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absurtiddy's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
rkishu's review against another edition
4.0
Rating 4/5
This book tells the story about John, a young violinist, studying at Oxford college around the 1840s. One day during his practice sessions he notices that every time when he plays this one piece "the Gagliarda" the wicker chair in his apartment seems to creak. Later, he could swear that somebody whom he perceives to possess a "sleek smile" of malevolent nature sits on this chair listening intently to him. Some months later, John finally finds an old Stradivarius violin in his dorm room. This special violin is thereupon his object of obsession and we learn in the course of this novel how obsessions can lead to fatal consequences.
It is no secret that The lost Stradivarius is a ghost story which definitely has some scary moments. There was one scene that really stood out to me as really scary in a psychological way: This scene gave me the creeps and reminded me immensely of Stephen Kings the Shining where Jack Torrence typed over and over (All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy), which was a great scene.
This book does, however, have its weak points. The worst part is the ending. It is not very good as it seems to be a bit too far fetched. If I wrote the book I would have left out the last chapter (the epilog) and rather left the ending open. This would have further motivated the reader to think for himself and to ask if we could trust Johns statements. Something I also found a bit frustrating, which could however be a sign of the time this novel was published, is the instant forgiveness of the actions of John. For real, he treats his wife, his sister and everybody around him like literal shit, yet everybody is so keen to forgive him in an instant. I do not like this at all.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and would definitively recommend it. I think the theme of obsession and how it changes the character of a person is excellently described. How the object in question is taking over all of a persons character, thoughts and plans and how resulting from this relationships with people can change. This psychological horror is something I miss in many modern Horror stories.
Some books that this one reminds me of:
Regarding obsession: [b:The Shining|11588|The Shining|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1353277730l/11588._SY75_.jpg|849585], [b:Needful Things|107291|Needful Things|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1315767817l/107291._SY75_.jpg|1812101], [b:Frankenstein: The 1818 Text|35031085|Frankenstein The 1818 Text|Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631088473l/35031085._SY75_.jpg|4836639], [b:Moby-Dick or, the Whale|153747|Moby-Dick or, the Whale|Herman Melville|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327940656l/153747._SY75_.jpg|2409320]
Regarding the corruption through art: [b:The Picture of Dorian Gray|5297|The Picture of Dorian Gray|Oscar Wilde|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546103428l/5297._SY75_.jpg|1858012]
This book tells the story about John, a young violinist, studying at Oxford college around the 1840s. One day during his practice sessions he notices that every time when he plays this one piece "the Gagliarda" the wicker chair in his apartment seems to creak. Later, he could swear that somebody whom he perceives to possess a "sleek smile" of malevolent nature sits on this chair listening intently to him. Some months later, John finally finds an old Stradivarius violin in his dorm room. This special violin is thereupon his object of obsession and we learn in the course of this novel how obsessions can lead to fatal consequences.
It is no secret that The lost Stradivarius is a ghost story which definitely has some scary moments. There was one scene that really stood out to me as really scary in a psychological way:
Spoiler
It was in the later parts of the story where at midnight John's wife Constance hears the faint tune of a violin and when she goes out to see where it came from, it turns out that it is her husband playing the Gagliarda over and over in front of the picture of Adrian Temple.This book does, however, have its weak points. The worst part is the ending. It is not very good as it seems to be a bit too far fetched. If I wrote the book I would have left out the last chapter (the epilog) and rather left the ending open. This would have further motivated the reader to think for himself and to ask if we could trust Johns statements. Something I also found a bit frustrating, which could however be a sign of the time this novel was published, is the instant forgiveness of the actions of John. For real, he treats his wife, his sister and everybody around him like literal shit, yet everybody is so keen to forgive him in an instant. I do not like this at all.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and would definitively recommend it. I think the theme of obsession and how it changes the character of a person is excellently described. How the object in question is taking over all of a persons character, thoughts and plans and how resulting from this relationships with people can change. This psychological horror is something I miss in many modern Horror stories.
Some books that this one reminds me of:
Regarding obsession: [b:The Shining|11588|The Shining|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1353277730l/11588._SY75_.jpg|849585], [b:Needful Things|107291|Needful Things|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1315767817l/107291._SY75_.jpg|1812101], [b:Frankenstein: The 1818 Text|35031085|Frankenstein The 1818 Text|Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631088473l/35031085._SY75_.jpg|4836639], [b:Moby-Dick or, the Whale|153747|Moby-Dick or, the Whale|Herman Melville|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327940656l/153747._SY75_.jpg|2409320]
Regarding the corruption through art: [b:The Picture of Dorian Gray|5297|The Picture of Dorian Gray|Oscar Wilde|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546103428l/5297._SY75_.jpg|1858012]
fredsphere's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Apparently it took me 2 years to finish this. Although it is short, its old-fashioned, very wordy writing style made the first 75% of the book a chore to read. Still, the excitement of the last quarter changed my attitude and made me want to put this on my re-read list.
A young aristocrat discovers a rare violin hidden in his rooms and discovers it is haunted. His family and friends watch, appalled, as he falls under the spell of the ghost of its former owner, a man who pursued "every vice." In the old manner, the author is too reticent to spell out what kinds of immoral acts are being referred to but we can guess sex and violins are among them.
What I liked best is the solid metaphysics and even theology in the revelations of the ending. Normally, turning up the religion knob risks turning fiction into sermon, but here I thought it added depth and pathos. I've said elsewhere that I've lost my taste for horror, tending to find it not scary, except in those cases like Wickerman and Hereditary where it goes Full Satan. This book does that, more or less, and it made me feel the horror of the waste of the young man's life as intensely as his fictional friends.
A young aristocrat discovers a rare violin hidden in his rooms and discovers it is haunted. His family and friends watch, appalled, as he falls under the spell of the ghost of its former owner, a man who pursued "every vice." In the old manner, the author is too reticent to spell out what kinds of immoral acts are being referred to but we can guess sex and violins are among them.
What I liked best is the solid metaphysics and even theology in the revelations of the ending. Normally, turning up the religion knob risks turning fiction into sermon, but here I thought it added depth and pathos. I've said elsewhere that I've lost my taste for horror, tending to find it not scary, except in those cases like Wickerman and Hereditary where it goes Full Satan. This book does that, more or less, and it made me feel the horror of the waste of the young man's life as intensely as his fictional friends.
unsweettea's review against another edition
3.0
Wonderfully creepy and well-written, but I found Gaskell's explanation at the end extremely obscure. I had to stop in the middle of reading the book and go look up Porphyry and neo-platonism to figure out what he was talking about. And for someone who is not remotely religious the act of falling away from standard Christian doctrine pretty much fails to produce any horror. No doubt it would have been considered quite horrible at the time the book was written. Anyway, it was an interesting and engaging book.
lnatal's review against another edition
4.0
Available at BBC Radio 7.
A Stradivarius violin conjures up ghostly apparitions when played by an Oxford student.
A Stradivarius violin conjures up ghostly apparitions when played by an Oxford student.
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