The Little Stranger
by Sarah Waters
List Price:
Our Price: $0.01
You Save: $15.99 (100%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Sarah WatersEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2010-05-04
ISBN: 1594484465
Number of pages: 528
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9781594484469
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Little Stranger
Book Review: Sarah Waters never ceases to amaze!
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't have to enunciate the sheer brilliance that is Sarah Waters. Those who have read her already know it. Those who haven't need to get acquainted with her books which, I believe, are among the greatest literary works. The Little Stranger is my second favourite novel by Sarah Waters after Fingersmith. In this book, the author completely deviates from her previous books. Yet, her ability to awe still remains the same.
Now imagine a huge gothic mansion, a possibly haunted mansion.Thenimagine something walking up the stairs of the mansion , the pitter- patter of feet which are not very human...
I dare you to read this book and be able to sleep without lights on. Honestly, I could not!
The Little Stranger is narrated by Dr. Faraday, a local doctor in a small village of England around the 1940s. His mother was a nursery maid in Hundreds Hall, a huge mansion in the village. As a child, he was fascinated by the mansion and has fond memories of it.
"With his death, Hundreds hall withdrew even further from the world. The gates of the park were kept almost permanently closed. The solid brown stone boundary wall, though not especially high, was high enough to forbidding. And for all that the house was such a grand one, there was no spot, on any of the lanes in that part of Warwickshie, from which it could be glimpsed. I sometimes thought of it, tucked away in there, as I passed the wall on my rounds- picturing it always as it had seemed to me that day in 1919, with its handsome brick faces, and its cool marble passages, each one filled with marvellous things.'"
When he is called to Hundreds Hall to see a patient, he is shocked to see the extent of deterioration of the house. The Ayers- the owners of the Hundreds Halls were once a powerful and rich family. But they have now fallen into poverty and have barely enough money to maintain what was once a stately mansion.
"Hundreds Hall had been made and maintained, I thought, by the very people they were laughing at now. After two hundred years, those people had begun to withdraw their labour, their belief in the house; and the house was collapsing, like a pyramid of cards. Meanwhile, here the family sat, still playing gaily at gentry life, with the chipped stucco on their walls, and their Turkey carpets worn to the weave, and their riveted china..."
The Ayers family consists of the middle-aged widow, Mrs Ayers, her 27-year old daughter, Caroline, who has resigned herself to a life as a spinster and a 24-year old son, Roderick, who is now the reluctant owner of Hundreds Hall.
As Dr. Faraday becomes more closely acquainted with the family, he finds out that there are supposedly strange happenings in the house. Being a man of science, he is naturally sceptical. But things take a sinister turn, as slowly Roderick starts to lose his sanity as claims to hear and see thing that can't be explained by anything that's "natural". Strange spots appear, supposedly accidental fires, a child's voice, footsteps- as things go worse, Dr Faraday comes face to face with the reality of the horror unfolding at Hundreds Hall.
The Little Strangers is a mixture of genres. It is a pschological thriller entwined with gothic suspense/horror. Sarah Waters knows how to play with words. she creates an entire atmosphere of suspense, terror, dark secrets and malevolence that sucks you right in. I tried to tell myself that this is just a book, calm down! It didn't work. Such is the talent of this very eloquent author, that it all seemed so terrifyingly real to me, like something like this can really happen in real life.
Though it may seem like a gothic horror story, The Little Stranger deals with so much more- a once wealthy family that is struggling to cling to its way of life and the complexity of relationships (between siblings and between parent-child). Kudos to Sarah Waters for scaring the living daylights out of me! The author knows how to spin a tale that guarantees that you are hooked to the book.
Like I said, The Little Stranger is completely different from any other Sarah Waters books. What remains the same is the beautiful writing, an atmospheric setting and characters that continue to haunt the reader. The Little Stranger ends with many questions. Every person will have a different perspective to what really happened at Hundreds Hall. There is no "end" as such. It's left to the readers imagination. Hundreds Hall will linger in your mind long after you have read the last page.
Overall:
Compelling, haunting and highly entertaining
Recommended?
Yes, to fans of Sarah Waters and to people who just like a suspenseful, gripping story.
Summary of The Little Stranger
The New York Times bestseller and Booker Prize contender that "delivers...a ghost story that creeps up your spine" (Seattle Times).
One post-war summer in rural Warwickshire, Dr. Faraday is called to a patient at lonely Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house, once impressive and handsome, is now in decline. Its owners-mother, son, and daughter-are struggling to keep pace with a changing society, as well as with conflicts of their own. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life? Little does Dr. Faraday know how closely, and how terrifyingly, their story is about to become intimately entwined with his.
One post-war summer in rural Warwickshire, Dr. Faraday is called to a patient at lonely Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house, once impressive and handsome, is now in decline. Its owners-mother, son, and daughter-are struggling to keep pace with a changing society, as well as with conflicts of their own. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life? Little does Dr. Faraday know how closely, and how terrifyingly, their story is about to become intimately entwined with his.
Watch a Video
Historical Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Similar Books and other products
A Dark Dividingby Sarah Rayne
Felony & Mayhem; Published: 2011-06-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.04
Price in other shops:
Started Early, Took My Dog: A Novelby Kate Atkinson
Reagan Arthur / Back Bay Books; Published: 2011-10-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.15
Price in other shops:
Northanger Abbeyby Jane Austen
CreateSpace; Published: 2010-08-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
The Bookshopby Penelope Fitzgerald
Houghton Mifflin Co.; Published: 1997-09-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.75
Price in other shops:
The Haunting of Hill House (Penguin Classics)by Shirley Jackson
Penguin Classics; Published: 2006-11-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.52
Price in other shops:
The Night Watchby Sarah Waters
Riverhead Trade; Published: 2006-09-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.81
Price in other shops:
Tipping the Velvet: A Novelby Sarah Waters
Riverhead Trade; Published: 2000-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.77
Price in other shops:
Affinityby Sarah Waters
Riverhead Trade; Published: 2002-01-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.51
Price in other shops:
The Night Watchby Sarah Waters
Riverhead Trade; Published: 2006-09-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.91
Price in other shops:
Fingersmithby Sarah Waters
Riverhead Trade; Published: 2002-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.88
Price in other shops: