THE FURQUITS BOOKSWAP ROUND 2 - Team Edward's book - WIB by SH

[Wheelybug]

Discuss !

[LightShinesInTheDarkness]

Small but perfectly formed is how I would sum up this book. It would probably only take about 3 hours at most to read all in one go, which is probably how it is best done.

The descriptions of place, weather, sea and the marshes are eerie and atmospheric, conjuring up the setting for the story beautifully.

The story is not complex or terrifying and the author tantalises the reader by dropping clues about the Woman in Black so that you 'get it' before Arthur and are then desperate for him to catch up so that all can be revealed.

I would recommend this to anyone who wants a well-written and entertaining story to take on a long train journey or quiet night by the fire.

Great choice and a really good start to the 2nd Fur Quits Book Swap - thanks, TE.

[LightShinesInTheDarkness]

Hi TE - when I mentioned the book to a colleague, she told me that the stage adaptation is one of the longest-running plays in London and is completely terrifying!

Much of it is done by the use of sound effects, with only minimal stage acting as such. I live near enough to get to London, so will probably go and see it.

[rocketleaf]

I am not sure if I liked this book. I agree it was beautifully written descriptively, it had lots of atmosphere and you were drawn into Arthurs situation but I thought the ending was a bit obvious. Too much was given away during the narrative that it was all going to end badly. I think it was just too sad for me really as I knew something tragic was going to happen and was just waiting for it.

A good book, but just not my cup of tea, I think.

[itsatiggerday]

I thought this was really well written and structured. But if I'm honest I was a little underwhelmed. It's probably my fault as I'd heard of the play from people raving about how chilling it was and the book just didn't really live up to that level of hype.

Partly I find stories much more scary if they're in a setting I can relate to / see myself in, and the remote, isolated, quite extraordinary geography described isn't close to the environment I live in so it all just felt a bit too removed to make me really shiver. Also, I found the 'mature' perspective of Arthur tantalisingly sketchy, the wife and children listed and some personal details given but never really meaningful to the main story, but which again may have been the 'in' for me to relate to why it was so terrifying.

Sorry, that sounds a bit more negative than I actually feel about it. Thanks for recommending, I'm glad I read it and would recommend it to others but prob just with "it's good" rather than rave so they were pleasantly surprised!

[Jas]

I think I read this one at the wrong time. I managed to spread it over about three weeks, due tonon-sleeping children and christmas, which I think was not the way to read this one.

I was captivated by the story, and would definitely be interested enough to see the play if I could, but it was a very simple story, and reading it broken down into small parts definitely took away the atmosphere that could have been created.

Thanks for introducing me to a book I'd never heard of, though

[Wheelybug]

I enjoyed this but am another one who was a little bit underwhelmed.

I was really intrigued to read it though as, back in our child-less days, we used to go to the theatre a lot and I was always too worried that I'd find the play a bit too scarey so have never seen it. I guess, as a result, it was built up a bit in my mind.

Well written, very atmospheric and absorbing. Does make me want to see the play now.

A good choice too I think !

[simpson]

bookmarking...

getting stuck in, am about half way so far...

[simpson]

OK, have finished it now

I really enjoyed the simplicity of it and thought it was really good.

It wsas very well written, simple but effective iyswim.

I would love to see the play too

This is the type of book I love to get in a book club tbh, a book that I would never think of reading but that I throughly enjoyed