I know just enough about it to want to know how it ends, but not nearly enough to want to read it myself (plus, my to-be-read book stack is already towering). Go ahead - spoil away.
[spoiler]Without enough resolution. It’s been a while, but if I’m remembering right, the mother, the main chick, and her dog all die, victims of the ghost. The brother is in a mental institution, can’t remember if he dies or not. The ghost itself is never explained beyond being the ghost of a little girl. I kept waiting for some huge revelation or explanation, but it never came.
I wouldn’t worry too much about not reading it; it was definitely not one of the better books I’ve read in the past year or so. [/spoiler]
It was one of my favorites last year. Athena is right that there isn’t a straightforward resolution. There was paranormal activity in the house, and I think it was instigated (for lack of the right word) by the doctor. I also think that the doctor killed his fiancee but that’s left open to interpretation.
It reminded me of The Haunting of Hill House. Is she crazy or is it the house?
As Athena said, most of the household dies, some people thought it was mysterious and mentioned ghosts, but really, there was no reason given for anyone to think anything supernatural happened at all. :mad:
And the people who died were pretty unlikeable anyway.
Who was the little girl ghost? Why’d she want to kill people? How did the doctor instigate the paranormal activity, if indeed he did?
No answers to any of these questions, which is a lot of the reason why I didn’t much like the book. It hooks you with all the evidence, then ends without a resolution.
The little girl ghost was the family’s eldest daughter who dies very young of diptheria- who would, in fact, be about the same age as the doctor if she had lived.
If the doctor did instigate the activity (nothing happened until he started visiting), it was probably because he felt a connection with the house. His mother had worked there, and he loved the place. I think he thought the family living there didn’t appreciate or deserve the house. They didn’t take proper care of it.
He struck me as someone who thought he was entitled to more but that he wasn’t willing to really work for it. He only became engaged to the young woman so he could live in the house, and things went south when she started talking about moving to the city.
So poltergeist? It doesn’t really fit, because aren’t poltergeists supposed to become active if there’s a pubescent girl around?
I think some of the events were supernatural, but the major event at the end of the book was all on the doctor.
I enjoyed the time I spent with this book for the most part. The tone was right, the story kept me interested…it was just such a letdown in the end. I’ve liked other books by Sarah Waters and would be willing to give her another chance. But pass on this one.
Thanks, everyone, for your answers so far.
Killing his fiancee? Tell me more about that.