Skip to main content

Review: The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters


Pages: 510

Original date of publication: 2009

My edition: 2010 (Riverhead)

Why I decided to read: an impulse purchase

How I acquired my copy: impulse purchase at Borders in the Philadelphia airport, December 2010

How on earth have I never gotten around to reading this book before this? I feel as though I’m the last person in the book blogosphere to read and review this book! Other reviewers have said enough on the plot of the book; I really don’t know if I have anything to add to it. I’m almost ashamed to admit that this is the first book I’ve read by Sarah Waters!

The description of the book says that it’s a ghost story; but this book goes far beyond that, in my opinion. Sure, there’s a hint of the supernatural in this story (although it’s never fully realized, nor does this story line come to a satisfying conclusion), but it’s much more a work of historical fiction that takes a look at the breakdown in the social hierarchy in the years just after WWII. Roderick Ayres is the “squire,” owner of an 18th century mansion that has fallen on hard times; Dr. Faraday, on the other hand, is the son of a housemaid who has nonetheless managed to do moderately well for himself (although the reader detects a fair amount of bitterness from him towards those who are better off than he is, mixed with enviousness and the desire to be socially acceptable). At the beginning of the story, there’s a clear distinction between the two (Dr. Faraday is treated much the same way as the housemaid is treated); but as the Ayres family falls, the lines between the classes are blurred. Sarah Waters’s treatment of her subject is very deftly, subtly handled, but she gets her point across very well.

The ghost story aspect was a little more frustrating for me, especially since, as I’ve said, this part of the story gets abandoned for other, more interesting things. The supernatural stuff is creepy, but it’s not really the focus of this novel.

I also loved Sarah Waters’s descriptions of her characters, something she appears to do very well. Each one is fully developed, even Dr. Faraday, who’s a bit of a wet blanket sometimes, and not totally compelling as a narrator. He was also frustratingly obtuse at times, which is not something I particularly care for in a narrator who’s supposed to be a) observant and b) a doctor! My favorite character was Caroline (I’m laughing as I write this, because she’s the exact same age as I am, but she’s described as a spinster!). But as the novel reveals, each member of the Ayres family has his or her own particular weakness, which is brought to the forefront. I loved how Sarah Waters handles Roderick’s character, and his madness—or is it madness? Very well done.

Comments

Unknown said…
I haven't had the chance to read this one yet, but I loved her earlier book, Fingersmith. It was so well done - and they made it into movie too, which was surprisingly pretty good.
Aimee Burton said…
Welcome to the Sarah Waters fan club (it's fairly large)!

If you like The Little Stranger, you will adore Fingersmith (my personal favourite). But all her reads are completely above par.

-Aimee

http://content.boomerangbooks.com.au/poisoned-apples-blog/
Mystica said…
This was very very good. Strange but good. Different but good!!!
JoAnn said…
I really enjoyed Fingersmith and Night Watch, but haven't gotten around to this one yet. I hope to soon...

Popular posts from this blog

Another giveaway

This time, the publicist at WW Norton sent me two copies of The Glass of Time , by Michael Cox--so I'm giving away the second copy. Cox is the author of The Meaning of Night, and this book is the follow-up to that. Leave a comment here to enter to win it! The deadline is next Sunday, 10/5/08.

A giveaway winner, and another giveaway

The winner of the Girl in a Blue Dress contest is... Anna, of Diary of An Eccentric ! My new contest is for a copy of The Shape of Mercy , by Susan Meissner. According to Publisher's Weekly : Meissner's newest novel is potentially life-changing, the kind of inspirational fiction that prompts readers to call up old friends, lost loves or fallen-away family members to tell them that all is forgiven and that life is too short for holding grudges. Achingly romantic, the novel features the legacy of Mercy Hayworth—a young woman convicted during the Salem witch trials—whose words reach out from the past to forever transform the lives of two present-day women. These book lovers—Abigail Boyles, elderly, bitter and frail, and Lauren Lars Durough, wealthy, earnest and young—become unlikely friends, drawn together over the untimely death of Mercy, whose precious diary is all that remains of her too short life. And what a diary! Mercy's words not only beguile but help Abigail and Lars

Six Degrees of Barbara Pym's Novels

This year seems to be The Year of Barbara Pym; I know some of you out there are involved in some kind of a readalong in honor of the 100th year of her birth. I’ve read most of her canon, with only The Sweet Dove Died, Civil to Strangers, An Academic Question, and Crampton Hodnet left to go (sadly). Barbara Pym’s novels feature very similar casts of characters: spinsters, clergymen, retirees, clerks, and anthropologists, with which she had direct experience. So it stands to reason that there would be overlaps in characters between the novels. You can trace that though the publication history of her books and therefore see how Pym onionizes her stories and characters. She adds layers onto layers, adding more details as her books progress. Some Tame Gazelle (1950): Archdeacon Hoccleve makes his first appearance. Excellent Women (1952): Archdeacon Hoccleve gives a sermon that is almost incomprehensible to Mildred Lathbury; Everard Bone understands it, however, and laughs