2022 - 04 - gothic - What did you read?

[PAS, Moderator AC]

April Shelf is gothic

Did you find a new favourite?

[Lisette]

I finished Season of Storms by Susanna Kearsley [3-april-22] 3 stars

This is about Celia accepting a role in a play for which she has to go to Italy. The pacing was very slow and for a while not much was going on. I liked that we got several detailed descriptions of the surroundings. The gardens of the villa sounded lovely. The characters were interesting. I loved the dogs. The story about Celia the first was intriguing. There was a bit of a mystery to the story. It's a shame that the romance didn't get much attention. Now it was barely there. Overall it was enjoyable. Not as good as I expected from this author. The other books I read from her were better.

This book was tagged as gothic, but I wouldn't really call it gothic. Yes there was a ghost and a mysterious story about a woman who disappeared and might have run off or have been murdered. Yet it didn't feel very gothic to me.

[Shannon]

I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. It was a well written story, but not my kind of book.

I nominate Made Me Think.

[Marina]

I read Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier, 5 stars.

This is tagged as gothic but it's not gothic at all. Maybe people shelved it as such just because du Maurier wrote many gothic books?

Lady Dona St. Columb is bored in London, with her husband she doesn't love and her two children who are the apple of her eye, especially little James. So she goes to Navron, in Cornwall, leaving her husband behind and taking only her children and their nanny with her. She will soon discover that a pirate is ravaging the coast, and adventure will begin. This is a novel of awakening – Dona will finally find her true self, but will she leave the old Dona behind?

This is the fourth book I've read by du Maurier, and it's definitely my favorite along with Rebecca. This author was simply genius.

I nominate hidden gems.

[Meg]

Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman
3 stars

This is the fourth installment in the Sandman graphic novel series. It has some gothic elements - the main character is an embodiment of "Dream". In this volume we get to meet his siblings and a lot of other mythological creatures.
I find this series OK, it's not a favourite but it's worth continuing on with.

Used for seriously serial
I nominate book club

[Bea]

I read The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks. I gave it 2*,

This book was read for a gothic challenge...and, it certainly is dark and horrific. Even though I have read gothic works that I liked, this was not one of them.

I never connected to the protagonist other than to guess the birth gender. None of the elements described in the story were scary to me. No, each was just a horrific insight into a disturbed mind...not an element that led to a desire to keep reading at all.

There are better gothic stories out there. There are better horror stories out there. This is not either. It is a look into a diseased mind and makes me wonder more about the author's mental health that anything.

I should have continued to avoid this book as I have for years. I read it only for the challenge and to get it off my list. If not for the challenge and my own horror at DNF'g a book, I would have quit on this one. Not my cup of tea at all.

I read this for the monthly shelf.
I nominate set in Scotland.

[Susan]

I read The Death of Mrs. Westaway. It was a good choice for me, because it was more mystery than horror, which is definitely my preference. I surprised myself by deciding in the end to give it 4*. I probably think it's really worth 3.5*, but worth rounding up rather than down. There were mysteries with only a rather small number of possibilities for the answers, and yet I still kept debating the possibilities right up until the reveal.

[Lauren]

I read The Vanishing and gave it 3 Stars.

The gothic elements are well-developed, and the kernels for several intriguing explanations, including Native American folklore, reincarnation, hallucinations, and even an ancient evil, create a somewhat spooky atmosphere. Unfortunately, the story progresses at such a slow pace that by the time anything truly interesting happens it is too late to actually care about the fates of any of the characters.

I nominate Paranormal Mystery

[Joanna]

I read Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
I gave it 5 stars

My friend Alex wrote the best review of this and you should really just go read his review instead of mine.

I adored this pre-Dracula lesbian vampire story. The book is (intentionally?) over the top, but also gothic and enigmatic and wonderful. (Also, I want to use the spelling vampyre from now on. Is that too pretentious?) Not only is this one of the earliest (the earliest?) vampyre stories, it's also one of the first stories of detective/researcher of magic. The book is framed as part of the case files of a doctor.

The book tells the story of a secluded young woman who lives with her father in an old castle. Then, a visitor implores them to take in her young daughter for a few months. Just go with it because the plot isn't the important part here. Don't get caught up in wondering why anyone would agree to this ridiculous request. Then weird things start happening--townspeople are mysteriously sickening and dying; the visitor seems strange; the secluded young daughter starts having crazy (and erotic) dreams and begins to seem sick.

Reading this sent me down a rabbit hole of reading about early vampyre tales. My favorite from that excursion is this: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31713... --a scholarly article about what disease forms the basis of vampyre stories.

Highly recommend reading this book. It's very short, so if you don't like it, you won't have spent too much time on it.

I nominate Strong Women

[Marina]

Joanna, I'm glad you liked it! The first time I read it I was in my teens, I think, and I didn't like it that much. Then I re-read it as an adult and loved it!

Unfortunately, your link points to a "Page not found" – at least, I think that's what it says.

[Joanna]

Ugh. I think it should be fixed now.

[Marina]

Thanks, Joanna! I'll read the article as soon as I have time, it looks really interesting.

Edit: I see only the abstract can be read, however it does look intriguing!

[Marina]

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, 4 stars.

I thought this would be a horror book, but it's not. Gothic, maybe, but it's not frightening in any way, at least for me. The historical background is wonderfully written, the characterization is great, as is the characters' descent into madness due to the tricks of their haunted house, Hundreds Hall. I really enjoyed this book even though it wasn't exactly what I expected. I will read more books by Waters as I really liked her writing.

Used for Just Read It prompt 6 (and Blind Date).

I nominate fun.

[Tien]

Bea wrote: "I nominate set in Scotland."

Sorry, Bea, shelf has less than 1,000 books so doesn't qualify.

[Bea]

Tien wrote: "Bea wrote: "I nominate set in Scotland."

Sorry, Bea, shelf has less than 1,000 books so doesn't qualify."

Bummer. Here's an alternative shelf:

Scotland

[Joyce]

I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Review:
This was a gothic in nature but not terribly. I expected ghosts and other supernatural stuff. It was a strange book with strange characters. I was not terribly impressed by the book.

I nominate: Urban Fantasy

[Elvenn]

I read The Magpie Lord (2013), a victorian supernatural mystery with some m/m romance, full of Gothic touches, perfect to read between more complex stories.

The main character is an English aristocrat that returns home after the death of his father and brother to discover his life is also in danger after being attacked by an invisible force.

Out of his depth, he seeks the help of the English equivalent of a shaman...

I found it very entertaining and a fast read but it has some swearing and a couple of sex scenes, so it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

It's part of a series but can be read as a stand-alone.

I had had the ebook since 2020 but the kindle edition currently appears as free to download.

Rating: 4 stars ~ Shelf nomination: Africa

[Jamie]

I read Viy by Nikolai Gogol and I loved it. A great gothic story and the author really knows how to make the reader feel like we're actually there. 4 stars.

I nominate fashion.

[Marina]

Jamie wrote: "I read Viy by Nikolai Gogol and I loved it. A great gothic story and the author really knows how to make the reader feel like we're actually there. 4 stars."

Glad you liked it – I loved it, too!

[Beverly]

I read Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. ★★★★★

This book is the third book in the Infernal Devices Trilogy. Tessa is still torn between the two Shadowhunters Jem and Will. Mortmain kidnaps Tessa and the danger to the London Institute is increasing. Who will save the day? Surprisingly, I enjoyed all three books and will probably read more of Clare's books.

I nominate Strong Women

[Lisette]

Beverly wrote: "I read Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare. ★★★★★

This book is the third book in the Infernal Devices Trilogy. Tessa is still torn between the two Shadowhunters J..."

There are a few different reading orders in case you want to read more books by this author.
https://rivetedlit.com/2020/03/04/cas...