Review - Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Title: Northanger Abbey

Author: Jane Austen

Rating: 5/5 stars 

Synopsis: The story’s unlikely heroine is Catherine Morland, a remarkably innocent seventeen-year-old woman from a country parsonage. While spending a few weeks in Bath with a family friend, Catherine meets and falls in love with Henry Tilney, who invites her to visit his family estate, Northanger Abbey. Once there, Catherine, a great reader of Gothic thrillers, lets the shadowy atmosphere of the old mansion fill her mind with terrible suspicions. What is the mystery surrounding the death of Henry’s mother? Is the family concealing a terrible secret within the elegant rooms of the Abbey? Can she trust Henry, or is he part of an evil conspiracy? Catherine finds dreadful portents in the most prosaic events, until Henry persuades her to see the peril in confusing life with art.

My thoughts: This is a story of lady meets gentleman. The lady in question likes reading gothic novels and the gentleman’s father owns an abbey that could easily be the set of one of the lady’s beloved tales. Perfect match, isn’t it? Seems so, but what if the Abbey turns out to be not nearly as pleasant a place as the lady thought it would be? What if the gentleman belongs to a peculiar family with a past that some members of the kin cannot bury?

Northanger Abbey could be divided into two parts set-wise. The first part of the novel takes place in Bath, to where our heroine Catherine Morland accompanies family friends and where she expects to spend a joyful time. And indeed, she soon gets acquainted with two families, each of which provides her with one friend and one suitor. In this first half of the book there’s an awful lot of talk about gigs and bonnets, but don’t worry, dear reader, Jane Austen is that kind of an author, who can make a conversation about ladies’ attire interesting.

The second part of Northanger Abbey is set in the Abbey itself – here Miss Austen reaches back to gothic novel traditions and shakes the reader’s spirit up a bit: if you get to the chapter where the journey to the Abbey starts, then it’s time to bid adieu to the ‘rosy’ part of the story. The nights grow longer and a hunt for the truth begins. But will the search around the house give Catherine satisfaction?

All in all, Northanger Abbey is a really entertaining tale. What I enjoyed the most in it were the gothic elements, the dark and at times creepy-crawly nature of the story-telling in the second half of the text. The main character Catherine is a lovely young lady, but since she’s young she’s quite naïve – oh well, who wasn’t at seventeen? As for the other characters, I was a bit irritated by Mrs. Allen as well as Mr. Thorpe. Unfortunately, the ending was spoiled for me – thanks mom! – but I liked it nonetheless as well as the whole of the novel.

Review - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Title: North and South

Author: Elizabeth Gaskell

Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis: When her father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience, Margaret Hale is uprooted from her comfortable home in Hampshire to move with her family to the north of England. Initially repulsed by the ugliness of her new surroundings in the industrial town of Milton, Margaret becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of the local mill workers and develops a passionate sense of social justice. This is intensified by her tempestuous relationship with the mill-owner and self-made man, John Thornton, as their fierce opposition over his treatment of his employees masks a deeper attraction.

My thoughts: How could I possibly describe the complexity of feelings Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South evoked in me? It won my heart completely. The basic oppositions in the book – north and south, light and dark, leisure and work, humility and pride – grow into something deeper than their simple selves throughout the pages. The main characters, Margaret and Mr. Thornton seem to represent the two parts of England and with it two kinds of lifestyle. Maybe at first we idolize the south ourselves, looking at it through Margaret’s eyes, and think Milton is hell compared to it, but later it seems just so natural to alter our opinions. I personally found Milton a great deal more interesting a place than Helstone – and not only because the love between Margaret and Mr. Thornton unfolded there, but because I strangely became interested in the class struggle that was part of the plot too. It was fascinating how the workmen organized the strike, and so were the things Mr. Thornton said about the relationship between ‘hands’ and masters.

I also liked to read about the great development in the latter towards the end of the book. Of course I melted every time Margaret’s thoughts about Mr. Thornton were expressed, but even more when I learned about Thornton’s thoughts about Margaret. The man has such a gentle heart, I always held my breath out of excitement when I came to read his musings on the beloved woman.

Thornton’s mother is a very well written character, it was entertaining to read her parts too, because she made me go ‘who this woman thinks she is’ many times. She is a very strong mother figure and I liked how protective she was of her son.

I feel I could go on forever and ever rambling about my favourite characters and parts, but I won’t. When I started to read this book I thought it was going to be about a girl, who moves from the south to the north, falls in love with a miller and, after having to face some difficulties, eventually they settle down with each other. Now that I’ve read it I can tell you, North and South is much more than this. It is an Experience and it is most certainly recommended to everyone (especially if you’ve read and like/d Jane Austen’s novels).

Review - The Road by Simon Guerrier

Title: Being Human: The Road

Author: Simon Guerrier

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis: Annie has learned quite a bit about her new friend Gemma: she’s from Bristol, she used to work in a pharmacy, and she’s never forgiven herself for the suicide of her teenage son. She also died 10 years ago and doesn’t know why she’s come back through that door. Perhaps it has something to do with the new road they’re building through the rundown part of town. The plans are sparking protests, and Annie knows those derelict houses hold a secret in Gemma’s past. Will stopping the demolition help Gemma be at peace again? Annie, George, and Mitchell get involved in the road protest, but they are more concerned by mysterious deaths at the hospital—deaths that have also attracted the attention of the new Hospital Administrator

My thoughts:
I just finished the fourth season of Being Human the other week and I’m already missing Annie, George and Mitchell, so it was no question I purchase this book. I had various experiences with spin-off novels before (I’ve read Doctor Who and Torchwood books) therefore more or less I knew what to expect when I picked up The Road. I have read good books of this sort, but I’m also aware they are never really perfect as a whole somehow. They have parts that I enjoy and then parts that are disappointing and at times a stupid plot or some bad characterization puts me off these novels for a while.

Luckily I didn’t find anything ‘that bad’ about The Road. The story starts with a domestic scene that is way too adorable for words (it creates the first season’s atmosphere, which is my favourite of all): Annie’s making the boys breakfast, Mitchell is all giggly, George is worried about being late for work… Soon the boys are off to the hospital and the story begins. 

The book introduces a new character, Gemma, who is a ghost herself and, for some reason or another, comes back from the other side through a door that leads to Annie’s living room. The housemates immediately assume she has an unfinished business and when they slowly find out little details about Gemma’s life, they realize her business has something to do with the new road, which is just about to be built on the other side of Bristol. Meanwhile in the hospital everyone is afraid of finding themselves out of their jobs, as the new administrator monitors every staff member closely and so George and, especially, Mitchell is struggling to keep a low profile while digging out information about certain patients (to solve Gemma’s mystery). 

The story flows well enough to keep a fan intrigued and, the most important thing, Simon Guerrier has a very good grasp on the characters. There are some ghostly ghosts in the story – translucent, gleaming ones–, which is also a plus (frankly, they are spookier than an Annie-like ghost). Throughout the novel, in the hospital everyone seems to think that George is gay for Mitchell & vice versa – I found this hilarious. By the way, Annie has a closer relationship with George than she has with Mitchell here, so George/Annie shippers, there’s a treat for you!

The book is not flawless though. At some points the writer forgot he was writing mainly for fans and put down obvious information that those who watched the show regularly would know – like that Annie makes tea all the time even though she doesn’t drink it – and this can be annoying after a while. Also, the physical description of the characters in the beginning is not quite accurate (George is not taller than Mitchell)… Oh, and I know Mitchell smokes a lot, but I don’t see him as a chain-smoker, while Guerrier apparently does.

All in all I liked the story very much and I’ll definitely check out Chasers, which is the second book in the series.

Review - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Title: The Great Gatsby

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Rating: 4/5 stars 

Synopsis: Some said he had been a German spy, others that he was related to one of Europe's royal families. Nearly everyone took advantage of his fabulous hospitality. And it was fabulous. In his superb Long Island home he gave the most amazing parties, and not the least remarkable thing about them was that few people could recognize their host. He seemed to be a man without a background, without history; whose eyes were always searching the glitter and razzamatazz for something... someone?

My thoughts:

Huge expensive cars, jazz music, glamorous parties and fountains flowing with champagne: this is the roaring twenties – this is Jay Gatsby’s world. But who is this Gatsby, this phantom of a host, this mysterious stranger, who lets a great mass of people invade his house every Saturday so they can let off the steam? Who is this man, the subject of so much gossip? – the question wouldn’t stop bugging Nick Carraway, the young clerk who’s just moved to Long Island, or to be exact right in the neighborhood of Gatsby’s mansion. He soon gets an answer. And another. And another. The complexity of Jay Gatsby’s personality and the romantic, gloomy setting of his past seem to mesmerize Nick. There’s only one thing that’s certain: Gatsby is in love with a woman, who is no other than Nick’s cousin and who is happen to be married.

I read the book for the second time now, and the reason why I decided to do so is that we’re going to discuss it on my American Literature class in a few weeks’ time. Well, first of all, I have to say I’m so glad I re-read it! This time I was able to enjoy the atmosphere of the Jazz age much more than I had for the first time. I’m not a party-goer, you see, and so the idea of endless partying kinda terrifies me, but I understood more of what motivated the characters and this gave me a different grasp on the story and through that on the twenties’ America. 

Gatsby is by far the most fascinating character for me in this book, he strangely stands out of the crowd that surrounds him all the time. He is beyond the meaninglessness that pervades the summer air his guests breathe, he has a dream, he has a goal: to get his love, Daisy back. I like how determined he is, I like the fact his ambition to make a fortune – whatever illegal way he’d done that – was based on love.

His rival in the story – Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband – is a total brute, I have no idea how Daisy can bear him. As for Daisy, I don’t know whether I like her or not. I imagine her as a beautiful, seemingly confident woman, but she’s not independent, she craves to be controlled and she needs someone, who would make decisions instead of her.

Nick, our narrator, is a lovely guy. He’s from the west and he’s as much an outsider as Gatsby is, maybe that’s why they understand each other (Isn’t that so, old sport?).

Other than the characters I adore the parallel that Fitzgerald draws between driving and living in the novel. Careless driving indicates the same way of leading one’s life, which can result in serious consequences.

As you can tell, and I can only repeat myself, I enjoyed the Great Gatsby very much. You will too! Go and read it!

Review - 1984 by George Orwell

Title: Nineteen Eighty-Four

Author: George Orwell

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis: Newspeak, Doublethink, Big Brother, the Thought Police - the language of 1984 has passed into the English language as a symbol of the horrors of totalitarianism. George Orwell's story of Winston Smith's fight against the all-prevading Party has become a classic not the least because of its intellectual coherence.

My thoughts: This was a shocking read. Merely to imagine a world without free thoughts is terrifying for me. When I was reading the book, at some parts my mind shouted: wrong wrONG WRONG, because the lack of privacy in the described society hit me so hard every time. The novel is a masterpiece, I cannot deny that, regardless how its mind-paralyzing ideologies made me feel. I definitely recommend it to those who enjoy dystopian novels (although if you’d like to avoid reading graphic torture scenes I suggest you pick up something else).