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A review by hadu
The House by the Churchyard by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
3.0
I originally bought this book to get in the mood for Halloween thinking it was going to be a creepy story. I had read [b:Uncle Silas|6353342|Uncle Silas|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327351196s/6353342.jpg|2847087] and loved it. I assumed "The House by the Churchyard" would be just as good and hoped it would be especially because the book is so thick!
I felt overwhelmed by the number of characters when I first began reading. The confusion cleared up some as I read on but not completely because there were so many personalities to keep straight. I remember reading for some time and wondering when something scary would happen. There were points when I thought it was starting to finally go down a dark path but then it wouldn't last.
I found the storyline to be a mixture of a comedy and murder/mystery (but mostly comedy) rather than a ghost story as the title of the book will fool you into thinking. It's interesting to be able to laugh at 19th century humor in the 21st century. Although I didn't end up reading the kind of novel I wanted for the season I still enjoyed my time with this book. As in "Uncle Silas" Sheridan Le Fanu's heavily detailed style of writing makes it effortless to visualize the scene.
I felt overwhelmed by the number of characters when I first began reading. The confusion cleared up some as I read on but not completely because there were so many personalities to keep straight. I remember reading for some time and wondering when something scary would happen. There were points when I thought it was starting to finally go down a dark path but then it wouldn't last.
I found the storyline to be a mixture of a comedy and murder/mystery (but mostly comedy) rather than a ghost story as the title of the book will fool you into thinking. It's interesting to be able to laugh at 19th century humor in the 21st century. Although I didn't end up reading the kind of novel I wanted for the season I still enjoyed my time with this book. As in "Uncle Silas" Sheridan Le Fanu's heavily detailed style of writing makes it effortless to visualize the scene.