Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2009, and registered for the European Roundabout 2009.

Order of reading:
Roundabout participants
1. Franaloe
2. EmgeeNL
3. Sternschnuppe 28
4. Karinat
5. Coss-patch
6. Mafarrimond
7. Sidney1
8. MartinaViola
9. ...

What can I say, this is an OK book. The story takes a while before it really starts up; there is some patience needed to read this book. The main character, Dr Faraday, is too naive and slow understanding to my taste. Also, without wanting to say too much about the story, I could see things coming for ages, but then needed to wait 50 pages before they really happened.
Hmmm....although this all sounds a bit negative, still, I give this book 7 out of 10 stars.


The book will be sent to EmgeeNL today.

The book arrived. It's going on my tbr for now

25 November
Just finished reading the book. It's not a book that I would have picked at a bookstore and it certainly is not a kinda story I really enjoy reading, I guess I'm to much down to earth for this kinda stuff. The book is easy to read though, although I guess it has to be in order to finish reading all the 499 pages. I will give it a six out of ten.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

The book is on it's way to Germany

Thanks for sending! I am already looking forward to this one. Last year I enjoyed Sarah Waters "The Night Watch" a lot, so I hope this this as well as her other.

I very much enjoyed the "Little Stranger" - quite gothic in tone, very chilling, and well written, the book is a very nice piece of writing. Each character stands out, and the atmosphere is incredibly claustrophobic. It is the ideal read for cold and foggy winter evenings; you will find yourself unable to stop reading in the middle of the night.

The book continues travelling to katrinat tomorrow.

Arrived today, despite the snow, looking forward to this as I love Sarah Waters

Half way through and loving it, have requested the next address ao should be sent out asap. Sorry for taking so long, its been a wierd old month!

My blog post on this book:
I picked up The Little Stranger with trepidation on Saturday, I had seen bad reviews in blogland and a friend had told me that she thought it was awful (she normally love Sarah Waters). After 50 pages I was pleasantly surprised that I was enjoying it.

The Little Stranger is set in post-war England in the small village of Lidcote. The novel starts with a childs visit to a grand house where his mother had previously worked as a nursery nurse. In awe of the house he breaks part of a display down. I didn't realise that our narrator was a boy for many pages.

30 odd years later the boy visits the house again but this time as a doctor. The house is not as he remembered, not as big and grand, many of its rooms are shut up and old age and a lack of finances are clearly seen in the decoration and condition of the place. Living there is just the mother and a son and daughter, plus a young helpless maid. Gradually the doctor builds up a friendship with the members of the household, and visits them as both a doctor and a friend on a regular basis. Thats when things become strange.

The son, damaged by the war, keeps hearing noises and injuring himself, fires start and a placid dog attacks. Suddenly we are unsure if there is a spirit in the house or if one of the members of the household is out to cause havoc.

I enjoyed this read, and raced through the 500 pages in just two reading session. However, I would certainly not say this was Sarah Waters best, no Victorian underworlds splayed out in my imagination, no fancy narrative structure, no loveable illicit lesbians or crooks. This was just a ghost story, not highly original, and probably in need of a good editing. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but if I was writing her a school style report I would have scrawled 'Could do better' on the page.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Off to Cross-Patch

It has arrived.

This is not as full-bodied as other Sarah Water's novels I have read but it is poignant and has touched my senses. It was well worth the read.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

I will be able to get to the PO at last - sorry, Maureen, for the delay.

The book has arrived safely. I look forward to reading it.

I really enjoyed this book which I agree is quite gothic in style and very atmospheric. It sits quite gigh in my estimation of 2009's shortlisted books.

It is the first book, I have read by Sarah Waters and will definately look for more.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sending on

Arrived safely yesterday. Got my nose deep into Wolf Hall (which I am loving) so will take a little while before I get to this one. But I see I'm the last on the list, so there should be no real rush. Hope that's ok.

Sarah Waters writes well and fluently, and some of her images are delightful. She sets herself the difficult task of narrating the story through a rather boring country doctor, an ageing bachelor without ambition fearing the introduction of the NHS. As a man of the lower classes, whose parents paid literally with their lives to get him through school, he is oddly without a fixed place in society. He comes across as an exact, fastidious, rather sad and lost man with only a few friends. The fact that he is slowly drawn into family live at Hundreds manor poses a real change for him, a progression in his class, an excitement in his boring everyday routing. Consequently, he recounts even the smallest events in the development of the story, savouring every moment he has at Hundreds Hall. In that way the book needs editing for the modern, impatient reader. On the other hand, this style of narrative certainly brings across the doctor’s finicky character very well. Also, this slow style very much emulates the Victorian ghost novel.
The story certainly speeds up in the second half of the book, as the reader starts to suspect Dr. Faraday’s motives for action. The end is brilliant: an open end, with so much suggested …
I also liked the brief discussion with Dr. Seely on ghosts or supernatural occurrences – are they, in fact, some kind of evil alter ego, a Mr Hyde, acting? A little stranger?
All in all not the most original but certainly a gripping book, once you give it the time to develop.
The book is off to Italy tomorrow.

The book arrived a few days ago but I wasn't at home, that's why I'm journalling it only now!
It would take me a little time to read it: I had a few bookrings ahead.

:)

It took me almost a month to read "the little stranger": the language is fluent and not particularly difficult for me but the plot is too slow...I was about to abandon it!
Stephen King defined it as the best read of 2009 but I don't trust him anymore.
Stephen, what did you read exactly? I'm not sure you were talking about the book I just read!

I was frustrated after page 35 because nothing had happened! I think it's important to describe the contest and the characters and so on but Sarah Waters exaggerated! Something changed only at page 97 and it's too much: I wasn't involved and I continued reading only because I wanted to know if it would have gone as I imagined.
The answer is Yes. There aren't any surprises in this story!
It's chilly, a bit gothic and claustrophobic but it's static as a building, even more than Hundreds Hall! Nothing I wasn't expecting happened...

It was my first time with Sarah Waters and, altough I didn't like this book, I appreciate her writing and I think I'll try again with a different book.

Thank you Franaloe for giving me the possibility to read it!

The book is coming back home. :)

The book is home again. Thanks for joining tis ring everyone!
Now all we have to do is wait for the next MBP shortlist...