Julia
by Peter Straub

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Book Reviews of Julia

Book Review: Come meet Julia Lofting. You'll never forget her.
Summary: 5 Stars

In Julia Lofting, Straub gives the first foray on the exquisite architecture of characters that has been a trademark of his craft. Julia, in a way, opens the path for other memorable Straub women, like Alma Mobley (in "Ghost Story"), Laura Allbee and Patsy McCloud (in "Floating Dragon"), Sarah Spence (in "Mystery") and more clearly, Nora Chancel (of "The Hellfire Club"), who in more ways than one seems a sister entity to Julia.

Too wealthy for her own good, Julia is a troubled soul who seems to solve every situation by fleeing. She fled America for England, then she fled an unbearable freedom for marriage to charismatic yet voracious Magnus Lofting, a barrister with a name but no money and a few secrets in his past, then, she fled in tragedy and grief that marriage and an unhappy household in search for solace and the freedom she shunned, but in this lovely Georgian house, Julia finds she won't be able to run anymore, but rather will have to face multiple ghosts, from within and from the past.

Perfectly written, well settled, with an unforgettable climax, "Julia" is Straub's first foray into the supernatural and it suceeds where other novels merely tried. The elements of melodrama and grand-guignol, which seem like recquirements for stories of this type, are schewed and in exchange, Straub follows the rule of the classic gothic novel (all the narrative elements are there, including the heroine, the castle and the ghost)-- including the obsessive fact that the past will become ever more important than the present itself, leading to the atmosphere of ominous angst that is one of the best effects of this memorable novel, that was first published in 1975.

Definitely a novel worth reading; inspiring, haunting, and in more ways than one, unforgettable.

Summary of Julia

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• Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers > Psychological Thrillers