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What Members Thought
I haven’t read anything by Mary Stewart before and, looking at the mixed reviews, it seems this may not have been the best place to start.
It concerns twenty two year old Jennifer Silver, the daughter of academics, who visits a hotel in the Pyrenees, straddling France and Spain, after a letter from her cousin. Gillian was brought up with Jennifer, after her parents died in the blitz, but is half French and her husband was also French. Having been ill, Gillian has gone to stay at a convent and as ...more
It concerns twenty two year old Jennifer Silver, the daughter of academics, who visits a hotel in the Pyrenees, straddling France and Spain, after a letter from her cousin. Gillian was brought up with Jennifer, after her parents died in the blitz, but is half French and her husband was also French. Having been ill, Gillian has gone to stay at a convent and as ...more
Mary Stewart is a master of suspense and beautiful prose, however this is not her best effort. The basic mystery/gothic suspense plotting is enjoyable, but it is overwrought and the descriptive passages are bit overwritten in places. Also, Stewart's use of the third-person narrative (as opposed to her usual first-person) didn't allow me to get quite as swept up in the adventure as I usually do.
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Jennifer Silver has come to a village in the Pyrenees to meet her cousin Gillian, whom she hasn’t seen for some years. Gillian is going to stay at a convent, and is thinking about becoming a nun. But when Jennifer arrives at the convent, there is a shock in store for her. Gillian is apparently dead, but Jennifer is not convinced. But if Gillian isn’t dead, what has become of her? This is the beginning of a perilous adventure for Jennifer. There is of course romance as well, Jennifer’s former boy
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This one was too melodramatic for me.
I read in the Mary Stewart group that " Ms. Stewart once claimed Thunder on the Right as her least favorite novel. "I detest that book. I'm ashamed of it, and I'd like to see it drowned beyond recovery. It's overwritten. It was actually the second book I wrote, and for some strange reason I went overboard, splurged with adjectives, all colored purple.""
Sadly I agree. It wasn't a patch on the previous two published.
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I read in the Mary Stewart group that " Ms. Stewart once claimed Thunder on the Right as her least favorite novel. "I detest that book. I'm ashamed of it, and I'd like to see it drowned beyond recovery. It's overwritten. It was actually the second book I wrote, and for some strange reason I went overboard, splurged with adjectives, all colored purple.""
Sadly I agree. It wasn't a patch on the previous two published.
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This was a rather melodramatic thriller set in the Pyrenees, with some rather awkward plot twists and developments. I enjoyed sampling Mary Stewart, but don't think I'll try any more.
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Re-read. Liked it much better this time around, when I was reading more for tone and feel, as opposed to plot ...
Original, 3star review. definitely my least favorite of the stewart books i've been reading. i was entirely restless whilst reading, continually waiting for something good/not-stupid to happen and it never did. the so-called intrigue and suspense that her novels inherently promise just never materialized here and i was utterly bored by the protagonist and the badly-manipulate/barely-d ...more
Original, 3star review. definitely my least favorite of the stewart books i've been reading. i was entirely restless whilst reading, continually waiting for something good/not-stupid to happen and it never did. the so-called intrigue and suspense that her novels inherently promise just never materialized here and i was utterly bored by the protagonist and the badly-manipulate/barely-d ...more
Rereading for nostalgic pleasure
Jun 13, 2016
Helen (read247_instyle_inca)
marked it as to-read
Aug 17, 2016
Cricket Muse
added it
Jul 13, 2017
MomToKippy
marked it as to-read
Aug 12, 2017
Zsa Zsa
marked it as to-read
Jul 28, 2018
Tessiebear
marked it as to-read
Jul 25, 2020
Brenda
marked it as to-read
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review of another edition
Shelves:
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on-my-shelf
Aug 18, 2020
Jackie
added it
