro livro escrito pela Joanne e nota-se um pouco o quão amadora era quando tinha 23 anos mas o seu talento já está lá e estou ansiosa por ler uma obra mais recente da sua autoria.
March 27, 2024
Atmospheric, chilling and beautifully written
April 7, 2025
Un gotico vampiresco moderno.
Non un capolavoro, ma godibile e scorrevole.
Non un capolavoro, ma godibile e scorrevole.
October 15, 2009
Having finished this book, to quote W.B. Yeats: my wretched dragon is perplexed.
Word of warning; this will only be a MINI book review, rather than a full book review, because I think the writing in this novel reflects something that is only 'halfway there'.
The Evil Seed is an often confusing. sometimes numbing and other times flamboyantly lovely read - a strange hybrid of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Lesbian Vampire" poem 'Christabel', and the videoclip of Guns n Roses 'November Rain', with a sprinkling of The Secret History and a couple of Interview with the Vampire remarks. Unfortunately, the originality, creativity and unique books of all such mediums referred to in the previous sentence are lost in the inexperience of Harris' first attempt at writing.
The novel intrudes on the mind of uni student and artist Alice at a vulnerable time - she is reminiscing about her former romantic relationship with Joe, but suddenly she finds herself having to house the new girl he is besotted with: Ginny. Ginny is like the hottest Kate Bush you ever did see, and perfects the look of 'Little Girl Lost'. But her friends are kinda weird - it takes three invitations for them to step across a door threshold into your house, and they only like to come over at night, if at all possible.
At first, Alice believes that jealousy is the culprit responsible for her ill feelings towards Ginny, but when she finds an old diary of a gentleman's run in with a Kate Bush vampire, Alice begins to suspect that the truth about Ginny may be very sinister indeed...
Joanne Harris, the author of such mini masterpieces as Chocolat, wrote this book when she was a fresh, impressionable 23 year old. She admits herself that she struggled with the idea that the book should be republished, once she became famous and everything. And I have to be frank and say I understand her concerns. I could see glimpses of the glorious, but overall I felt that lingering university student angst, that 90s love for gothica in its darkest and most grunge-like form and a sense of an author that hadn't quite found her voice just yet.
This book is, overall, romantic and lusty and bloody. The vampires (though they are never referred to as this, only 'Nightwalkers') are of the monstrous, ravaging type. They can hypnotise and manipulate people into doing whatever they please, and they appear to live only for hunger and fear.
At times the writing screamed for simplicity, and instead was overwritten, but I enjoyed the Byronic character of Daniel (diary guy), though the modern-day Alice lesser so.
This was a little too dark, musty and derivative to be a great read, but I still consider it to be a good read, particularly if you like books like Wuthering Heights, or Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and require a quick fix of packet blood. Yeah, I know it's not as good as the live stuff. But hey, even vampires can't have home-cooked gourmet every night. And as far as takeaways go this stuff aint devoid of your daily dose o' vitamins. Just take care with the bony bits.
3 stars.
Word of warning; this will only be a MINI book review, rather than a full book review, because I think the writing in this novel reflects something that is only 'halfway there'.
The Evil Seed is an often confusing. sometimes numbing and other times flamboyantly lovely read - a strange hybrid of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Lesbian Vampire" poem 'Christabel', and the videoclip of Guns n Roses 'November Rain', with a sprinkling of The Secret History and a couple of Interview with the Vampire remarks. Unfortunately, the originality, creativity and unique books of all such mediums referred to in the previous sentence are lost in the inexperience of Harris' first attempt at writing.
The novel intrudes on the mind of uni student and artist Alice at a vulnerable time - she is reminiscing about her former romantic relationship with Joe, but suddenly she finds herself having to house the new girl he is besotted with: Ginny. Ginny is like the hottest Kate Bush you ever did see, and perfects the look of 'Little Girl Lost'. But her friends are kinda weird - it takes three invitations for them to step across a door threshold into your house, and they only like to come over at night, if at all possible.
At first, Alice believes that jealousy is the culprit responsible for her ill feelings towards Ginny, but when she finds an old diary of a gentleman's run in with a Kate Bush vampire, Alice begins to suspect that the truth about Ginny may be very sinister indeed...
Joanne Harris, the author of such mini masterpieces as Chocolat, wrote this book when she was a fresh, impressionable 23 year old. She admits herself that she struggled with the idea that the book should be republished, once she became famous and everything. And I have to be frank and say I understand her concerns. I could see glimpses of the glorious, but overall I felt that lingering university student angst, that 90s love for gothica in its darkest and most grunge-like form and a sense of an author that hadn't quite found her voice just yet.
This book is, overall, romantic and lusty and bloody. The vampires (though they are never referred to as this, only 'Nightwalkers') are of the monstrous, ravaging type. They can hypnotise and manipulate people into doing whatever they please, and they appear to live only for hunger and fear.
At times the writing screamed for simplicity, and instead was overwritten, but I enjoyed the Byronic character of Daniel (diary guy), though the modern-day Alice lesser so.
This was a little too dark, musty and derivative to be a great read, but I still consider it to be a good read, particularly if you like books like Wuthering Heights, or Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and require a quick fix of packet blood. Yeah, I know it's not as good as the live stuff. But hey, even vampires can't have home-cooked gourmet every night. And as far as takeaways go this stuff aint devoid of your daily dose o' vitamins. Just take care with the bony bits.
3 stars.
May 8, 2011
“Il seme del male” è il primo libro che leggo di questa autrice perciò, sinceramente, non sono in grado di fare un confronto stilistico con altri suoi libri. Infatti, questo libro, ha una storia ben particolare che la stessa Harris ci narra nelle prime pagine raccontandoci di come questo suo ultimo lavoro sia, in realtà, il primo che scrisse venti anni fa.
“Il seme del male” è un libro sui vampiri particolarmente versatile che sinceramente rende particolarmente difficoltosa un sua netta classificazione. È un libro fantasy per adulti, senza dubbio, ma possiamo vederlo anche come un romanzo noir o, meglio ancora, gotico. Per quanto mi riguarda ho letto solamente un’altra serie new gothic e, relativamente a questo romanzo, ho trovato alcuni puntoi di contatto fra lo stile fascinoso ma un po’ vago della Harris e quello di Libba Bray l’autrice della Triologia di Gemma Doyle. Come ho già detto non posso valutare lo stile attuale della scrittrice ma rimedierò, senza dubbio.
Tornando al romanzo, come ho già detto quello che mi ha particolarmente colpito è la semplicità della trama. I colpi di scena sono minimi e in alcuni tratti perfino scontati. Diciamo che nessuno di noi impiegherà molto nell’individuare l’analogia fra Rosemary e Ginny e di come, alla fine, Alice sarà colei che dovrà tentare di sconfiggere questa creatura. Sì, creatura perché la parola vampiro non verrà mai scritta in tutto il romanzo lasciando il lettore a trarre le proprie conclusioni grazie all’abilità della Harris.
Grazie al doppio punto di vista fornitoci durante tutta la durata del libro possiamo viaggiare e seguire questa creatura negli anni settanta e poi nel presente, con Ginny, Joe e Alice nel novecento. Possiamo conoscere, anche se in minima parte, il suo passato, vivere il suo presente ed immaginare il suo futuro.
È una vampira nel senso stretto del termine che affascina e cattura gli uomini e li rende psicologicamente e fisicamente suoi schiavi con metodologia e indolenza. Anno dopo anno, vittima dopo vittima Rosemary, Mary o Ginny cattura l’interessa ed il cuore di un uomo che rende suo, fino alla morte.
In alcuni punti si percepisce chiaramente che il romanzo è stato ritoccato successivamente, come se l’autrice ripresolo in mano, decidesse di dare alcune brevi ed incisive pennellate per raddrizzare qualche mancanza giovanile. Il tutto, purtroppo, rallenta un po’ la scorrevolezza del romanzo rendendolo un po’ artificioso e prolisso. Un vero peccato.
Come ho già detto la trama di per sé non è niente di eclatante ma nonostante ciò godibile e intrigante che lascia, alla fine, un senso di torbido e inconcluso perché, come ogni volta qualcosa in Rosemary ricorda e non vuole dimenticare.
“Il seme del male” è un libro sui vampiri particolarmente versatile che sinceramente rende particolarmente difficoltosa un sua netta classificazione. È un libro fantasy per adulti, senza dubbio, ma possiamo vederlo anche come un romanzo noir o, meglio ancora, gotico. Per quanto mi riguarda ho letto solamente un’altra serie new gothic e, relativamente a questo romanzo, ho trovato alcuni puntoi di contatto fra lo stile fascinoso ma un po’ vago della Harris e quello di Libba Bray l’autrice della Triologia di Gemma Doyle. Come ho già detto non posso valutare lo stile attuale della scrittrice ma rimedierò, senza dubbio.
Tornando al romanzo, come ho già detto quello che mi ha particolarmente colpito è la semplicità della trama. I colpi di scena sono minimi e in alcuni tratti perfino scontati. Diciamo che nessuno di noi impiegherà molto nell’individuare l’analogia fra Rosemary e Ginny e di come, alla fine, Alice sarà colei che dovrà tentare di sconfiggere questa creatura. Sì, creatura perché la parola vampiro non verrà mai scritta in tutto il romanzo lasciando il lettore a trarre le proprie conclusioni grazie all’abilità della Harris.
Grazie al doppio punto di vista fornitoci durante tutta la durata del libro possiamo viaggiare e seguire questa creatura negli anni settanta e poi nel presente, con Ginny, Joe e Alice nel novecento. Possiamo conoscere, anche se in minima parte, il suo passato, vivere il suo presente ed immaginare il suo futuro.
È una vampira nel senso stretto del termine che affascina e cattura gli uomini e li rende psicologicamente e fisicamente suoi schiavi con metodologia e indolenza. Anno dopo anno, vittima dopo vittima Rosemary, Mary o Ginny cattura l’interessa ed il cuore di un uomo che rende suo, fino alla morte.
In alcuni punti si percepisce chiaramente che il romanzo è stato ritoccato successivamente, come se l’autrice ripresolo in mano, decidesse di dare alcune brevi ed incisive pennellate per raddrizzare qualche mancanza giovanile. Il tutto, purtroppo, rallenta un po’ la scorrevolezza del romanzo rendendolo un po’ artificioso e prolisso. Un vero peccato.
Come ho già detto la trama di per sé non è niente di eclatante ma nonostante ciò godibile e intrigante che lascia, alla fine, un senso di torbido e inconcluso perché, come ogni volta qualcosa in Rosemary ricorda e non vuole dimenticare.
January 14, 2013
Publicado em 1989, Maligna, Evil Seed no original, foi o primeiro romance oficialmente lançado por Joanne Harris. À data com 25 anos, Harris apresentou um romance pseudo-gótico com cenário a condizer, passado em Cambridge, Inglaterra, cheio de oportunidade, mas ainda com poucos dos traços que actualmente se lhe atribuem.
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
Cambridge, local de passagem por excelência, devido à orla estudantil, com vida nocturna, cultura e arquitectura perfeitas, é o cenário ideal para Harris expôr o sobrenatural e todo o gore da sua imaginação.
Podemos facilmente considerar que o livro tenha duas partes, se bem que o intervalo entre ambas não se apresente marcadamente definido. Algures entre o primeiro acto, da exploração, da ambientação, da ausência do substantivo que anseamos ler, e o segundo, da confirmação, da descoberta e do confronto, temos um período de transição onde, talvez, as ideias mais originais são apresentadas.
Não querendo desvendar muito do universo que Joanne Harris criou, mas sim dar-lhe o devido crédito, há uma mão-cheia de conceitos esmiuçados que ganham uma nova dimensão através da sua caneta. Por exemplo, o conceito de gado e de oportunidade.
Marca: Joanne Harris
As grandes valências da obra acabam por ser a sua obscura primeira parte e o período que imediatamente lhe sucede, a apresentação de alguns (não muitos!) conceitos à luz da imaginação da autora e a escrita que, apesar de confusa de tempos a tempos, não deixa de ter a marca Joanne Harris.
Por outro lado, nota-se alguma superficialidade de Harris nos seus temas fetiche, muito provavelmente porque à data ainda não eram fetiche. Os tópicos relativos aos problemas de identidade e magia quotidiana estão presentes, mas em momento algum a paixão pela comida, pelos cheiros, a superstição, a fé ou as relações familiares, traços incontornáveis de obras posteriores (Chocolate, Xeque-ao-Rei, Vinho Mágico, A Praia Roubada), emergem verdadeiramente.
É uma obra moderadamente interessante, mais ainda se for encarada como o primeiro romance da autora, que apenas foi reeditada por insistência dos seus seguidores.
"A semente está em todo o lado, dormente, como uma árvore venenosa no pomar, as suas raízes esquartejando a terra e propagando-se como larvas no espíritos dos homens. A semente maligna pode estar dormente cem anos, antes de acordar, sacudindo a neve do Inverno do seu rosto (...). Os sacerdotes antigos sabiam como repelir a semente da noite; queimavam-na e enterravam-na em pedra e cal, mas ela continuava a viver em memórias, em contos, em canções."
Nota: 3.0/5.0
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
Cambridge, local de passagem por excelência, devido à orla estudantil, com vida nocturna, cultura e arquitectura perfeitas, é o cenário ideal para Harris expôr o sobrenatural e todo o gore da sua imaginação.
Podemos facilmente considerar que o livro tenha duas partes, se bem que o intervalo entre ambas não se apresente marcadamente definido. Algures entre o primeiro acto, da exploração, da ambientação, da ausência do substantivo que anseamos ler, e o segundo, da confirmação, da descoberta e do confronto, temos um período de transição onde, talvez, as ideias mais originais são apresentadas.
Não querendo desvendar muito do universo que Joanne Harris criou, mas sim dar-lhe o devido crédito, há uma mão-cheia de conceitos esmiuçados que ganham uma nova dimensão através da sua caneta. Por exemplo, o conceito de gado e de oportunidade.
Marca: Joanne Harris
As grandes valências da obra acabam por ser a sua obscura primeira parte e o período que imediatamente lhe sucede, a apresentação de alguns (não muitos!) conceitos à luz da imaginação da autora e a escrita que, apesar de confusa de tempos a tempos, não deixa de ter a marca Joanne Harris.
Por outro lado, nota-se alguma superficialidade de Harris nos seus temas fetiche, muito provavelmente porque à data ainda não eram fetiche. Os tópicos relativos aos problemas de identidade e magia quotidiana estão presentes, mas em momento algum a paixão pela comida, pelos cheiros, a superstição, a fé ou as relações familiares, traços incontornáveis de obras posteriores (Chocolate, Xeque-ao-Rei, Vinho Mágico, A Praia Roubada), emergem verdadeiramente.
É uma obra moderadamente interessante, mais ainda se for encarada como o primeiro romance da autora, que apenas foi reeditada por insistência dos seus seguidores.
"A semente está em todo o lado, dormente, como uma árvore venenosa no pomar, as suas raízes esquartejando a terra e propagando-se como larvas no espíritos dos homens. A semente maligna pode estar dormente cem anos, antes de acordar, sacudindo a neve do Inverno do seu rosto (...). Os sacerdotes antigos sabiam como repelir a semente da noite; queimavam-na e enterravam-na em pedra e cal, mas ela continuava a viver em memórias, em contos, em canções."
Nota: 3.0/5.0
January 22, 2012
Di base, io ho un grosso problema con la Harris: quando si tratta di giudicare i suoi libri divento penosamente parziale e tendo ad essere fin troppo comprensiva con difetti che ad altri scrittori non perdonerei mai e poi mai.
Quindi, avvisàti.
The Evil Seed è il primo romanzo scritto (1989) e, al momento, l'ultimo pubblicato: si sviluppa su due periodi temporali, ma i luoghi sono gli stessi, gli stessi i protagonisti, identici i ruoli ricoperti duranti gli anni. La figura attorno a cui ruota tutto il romanzo è assolutamente una sola e il dare importanza a questo o a quell'altro personaggio è solo un modo della Harris di trarci in inganno; Rosemary, il rosmarino, per ricordare e non dimenticare. Rosemary è un'entità assoluta di male, che ci parla di un male relativo, fatto di scelte, di decisioni, di desiderio,
Rosemary è una divinità innocente (vestita di bianco, l'archetipo preraffaelita, i capelli lunghi, l'apparizione sotto il biancospino) che ha nelle sue mani le volontà di tutti i suoi uomini e dalla volontà stessa è composta ogni fibra del suo essere. Volontà e desiderio: qualcosa in me ricorda e non vuol dimenticare. E in lei rivive la citazione shakesperiana della rimembranza in Amleto.
Ma le pecche ci sono, purtroppo: il libro nella seconda parte tende a scadere, il finale viene risolto abbastanza frettolosamente, ci sono passaggi verbali che mi convincono poco e scelte lessicali a volte ripetivive - ma questo potrebbe essere un problema della traduzione. In conclusione: un'idea splendida, un libro abbastanza maturo nonostante sia stato il suo esordio: si trovano tutti gli elementi che verranno poi sviluppati successivamente dalla Harris quali alcune ambientazioni cimiteriali (Grantchester, Highgate, Montmartre), le fiere di paese, i luna park, gli zingari, il destino come una ruota che gira ed il libro intero è una base per il testo che uscirà poi nel 1993 tradotto in Italia con il titolo Il fante di cuore e la dama di picche, uno studio sicuramente molto appassionato dell'arte preraffaelita, e un dialogo, ancora una volta, con il male, con i finali non lieti, con sentieri oscuri impercorribili a cui la Harris accenna, ma di cui mai non parla.
Quindi, avvisàti.
The Evil Seed è il primo romanzo scritto (1989) e, al momento, l'ultimo pubblicato: si sviluppa su due periodi temporali, ma i luoghi sono gli stessi, gli stessi i protagonisti, identici i ruoli ricoperti duranti gli anni. La figura attorno a cui ruota tutto il romanzo è assolutamente una sola e il dare importanza a questo o a quell'altro personaggio è solo un modo della Harris di trarci in inganno; Rosemary, il rosmarino, per ricordare e non dimenticare. Rosemary è un'entità assoluta di male, che ci parla di un male relativo, fatto di scelte, di decisioni, di desiderio,
Rosemary è una divinità innocente (vestita di bianco, l'archetipo preraffaelita, i capelli lunghi, l'apparizione sotto il biancospino) che ha nelle sue mani le volontà di tutti i suoi uomini e dalla volontà stessa è composta ogni fibra del suo essere. Volontà e desiderio: qualcosa in me ricorda e non vuol dimenticare. E in lei rivive la citazione shakesperiana della rimembranza in Amleto.
Ma le pecche ci sono, purtroppo: il libro nella seconda parte tende a scadere, il finale viene risolto abbastanza frettolosamente, ci sono passaggi verbali che mi convincono poco e scelte lessicali a volte ripetivive - ma questo potrebbe essere un problema della traduzione. In conclusione: un'idea splendida, un libro abbastanza maturo nonostante sia stato il suo esordio: si trovano tutti gli elementi che verranno poi sviluppati successivamente dalla Harris quali alcune ambientazioni cimiteriali (Grantchester, Highgate, Montmartre), le fiere di paese, i luna park, gli zingari, il destino come una ruota che gira ed il libro intero è una base per il testo che uscirà poi nel 1993 tradotto in Italia con il titolo Il fante di cuore e la dama di picche, uno studio sicuramente molto appassionato dell'arte preraffaelita, e un dialogo, ancora una volta, con il male, con i finali non lieti, con sentieri oscuri impercorribili a cui la Harris accenna, ma di cui mai non parla.
February 4, 2015
“Prego di essere salvato, ma sento solo l’ululato del pozzo sotto di me, le mie parole come latino morto sulla bocca inaridita, il crocefisso che si trasforma in sangue sulle labbra. Oggi Dio non è a casa. Lui si accompagna a Rosemary.”
E’ possibile scrivere un libro sui vampiri senza nominarli esplicitamente neanche una volta?
Sì, è possibile, e ci è riuscita piuttosto bene Joanne Harris, autrice famosa per Chocolat.
Non è stata affatto una lettura malvagia, anche se verso la fine si è fatta un po’ fumosa e noiosa.
La prima cosa che salta all’occhio è senz’altro la copertina, con questo volto femminile in stile preraffaellita.
La seconda cosa sono i capitoli e come sono strutturati, è una cosa piuttosto singolare: si dividono semplicemente in Uno e Due. Nei capitoli Uno la storia è narrata in prima persona da Daniel Holmes, coinvolto nella torbida relazione tra una bellissima ragazza che sembra uscita da un quadro di Rossetti, Rosemary, salvata dall’annegamento, e Robert, il suo amico, e l’ambientazione è quella degli anni 40 del novecento.
I capitoli Due invece sono narrati in terza persona e seguono un periodo della vita di Alice, coinvolta suo malgrado in fatti inquietanti dal suo ex Joe, e dalla nuova fiamma di lei, una ragazza con una chioma infuocata di nome Virginia, detta Ginny.
Le storie proseguono parallele, salvo poi intrecciarsi nel capitolo finale.
I capitoli migliori, secondo me, sono quelli con Alice. Sono scritti meglio, sono più scorrevoli e la storia attira maggiormente.
La cosa che ho maggiormente apprezzato è stato il ritrovare una scrittura adulta e più matura dopo tutti gli young adult che ho letto in gennaio.
Questo romanzo è scritto bene, è evocativo, finalmente ci sono dei vampiri cattivi, dei vampiri bellissimi che rovinano le vite delle persone, che le trascinano con loro in una spirale di amore e morte, di maledizione e vita eterna.
Non è mai volgare, è sanguinolento ma mai disgustoso.
Evoca bene le atmosfere di Cambridge, scelta come location sia perché frequentata dall’autrice, sia perché è una città universitaria, ottima per trovare vittime per i vampiri, grazie al ricambio di studenti e turisti.
Se dobbiamo inquadrarlo come genere, direi che è un thriller con atmosfere gotico- romantico- preraffellita.
E’ possibile scrivere un libro sui vampiri senza nominarli esplicitamente neanche una volta?
Sì, è possibile, e ci è riuscita piuttosto bene Joanne Harris, autrice famosa per Chocolat.
Non è stata affatto una lettura malvagia, anche se verso la fine si è fatta un po’ fumosa e noiosa.
La prima cosa che salta all’occhio è senz’altro la copertina, con questo volto femminile in stile preraffaellita.
La seconda cosa sono i capitoli e come sono strutturati, è una cosa piuttosto singolare: si dividono semplicemente in Uno e Due. Nei capitoli Uno la storia è narrata in prima persona da Daniel Holmes, coinvolto nella torbida relazione tra una bellissima ragazza che sembra uscita da un quadro di Rossetti, Rosemary, salvata dall’annegamento, e Robert, il suo amico, e l’ambientazione è quella degli anni 40 del novecento.
I capitoli Due invece sono narrati in terza persona e seguono un periodo della vita di Alice, coinvolta suo malgrado in fatti inquietanti dal suo ex Joe, e dalla nuova fiamma di lei, una ragazza con una chioma infuocata di nome Virginia, detta Ginny.
Le storie proseguono parallele, salvo poi intrecciarsi nel capitolo finale.
I capitoli migliori, secondo me, sono quelli con Alice. Sono scritti meglio, sono più scorrevoli e la storia attira maggiormente.
La cosa che ho maggiormente apprezzato è stato il ritrovare una scrittura adulta e più matura dopo tutti gli young adult che ho letto in gennaio.
Questo romanzo è scritto bene, è evocativo, finalmente ci sono dei vampiri cattivi, dei vampiri bellissimi che rovinano le vite delle persone, che le trascinano con loro in una spirale di amore e morte, di maledizione e vita eterna.
Non è mai volgare, è sanguinolento ma mai disgustoso.
Evoca bene le atmosfere di Cambridge, scelta come location sia perché frequentata dall’autrice, sia perché è una città universitaria, ottima per trovare vittime per i vampiri, grazie al ricambio di studenti e turisti.
Se dobbiamo inquadrarlo come genere, direi che è un thriller con atmosfere gotico- romantico- preraffellita.
November 25, 2009
Joanne Harris' first book, The Evil Seed, is quite different to later works like Chocolat. It's still compelling, but it's weighed down a bit more by description. It could have been worse: I liked the way she mixed up the timelines, even if it is quite a normal way of doing it. If she'd revealed all via the diary too soon, there'd have been little point in reading. I didn't really like the way it all ran together at the ending -- it became confusing, even though it was meant to emphasise the cyclical nature of everything.
I liked the idea of the vampires, or Nightwalkers if you like, rising because they're remembered. It puts an interesting new spin on the comforting part of the legend, that vampires can be laid to rest. I liked it: that's more haunting than your average vampire novel, where everything can be put back in its place at the end. I liked that it didn't end with Joe and Alice back together, because that too would have been comforting, the end you kind of come to expect.
It's over written in places, but I still found it compelling and easy to read. Worth a read if you want to see how Joanne Harris does vampires.
I liked the idea of the vampires, or Nightwalkers if you like, rising because they're remembered. It puts an interesting new spin on the comforting part of the legend, that vampires can be laid to rest. I liked it: that's more haunting than your average vampire novel, where everything can be put back in its place at the end. I liked that it didn't end with Joe and Alice back together, because that too would have been comforting, the end you kind of come to expect.
It's over written in places, but I still found it compelling and easy to read. Worth a read if you want to see how Joanne Harris does vampires.
April 30, 2017
I am so glad I finally finished this book after it dragged on endlessly, making me skip across the pages and for the first time testing my learned fast reading skills on a work of fiction...
While I may have loved the gothic aura and slow creeping suspense of the story several years ago, today I just found it mostly boring. Sure, the author knows how to weave a tale, with captivating, though not necessarily likable, characters and a clever plot. However, the voice of the book did not call out to me as it would have in earlier times. Maybe I'm just feeling anxious about wasting my time with unnecessary decorum, maybe it was just the wrong time to pick up this title, but what choice did I have!? The book was picked through the discovery bookshelf challenge ;) At least I managed to free some space on my bookshelf for which I'm grateful. Also, I don't have to guess any longer about the wonders awaiting between the beautiful covers of this book - curiosity sated, review posted, and now to move on to another challenge.
While I may have loved the gothic aura and slow creeping suspense of the story several years ago, today I just found it mostly boring. Sure, the author knows how to weave a tale, with captivating, though not necessarily likable, characters and a clever plot. However, the voice of the book did not call out to me as it would have in earlier times. Maybe I'm just feeling anxious about wasting my time with unnecessary decorum, maybe it was just the wrong time to pick up this title, but what choice did I have!? The book was picked through the discovery bookshelf challenge ;) At least I managed to free some space on my bookshelf for which I'm grateful. Also, I don't have to guess any longer about the wonders awaiting between the beautiful covers of this book - curiosity sated, review posted, and now to move on to another challenge.
October 25, 2013
Soooo, I liked it pretty much actually, I was a bit afraid when I saw the general ratings of the book, of course we have to keep in mind this was the first book that Joanne Harris wrote and we can't expect it to be has good has the others in all aspects.
This idea of the vampires was good, I liked the suspense, this book has two main voices, Alice and Daniel, that are divided per chapters, and they are intertwined and we only discover how while we are going through it.
The only thing that I thought it was very different, comparing to other books from this author, is that I was quite expecting how everything was going to be, despite some little details, it wasn't that unexpected when we are reaching the end.
This idea of the vampires was good, I liked the suspense, this book has two main voices, Alice and Daniel, that are divided per chapters, and they are intertwined and we only discover how while we are going through it.
The only thing that I thought it was very different, comparing to other books from this author, is that I was quite expecting how everything was going to be, despite some little details, it wasn't that unexpected when we are reaching the end.
March 31, 2017
досить непогана книжка, хоча залишилося враження, що авторка її не допрацювала, що це якби чорновий варіант книжки... що написала не все, що хотіла. Особисто мені хотілося більш прописаних головних героїв, особливо Розмарі-Джинні, її внутрішнього світу, так би сказати і взагалі більшої деталізації подій.
Книжку почала читати дуже давно і думала, що вже не дочитаю, але от тільки пару днів тому випадково до неї повернулася і все - два дні дочитувала, не могла відірватися. Сюжетні лінії не всі доведені до кінця, але, десь так з майже-половини книжка все одно затягує і її хочеться дочитати.
Попри все, з кожною прочитаною книжкою авторства Гарріс дивуюся, якою різною вона може бути, адже де Шоколад з домашньою магією, коханням, затишком і смаколиками, а де Небесная подруга з не то вампірами, не то зомбі, не то просто з безсмертини каннібалами...
Книжку почала читати дуже давно і думала, що вже не дочитаю, але от тільки пару днів тому випадково до неї повернулася і все - два дні дочитувала, не могла відірватися. Сюжетні лінії не всі доведені до кінця, але, десь так з майже-половини книжка все одно затягує і її хочеться дочитати.
Попри все, з кожною прочитаною книжкою авторства Гарріс дивуюся, якою різною вона може бути, адже де Шоколад з домашньою магією, коханням, затишком і смаколиками, а де Небесная подруга з не то вампірами, не то зомбі, не то просто з безсмертини каннібалами...
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