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"There's something nasty in the woodshed." An absolute riot! Particularly if you've read much Hardy, particularly his "rural" novels, which Gibbons deftly lampoons.
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I unexpectedly enjoyed this book a lot! I thought this would be one of those classics British books, full of serious characters, long prose and gloomy setting. But turned out, this book was hilarious. Flora, the main character, who's a busybody who wanted to fix her crazy family, was portrayed in such a manner that made me root for her instead of got annoyed by her. All of the supporting characters, the Starkadder family, are also very weird but funny.
This book is full of dark, sarcastic humor b ...more
This book is full of dark, sarcastic humor b ...more
The film adaptation of this satirical novel was absorbed into the family lexicon while I was a teen. I read the book around that age and hadn't yet read Wuthering Heights or Thomas Hardy, so I only noticed the discrepancies between the film and the novel (I preferred the film). Now, having read the aforesaid novel and author (and other gothic and tragic novels), I can appreciate that this book is simply fantastic. If you are well versed in decrepit rural British tragedy, you should definitely ch
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This book just didn't do it for me. It was, however, much better than the introduction led me to fear.
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A tongue-in-cheek pastiche of rural novels of the 1940s -- very fun if you know the genre, and certainly fun for this human who grew up in a rural area and has seen a lot of the odd ways in which non-rural folks approach rural areas. ;)
If you like Jane Austen or Victorian romances this play on that format will be right up your alley. Funny and charming it was an enjoyable read. My favorite parts were the cows named Aimless, Feckless, Pointless and Graceless. Favorite line is from a note sent home: "Love to all except Micah."
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Nov 18, 2009
Courtney
marked it as to-read
Jun 16, 2010
Ali
marked it as to-read
Dec 13, 2012
Enthu_Kidlets
marked it as to-read
Apr 09, 2014
Linda
marked it as to-read
Mar 19, 2016
Lisa Rosen
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