The Woman in Black – Susan Hill

My latest read was fuelled by a desire to conquer my fear, a genuine attempt at tackling one of my long-standing fears head on. So I read The Woman in Black by Susan Hill.

Firstly let me clarify that I have had a fear of The Woman in Black since I was 16! My first encounter was seeing the play at the theatre with the rest of my Drama class. As much as I could tell you what an amazing performance it was, and how the minimalist effects were perfectly executed- it was so much more. It was an outstanding performance which has successfully cemented a fear in me of The Woman in Black. Just thinking about it makes me shiver, and afterwards I had nightmares for 2 months. Now that’s some performance!

Then there came the film with Daniel Radcliffe in the role of Arthur Kipps. Admittedly there are differences between the film and the theatre adaptations, but these were to be expected. But the film succeeded in re-instating my fear of The Woman in Black, and taking it to a whole new level. The film brought The Woman in Black’s dreadful and terrifying face right into my personal space- I must get round to writing a thank you card to the relative who bought me the DVD!
To this day there are parts of that film that I have not been able to watch, simply because I was able to watch the sequence leading up to it, and then my nerves gave out and the cushion moved in front of my face, so fast it’s become a permanent reflex whenever The Woman in Black is mentioned.

It wasn’t until I saw my brother with a copy of Susan Hill’s novel The Woman in Black, that I then realised that both the film and theatre productions are adaptations from an existing work; therefore I’d done it all backwards!

So moving on to my most recent encounter with The Woman in Black….Susan Hill’s novel was much more subtle and eerie than I imagined. She successfully depicts the drab and desolate Eel Marsh House so poignantly that it’s an image hard to forget.
I didn’t know what else to expect from the novel, but I enjoyed the reminiscent ‘retelling’ perspective. Whatever horrors the story revealed, there was a survivor, able to tell the harrowing tale in great detail.

Somehow when reading Kipp’s tragic story, it hit me much harder than it did when I saw the play or film- and don’t forget the film ends completely differently to the book. Hill shows literary skill in creating such an ordinary character, whose life bears no resemblance to my own; and yet throughout the novel I cared for him. I cared for his welfare; for his sanity and for his family; almost as much as I care for my own.

What many readers forget in heavy action or mystery novels are the easy to miss, mundane and everyday occurrences. But rather than skip these events, Hill uses them to build her readers a solid picture of Arthur Kipps; giving us a reliable and believable centre for the plot. The relating of normal, everyday events makes the supernatural events starker than they would have been if the entire novel was littered with them. In fact I was surprised by the end, when you count the relatively few encounters Arthur Kipps has with The Woman in Black, the affect those encounters had not only on Kipps but myself as well…if you’re not even slightly shaken by the retelling of Kipp’s story, then you’re made of stronger stuff than me.

I did find the ending a little bleak as it seemed to just tail off into nothing. It did end for Mr Kipps at least, that much was clear. But it was a little abrupt; it’s not quite a cliff-hanger so there’s no build up or expectation for a second novel; but you don’t get much satisfaction in it either. I suppose I shouldn’t have expected more from a thriller/ horror novel, but I did want more for poor Mr Kipps.

Did reading the novel put my fears to rest? Well not so much, for a few nights I was jumpy amongst the hallway shadows. But I did feel I understood Arthur Kipps and his story much better, and enjoyed the experience whilst reading it. Those chapters which delved into the back story of The Woman in Black were fascinating, I simply wanted to get to the bottom of the mystery- I wanted to be able to put her spirit to rest. When a book can give you the same chills as a play or film, then you know you’re onto something good!

© Gemma Feltham, 25^th July 2015

Alone, Lisa Gardner

Alone is the second novel I’ve read by Lisa Gardner, and is part of her D.D. Warren and Bobby Dodge series (unrelated to Gone which is part of the Peirce Quincy series.)

In comparison to Gone I found Alone much harder to get into. I believe this to be because the events in Alone take place over a much longer period of time, therefore the pace of Alone is much slower than that of Gone. It was still a compelling novel, Gardner’s attention to detail continued to impress and eventually I found myself unable to put it down, but it certainly took much longer to get that point than when I was reading Gone.

Despite it being part of the D.D. Warren series, this book follows Bobby Dodge closely and D.D. Warren appears only intermittently. Perhaps reading the series in order would be better but unfortunately I had no concept of there being an order or different series in fact. The inside covers of Gardner novels do highlight her other works, but it does nothing to help the reader follow either series or any kind of order.

Moving on, Alone was fascinating in regards to its plot and character development. There were truly unexpected turn of events, plot twists which were described in a way which was just enough; never too much- making them believable and I would never have suspected them. Again, as in Gone, character development within Alone is a driving force in this novel. It flows easily within the plot, paragraphs are just the right length and descriptive passages are acute; with minor characters being used to add context to our major characters.

Crime thrillers are often so abundant with minor characters, police etc. thankfully I don’t feel that Gardner has fallen into this literary trap of the genre.

Alone produced some very strong emotions from me as a reader. There was plenty of death, murder and sexual tension. Raw emotion flowed from the characters such as Bobby Dodge and Catherine Gagnon and I felt the shock they felt, the fear they experienced and the drive to survive was so forcefully evident- it made me unable to put the book down. I kept willing those major characters to make that all important connection, to realise who the real threat was. Those parts in particular were very exciting to read.

One interesting technique Gardner has used in Alone, is that she never allows her readers to become completely trusting of any of the characters. One sentence, one action can change how you feel about a certain person. But in the next chapter you can be forced to re-think this opinion again and again. You are never wholly sure of who is bad and who is good; perhaps this is a reflection on the idea that people are a combination of both. By the end of the novel I was still unsure of Catherine Gagnon, and the answers and never fully revealed. But don’t worry this doesn’t leave you feeling too dissatisfied; there is enough resolution to whet a reader’s appetite.

Once more I strongly encourage you try Lisa Gardner’s work, but would wholly advocate that you try to reader the series in order, I don’t doubt this would improve your overall experience of Gardner and her characters.

© Gemma Feltham 2 November 2014

Inferno by Dan Brown

Following a suitably short, but none-the-less intriguing if rather stark and violent prologue, in the first chapter of Dan Brown’s Inferno, readers are greeted by a very confused Dr Robert Langdon; immediately readers are thrust into this latest fast-paced, nightmarish adventure. Having read many of Brown’s previous novels, being re-acquainted with Robert Langdon felt like meeting an old friend, familiar but new at the same time because it’s been a while. It was a lovely feeling which allowed me to immediately sink into the novel and I dare say other readers would feel the same.

Characters who initially suffer from amnesia or memory loss as Langdon does are fascinating, because there are endless scenarios, multiple possibilities which could explain how they came to be in that predicament. It is always an exciting adventure finding out exactly what happened; and in doing so Brown allows readers to indulge in making up their own answers, before the secrets are revealed. But of course painstakingly revealing secrets is Langdon’s (and therefore Brown’s) forte. Combine this literary technique with a rapidly changing pace and the inclusion of both long and short chapters, and you’ve got a novel which grips and pulls at a reader’s every sense and emotion.

As is my usual thoughts on Brown, Inferno is gripping, full of suspense, eloquently detailed (although some may feel it’s overly descriptive) and educational in a fun way. Art History has never been so appealing! In comparison to The Da Vinci Code I found Inferno somewhat darker in tone. This comes from the very nature of the possible impending threat, a topic which is very much at the fore front of the global political agenda, the nature of some of the characters and some quite shocking and stark violence within the pages. Whilst you hope never to be in Robert Langdon’s shoes, as a reader you get a thrilling and adrenaline-fuelled adventure to enjoy from your sofa, bed, bath or wherever!

In particular I must praise Brown for his ability to convey to the reader everything Langdon sees, hears and feels. There is a fluidity to the novel each revelation, clue cracked and new location appears sequentially with ease, again the change in pace and length of chapters assists with this. You do not merely have to be a spectator, Brown gives his readers the opportunity (through his literary prowess) to step into the novel and become Langdon, his companions and to an extent even his adversaries.  Inferno is full of plot twists and turns, cliff-hangers and extremely detailed and intriguing back stories, for characters whose role in the novel is often not fully explained or understood; until it is revealed at the very end. The deceptions revealed in chapters 81 and 82 in particular I found truly astounding- I never saw them coming! At one point I was so stunned I closed my book and just thought about what I had just read. The level of thought put into the concoction of deceptions such as Brown’s; if they truly exist in the world well… but each reader will make of that what they will, but it makes for very gripping and very entertaining reading

There is some repetition within the novel, and at times the amount of paragraphs given to describing the numerous places and countries Inferno involves can be distracting from what is an otherwise a well-established plot. One does wonder how much of the description is for the scriptwriters of the film, and how much is for the actual readers.

Overall I think it’s a good addition to the adventures of Robert Langdon. Fans should find it enjoyable to read but also those just being introduced to Dan Brown’s novels will find they can equally enjoy the novel without needing to have read any of his previous books. Despite the numerous negative reviews out there this series will always be one of my favourites and I will continue to buy Brown’s novels, simply because of the experience I get when reading them.

© Gemma Feltham 15 June 2014

Affinities- Chris Hollis

My first impression of Affinities by Chris Hollis, was that it was a well-paced, consistently written and intriguing novel.

A key feature of the writing in this novel is that the level of intrigue continually increases as the plot thickens. The story line to Affinities is unlike anything I have ever read before. In the initial chapters the character development is a slow but it is interesting, and revealed in an interesting way via one of the main character’s (Andrew Goodwin) memories. I’d have preferred a more substantial character description earlier I the novel- by chapter 7 I couldn’t remember if I knew what Andrew looked like or not. More details would have helped Hollis’ characters more relatable and believable. However, having said that from what I did know about Andrew (by chapter 7) I imagined him to be a very ‘normal’ and likeable person, which helped to make the plot even more intense and intriguing- those things just don’t happen to nice folk, do they?

The flow of this novel was great , Hollis is clearly skilled at conveying emotion to the reader. I could feel the panic when Andrew’s days went missing, and I could feel his pain when he suffered those blinding headaches.

Facing Ryan, thinking that he was the husband of his married girlfriend; was an unexpected and enjoyable twist.  It was just one of the several intriguing sub-plots hidden within Affinities. Much more could have been made of the conversation they had, but the next plot twist I never saw coming- the sign of unwittingly brilliant chapters to come.

Readers hold on to your hats when you reach chapter 8! The stark revelation it contains about the two main characters Andrew and Daniel, I found it not only shocking but also chilling as well! As Affinities progressed it became increasingly more gripping, each time control passed between Andrew and Daniel I was pulled in just that little but further.

The confusion sub-character Isabel felt at the entire situation matched my own at times. Each time control was passed between Andrew and Daniel neither I as the reader; nor the characters within the novel knew which man we would be faced with. Just when you think the end will offer some reprieve from the thrills. Hollis lures you in with a brief lull from the insanity, before plunging you right back in with a cliff hanger that sent chills down my spine.

Affinities takes you on a rough, psychologically thrilling reading experience. As the events unfold you’ll find the pace quickens and your heart rate with it, which just adds to the thrill. Although the plot turned out to be nothing like I had imagined, it was far better and well worth the read. Hollis made lying by the pool on my summer holiday exciting!

© Gemma Feltham 31^st August 2013