El ocupante

Add a ghost story, it's really solidly in the ol M. R. James tradition, but what attitudes me as an American is the classism and the seemingly inseparable misogyny of the setting. But most of all, it's a stunningly well-written and crafted book.

Ich habe eigentlich gar keine besondere Liebe zu Romanen über bröckelnde britische Oberschichtgemäuer und käme gut damit klar, nie wieder einen zu lesen. Aber ich sehnte mich nach einer gut geölten Erzählmaschinerie und habe mit diesem Buch angefangen, weil ich "Fingersmith" von Sarah Waters mochte. Es schnurrte dann auch wirklich alles angenehm verlässlich, nur so um die 70%-Marke hing die Handlung ein kleines bisschen durch. Der Schluss war dafür dann wieder interessanter als erwartet.

I found it unsatisfying enough that it is ending my streak of reading her books. I liked all the ones up to this point (publication order) and i still heartily recommend Fingersmith.

I picked this up on a whim after my mom mentioned the slow pace, because I wanted a calm and quiet read. The setting is extremely well-researched and well-written, especially the fate of grand estates in post-war Britain, but I wasn't much interested in the plot or characters.

After reading mixed reviews, I wasn't sure what to expect and almost quit listening to the audio book. I'm glad I didn't.

I rounded up from 3.5 because Sarah Waters is a great story teller. I felt it was a bit longer than it needed to be but, contrary to many others, I enjoyed the end. Quite a bit.