I will admit I was waiting to read this book and I was not disappointed . It is a gothic horror set in an isolated , haunted house in medieval EnglandI will admit I was waiting to read this book and I was not disappointed . It is a gothic horror set in an isolated , haunted house in medieval England. Elsie Bainbridge finds herself in an asylum and recollects the events that have led to her current confinement . We learn that just a year back , the newly widowed and pregnant Elsie retires with her husband Rupert's cousin Sarah Bainbridge to their family house in rural England . The other occupants of the house are the housekeeper Mrs.Holt and two maids ,Mabel and Helen and not to forget a black cat, Jasper.. The door to the garrett is locked and and every night she hears rasping noises coming from within. On investigating , she manages to open the door and discovers the wooden companion of a young girl who resembles Elsie and Rupert and two journals written by Ann Bainbridge, an ancestor of Rupert's two hundred years ago. Companions are wooden dutch figures created by the dutch that are hybrids of sculptures or paintings and are life like.What follows next is a creepy tale of horror where the companions multiply and haunt Elsie and the other inmates, leading her to the discover the fact that the house has a horrible history ultimately leading to the unraveling of her mind and sanity. The story by itself is well told and a plot cannot go wrong with bones in the garden,horrible deaths, muddy prints in the window, and an eerie and sinister atmosphere throughout the narration coupled with the menacing presence of the companions.I really enjoyed the book and compulsively turned the pages till I finished it. In the end , Laura Purcell conveys the fact that humans are more evil than ghosts and spirits and we never know how twisted the minds of our own companions are. I would say that this book is similar to the "The woman in Back " more than the "Little Stranger " . So, the reason why I have given four stars instead of five is I felt that there were some loose ends in the plot. We never get to know what was the nature of the abuse faced by Elsie from her parents, the identity of the bodies that were discovered in the garden , who actually slaughtered the cow and kept his head in the gown box,the documents related to the house that are mentioned by the vicar are never discussed or even the fact of how the Bainbridge diamonds are transferred to the family locker from the dead gypsy girl.
Inspite of all this , this was a terrific read and I would recommend that this is a must read for all lovers of gothic horror.
I have read only four Stephen King books in my entire life (all during adolescence )and they are Carrie , pet sematary ,the shining and IT . I left KiI have read only four Stephen King books in my entire life (all during adolescence )and they are Carrie , pet sematary ,the shining and IT . I left King behind when I grew out of adolescence because I was a girl who got the shivers easily and King's novels always left me feeling uneasy .I am reading IT the third time now and I will have to admit that IT is still one of my all time favorite books that I enjoyed reading during the growing years ❤ and when I read it now I realised that King is right when he keeps repeating in IT that children's perspective and the world they live in are totally alien to adults .I used to like Bill but this time I just gravitated towards Ben and the famous orgy scene did not mean a thing to me when I read it earlier because I accepted it just as how I accepted evil clowns,walking mummies,giant birds ,lepers,swinging statues and talking turtles😂. However ,now after having a kid of my own I kept wondering why he even included it in the novel when it really has no relevance at all ( was he really on so many drugs at that time 😂) But you see ,I still loved the Losers club,the cool and calm Bill,the neat and logical Stan ,the utterly normal Mike,the frail but confident Eddie ,the Goofy and actually intelligent Richie ,the fat but steady and confident Ben and of course beautiful and feisty Beverly .I still loved the way they fit perfectly into a friendship that does not require any effort at all and the courage with which they stand up for each other and that is what this novel is All about ,that we all retain a portion of our childhood unconsciously how much ever we grow up. King's novel is about childhood with all it's joy,innocence secrets ,fears ,dreams and wonders. I am sure I will feel like reading it again in another twenty years ❤.So ,I don't care if beverly has short hair in the movie ,or the ritual of chud is not included in the movie ,I will watch it simply as a tribute to the KING....more
Book 21 of 2018 : "The Prince of Mist " by Carlos Ruiz Zafron. This has been sitting on my shelf for a very long time .It was bought during a period whBook 21 of 2018 : "The Prince of Mist " by Carlos Ruiz Zafron. This has been sitting on my shelf for a very long time .It was bought during a period when I was overwhelmed with "The Shadow of the Wind" and wanted to read all of Zafron's work. This is his debut novel and the writing shows that ,but it is still a good read for middle grade and it is not a surprise that it was initially published as a YA novel. The story is horror based and reminded me of IT .We have a group of kids trying to kill an ancient evil which is thirsting for revenge . Strictly for Carlos Ruiz Zafron fans 😊...more
All right , I guess people knew what they talking about when they coined the proverb , "Old is Gold". I first read Dracula , a long time back when I wAll right , I guess people knew what they talking about when they coined the proverb , "Old is Gold". I first read Dracula , a long time back when I was twelve years old and I was horrified and I was not able to go to sleep alone. I used to imagine this bloodthirsty monster standing near the window by the moonlight.I read it once again because I wanted to see how I felt about it now after life happened to me .This is because there are two things I believe in : 1) the first is that books we love are meant to be read and reread multiple times and 2) the second is that the way we perceive a book and reflect on it's content tends to change with the course of time as we age and go through life . I have to agree with many people that this is a timeless classic. I still felt my blood go cold at places especially when Dracula throws a sack that contains a stolen child to the lady vampires to feed , or even when Lucy Westenra becomes a vampire and the men accost her keeping a child to her bosom which she throws recklessly on the ground. Loved it when I read it so many years ago when I was twelve and loved it even more when I read it now..When it comes to horror ,it is my opinion that the writers of yesteryears were masters at it.This is the book that started all the different versions of Dracula on paper and film .Too be frank ,I prefer my vampires as blood thirsty ,remorseless monsters than the latest fad of painting them as highly desirable males who have women swooning over them😂😂.No offense to Stephanie Meyer or Anne Rice. I mean ,how can a reader of this book forget the scene,where the men break into Mina's room and find Dracula bent over Mina Harker and feeding her his blood with blood trickling down her chin and lips 😁.Not to forget the moonlight shining through an open window in the background and howling dogs !!! Gothic horror at it's best 😆...more
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