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A review by axl_oswaldo
The Semi-Detached House by Emily Eden
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
<b>2.5 stars</b> rounded down
It is very sad when you are completely sure you will love one book, but once you finish it, your experience turns out not to be that successful. This is basically what I lived reading <b>The Semi-Detached House</b>, one of the two novels written by the Victorian novelist, Emily Eden.
It was just when I read other reviews here on Goodreads that I realized this situation was probably my fault, since you have to be in the right mood in order to enjoy this type of novel, a novel where 'nothing' happens from beginning to end.
I'm kind of a sucker for plotless novels, and I'm not talking about those experimental novels with stream of consciousness or a lot of crazy stuff—which are also my cup of tea, by the way—but about those stories where literally nothing is happening, a novel about manners, customs, society, gossip and the like, everything but plot or not mainly focused on character development. So, when I picked up this book, I knew beforehand what I was about to read—I'm always curious about my readings and therefore I try to look for any information regarding the author, their style of writing, topics that they usually talk about in their books, etc.—and although <b>The Semi-Detached House</b> is supposed to be a wholesome, charming, beautiful story about some people living together in a semi-detached house and overall about their neighborhood, it turned out to be a really insufferable and extremely boring experience.
Sorry but I couldn't help but feel I was wasting my time at some point reading this book. Many people say this novel is very Austenish, and I can see why and I'd probably agree on that, however, neither the style of writing nor the descriptions are similar to any Jane Austen novel I have read so far. For instance, Eden's prose was somehow plain and somewhat monotonous, I would say it had no soul, so to speak. Moreover, the characters were basically the same, from cover to cover, and it was even impossible for me to make a distinction between them; in short, they were so shallow with no dimension (perhaps with only one exception).
Again, I can see the resemblance between this story and an Austen novel, and as far as I am concerned, Jane Austen was Eden's favorite author, so it makes sense there are some topics in her novel that reminds you of your favorite Austen story, however, as I said before, if you are not ready for a story of that kind—though you already know there will not be a story, properly speaking—you won't have an enjoyable, remarkable experience.
Finally, I wouldn't like to say this novel was really terrible—even though the author decided to wrap up her story with a telegram, and where a situation is solved just like that, with no further explanation and with only one line at the end of the book—perhaps in other circumstances the experience would have been different; this time, it was a disappointing one nevertheless. That being said, there were two characters who were so likable, Mrs. Hopkinson and Rachel, that I really cared about them throughout the whole book, and if I ended up being interested in the story at some point, it was because of them. The rest of the characters were tolerable yet forgettable, nothing else to say.
I know my review is mainly a negative opinion, but I'm not giving up on this author; I would like to give Eden's first novel—<b>The Semi-Attached Couple</b>—a shot in the distant future (it was her second published book, though she wrote it 30 years before <b>The Semi-Detached House</b>) and to see if that one is my thing despite my first experience. Next time I will make sure that I am in the right mood to read such stories before picking them up.
<b>“Oh dear! how unamiable I am when I am with my uncle and aunt," thought Rachel, "thoroughly detestable I may say, and yet when I am with those girls, or little Charlie, I can be as good as gold, and so tame that that baby can lead me; I do believe evil qualities are more catching than measles.”</b>
It is very sad when you are completely sure you will love one book, but once you finish it, your experience turns out not to be that successful. This is basically what I lived reading <b>The Semi-Detached House</b>, one of the two novels written by the Victorian novelist, Emily Eden.
It was just when I read other reviews here on Goodreads that I realized this situation was probably my fault, since you have to be in the right mood in order to enjoy this type of novel, a novel where 'nothing' happens from beginning to end.
I'm kind of a sucker for plotless novels, and I'm not talking about those experimental novels with stream of consciousness or a lot of crazy stuff—which are also my cup of tea, by the way—but about those stories where literally nothing is happening, a novel about manners, customs, society, gossip and the like, everything but plot or not mainly focused on character development. So, when I picked up this book, I knew beforehand what I was about to read—I'm always curious about my readings and therefore I try to look for any information regarding the author, their style of writing, topics that they usually talk about in their books, etc.—and although <b>The Semi-Detached House</b> is supposed to be a wholesome, charming, beautiful story about some people living together in a semi-detached house and overall about their neighborhood, it turned out to be a really insufferable and extremely boring experience.
Sorry but I couldn't help but feel I was wasting my time at some point reading this book. Many people say this novel is very Austenish, and I can see why and I'd probably agree on that, however, neither the style of writing nor the descriptions are similar to any Jane Austen novel I have read so far. For instance, Eden's prose was somehow plain and somewhat monotonous, I would say it had no soul, so to speak. Moreover, the characters were basically the same, from cover to cover, and it was even impossible for me to make a distinction between them; in short, they were so shallow with no dimension (perhaps with only one exception).
Again, I can see the resemblance between this story and an Austen novel, and as far as I am concerned, Jane Austen was Eden's favorite author, so it makes sense there are some topics in her novel that reminds you of your favorite Austen story, however, as I said before, if you are not ready for a story of that kind—though you already know there will not be a story, properly speaking—you won't have an enjoyable, remarkable experience.
Finally, I wouldn't like to say this novel was really terrible—even though the author decided to wrap up her story with a telegram, and where a situation is solved just like that, with no further explanation and with only one line at the end of the book—perhaps in other circumstances the experience would have been different; this time, it was a disappointing one nevertheless. That being said, there were two characters who were so likable, Mrs. Hopkinson and Rachel, that I really cared about them throughout the whole book, and if I ended up being interested in the story at some point, it was because of them. The rest of the characters were tolerable yet forgettable, nothing else to say.
I know my review is mainly a negative opinion, but I'm not giving up on this author; I would like to give Eden's first novel—<b>The Semi-Attached Couple</b>—a shot in the distant future (it was her second published book, though she wrote it 30 years before <b>The Semi-Detached House</b>) and to see if that one is my thing despite my first experience. Next time I will make sure that I am in the right mood to read such stories before picking them up.
<b>“Oh dear! how unamiable I am when I am with my uncle and aunt," thought Rachel, "thoroughly detestable I may say, and yet when I am with those girls, or little Charlie, I can be as good as gold, and so tame that that baby can lead me; I do believe evil qualities are more catching than measles.”</b>