A few comments on Grasshopper........

Sunday, 11 March 2007
Review: Grasshopper, by Barbara Vine


Personal Rating: 4/5




Having said I'm going away (which I have done) unfotunately I haven't managed to stay away from the internet altogether, so here I am (but maybe for the last time this week - honest!
Anyway, I seem to have gone from one Barbara to another with my reading. This novel is the story of Clodagh Brown, who has a great love of heights and an equally great fear of underground and enclosed spaces. Her love of heights has resulted in two major events in her life, both of which end with tragic consequences, and this story primarily focusses on the second one.
Much of this story takes place skipping across the rooves of terraced houses in Maida Vale, an area of London, although this light airy spirit is not carried through into the writing. The plot cleverly reveals little bits at a time, and although this can be intriguing, it does also drag along in places.
What saves the day are the main characters, Clodagh and Silver, and their young simple naive spirits as they try to help underdogs. The characters and the intriguing plot kept me reading through to its fairly inevitable tragic end, and the way the story flipped between the present day, and earlier events, kept giving little clues about the outcome.
Although this book was hard work at times, I would still say it was worth it, and I'm glad I persevered. I read one of her other books, The Dark Adapted Eye, a few years ago, which I remember thinking was an amazing psychological novel and, although this wasn't on a par with that, it was still a thrilling read which I would highly recommend.
Posted by heidijane at 19:36
Labels: Barbara Vine, holiday, Recommended, reviews
4 comments:
jenclair said...
I haven't read this one, but have enjoyed all of the novels I've read by Barbara Vine (and all of those she writes under her own name, Ruth Rendell).

13 March 2007 12:24
nessie said...
I remember when I worked in a bookstore that she had a small but devoted following.

13 March 2007 21:48
Lesley said...
Hmm, this sounds interesting. I just finished a Barbara Vine book that I did not really like all that much (The Minotaur), and that was my first experience with her writing (either as BV or Ruth Rendell). Not sure whether I want to give her another try or not ...

14 March 2007 18:09
Anonymous said...
Yeah I read this one as well and I admit that it dragged along at times for me.

I must say though that I love all Barbara Vine and Ruth Rendell novels. I love the settings and the deep and sometimes very dark psychological intrigue.

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