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The Little Stranger

Sarah Waters

Start date: May 15, 2010

Finish date: June 15, 2010

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What Members Thought

Jun 02, 2010 Pang rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: constant-reader

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I was really hoping to like this book more, but I was left a little unsatisfied and disappointed.

The book told a story of a country doctor, Dr Faraday, who became involved in affairs of an old English family, the Ayres. Faraday had known the family since he was a boy through his mother who used to work for the family. The house, Hundreds Hall, had made a strong impression with Faraday even as a young boy. His feelings were rekindled when he was given the opportunity to visit the Hall as a doctor I was really hoping to like this book more, but I was left a little unsatisfied and disappointed.

The book told a story of a country doctor, Dr Faraday, who became involved in affairs of an old English family, the Ayres. Faraday had known the family since he was a boy through his mother who used to work for the family. The house, Hundreds Hall, had made a strong impression with Faraday even as a young boy. His feelings were rekindled when he was given the opportunity to visit the Hall as a doctor answering a house call. After a while, series of strange incidents started happening in the house with its members--the mother, Mrs Ayres, the son, Roderick, and the daughter, Caroline. Roderick was the first to have strange events happening to. He was later committed to a mental institution after unexplainable fires broke out in his bedroom. A while later Mrs Ayres began to show strange behaviors. She said that she could feel the presence of her dead daughter, Susan, and that she had been hurt physically by her. She ended up hanging herself, though it was unclear how it could had happened considering she was heavily sedated. Caroline was the last of the family members. She was found dead on the floor of the house and was presumed to have committed suicide by leaping from the second floor, even though she had never exhibited any troubled signs.

At the center of it all stood Dr Faraday. He was the narrator of the story, but was a biased observer. He insisted that all the strange events could not be supernatural, but were explainable with scientific reasonings. Faraday concluded that everyone was suffering from some degree of mental illnesses, even though there were times when he was conflicted and thought that supernatural phenomenon was possible. He went seeking advice from another colleague, Dr Seeley, on what was happening at the Hall. Seeley planted ideas in Faraday's head that strange force might be possible:

'Is that so surprising, with things for that family so bleak? The subliminal mind has many dark, unhappy corners, after all. Imagine something loosening itself from one of those corners. Let's call it a--a germ. And lets say conditions prove right for that germ to develop--to grow, like a child in the womb. What would this little stranger grow into? A sort of shadow-self, perhaps: a Caliban, a Mr Hyde. A creature motivated by all the nasty impulses and hangers the conscious mind had hoped to keep hidden away: things like envy, and malice, and frustration...

This statement turned out to be very significant to the story. At the end, when things were falling apart at the seam for Faraday and Caroline, she called him out that he was the one who wanted to save Hundreds and that was his only goal. She said that he didn't really love her, but actually the house was what he loved. I think this is when the story really unfolded. Faraday was exposed as somewhat a fraud. After Caroline's death, I was left to wonder if Faraday was actually the "little stranger." The family members all experienced different things, but as Mrs Ayres put it: "the house knows all our weaknesses and is testing them." Different family members had different weakness. I think that was why Caroline was the least affected until the very end. At the inquest of Caroline's death, it was revealed by Betty that Caroline yelled out "You!" before she leapt to her death. That implied she saw someone she knew... Could that someone be Faraday? Nothing was happening to the family until Faraday's arrival. The author certainly left that for the reader to wonder.

The story was entertaining, and some of the passages were definitely spooky, but it also dragged on in some parts. The story also left a lot to the imagination. Unfortunately, something was lacking in the book for me. ...more

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Apr 25, 2009 The Sassy Bookworm rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I really rather enjoyed this one! This was my first time reading anything from this author and I was honestly blown away, the writing is so atmospheric and beautiful. The story doesn't move along at a fast pace, but rather a slow methodical buildup, with detailed descriptions and wonderfully spooky happenings! Even though the story moves along slowly, I could not put this book down and finished it in two days. If you like old fashion Gothic reads, then this would definitely be one to add to you ...more

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Aug 24, 2010 David Cerruti rated it really liked it

If you have read the book description, or some of the reviews, you will correctly expect a ghost story. That’s the part I least liked about this book, because it was predictable, slow, and annoying. I give it two and a half stars for the ghost story. The first third of the book and the final two chapters get five stars. I liked the parallels with Brideshead Revisited.

Of the first 34 reviews I saw on Goodreads, only 2 were by men. That influenced my recommendation.

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Nov 17, 2009 Mary Crabtree rated it really liked it

Shelves: loved-it

I couldn't wait to get my hands on Waters new novel, "The Little Stranger". Fingersmith was so popular at our store and it became a favorite among so many of my friends that when I saw Waters new book had been nominated for the Booker Man, I expected a winner and was not disapppointed. I admit, I love a good scary read and especially if it's dripping with atmosphere. The Little Stranger did not disappoint. All of the cozy expected elements are there....the crumbling manor, the upper class family ...more

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Apr 24, 2010 Barbra rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is not a horror but is a spine-tingler. Its between the supernatural and the psychopathological. A great read - one I really enjoyed.

Back Cover Blurb:
In a dusty post-war summer in rural Warwickshire, a doctor is called to a patient at lonely Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house, once grand and handsome, is now in decline, its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, its owners - mother, son and daughter - struggling to keep pace with a ...more

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Dec 26, 2009 Laura rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: gothic-romance, read-2009

what a ending!!

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Jan 02, 2010 Miriam rated it liked it

Shelves: 2010

This one was hard to star. I think it is quite a masterful book, which stays true to it's narrative form and for that it deserves at least 4 stars. But I dreaded reading it. I think that was a combo of the increasing anxiety that pervades the book combined with how slowly it builds that anxiety. It did manage to completely scare the crap out of me at one point though. ...more

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