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jimmyhawkins's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Alice Howker: will die
Reuben Howker: will die
John Howker: will die
Jimmy Howker: Wille die
Clive Howker: will die
Ted Howker: will die
Evie Howker: will go mad
Arthur: will run away and never be heard of again
Lem Roker: will die
Rose Howker: all alone
Bro, her biggest fear time x7!
T’was good! Easy read, especially if you haven’t read in a while. Not a heavy plot, yet not boring. Only 130 pages so totally possible even if busy.
nicolamarie84's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
tombomp's review
2.0
Why write a book that's just a succession of sad events? Giving it 2 stars regardless of the writing being decent as rebellion against it. I have no idea if any of the events depicted in the book are realistic (is this what a mining village was really like? who knows!) but it's just a cavalcade of misery happening to a single family who are apparently ridiculously unlucky in every way. They have some choice over their fate but they always make the bad decision. The thing is the writing is pretty solid - it doesn't go in for florid descriptions, there's no deep conversations, but the 2 main characters still feel reasonably fleshed given the short length of the book. Yet at the same time I didn't feel much emotional connection to them: I think I just tuned out after a certain point when I realised they exist just to have bad things happen to them. I don't know if there's anything to take away from it either. That life is cruel and you're screwed whether you stay within the pattern set or if you try and get out of it? I think I'm being too harsh here. Maybe I'm just really not in the mood for fiction right now. I don't know.
Re the ending You can't say for sure cause there's 0 indication of when this book is set. Oh well
Re the ending
Spoiler
I don't buy at all that he'd get the death penalty for that, given the killing was clearly not intentional, the attack was provoked and it wasn't pre-meditated. but heydash33's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 - my first Susan Hill read. I tend to really enjoy stories that focus on small towns/communities, but I found this somewhat depressing. Whenever I thought things were turning for the better, I ended up feeling like I had been sucker punched instead. As depressing as I found it, I did enjoy spending most of my read rooting for the main characters in hope it would all come up roses in the end. Overall I liked it and it won’t stop me from reading more of her works. I like her style.
___josie's review against another edition
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
afterhours's review
4.0
Susan Hill amazes me each time. This short novel is so powerful and emotional that it wont be easily forgotten. It is captivating, full of tension and anxiety with a highly charged atmosphere. Little may be said but a lot can be understood in Susan Hill's prose. The shocking end of the story simply eats your heart out. Got to read this one.
lucy_12's review against another edition
3.0
A good read, once I got over my disappointment of it not being a horror 🙈