Lille fremmede (2009)

The Little Stranger is set post-World War II in the English countryside. Hundreds, the house where most of the action takes place, has a gothic atmosphere that seems to fascinate the narrator of the story, Dr. Faraday. His mother was once a housemaid there and he becomes the family doctor. The family is much reduced; the son was injured in the war and the estate is in dire straits. Strange things begin to occur to the family, and the doctor is drawn in despite his belief that the problems are more psychological than paranormal.
It took me a long time to read this book, though I did put it down for quite a long while. While the writing is lovely, the plot is very slow. Ultimately, I found the ending unsatisfying; I didn't really expect the spirit of the daughter or a poltergeist to be identified, but things are somewhat left hanging with the doctor not really resolving his feeling toward the family or the house. ( )

Sarah Waters captures the Victorian Gothic perfectly here, with echoes of Henry James. In fact, there is a closer relationship between this novel and "The Turn of the Screw" than to any other I can think of. In particular, I am struck here by the unreliable narrator and his own obsession with the house, which possibly does the most damage to the characters in the novel. Waters manages to trick the reader into believing the "objective" viewpoint of the doctor, only to bring us down a rabbit hole of increased neurosis and obsessions of his own, until, at the very end, there is no doubt that the doctor himself has been a negative force in the house all along.....excellently done. ( )

Sarah Water's novel about "The Little Stranger" is a horror novel that reads more like a conventional historical novel. The time is shortly after WWII, the place is England, and the people involved are former wealthy landowners and their family doctor. There is a love story (of sorts) intertwined in the tale about the big estate - the "haunted house" if you will.

Strange and odd things happen. The doctor seems to be full of rational explanations for everything. Many parts of the book do not deal with any type of horror at all, they are just scenes of ordinary living and illness, mental and physical.

I wished this novel were scarier. It was very well written and had some interesting characters, though no one was especially likable. The author hints but doesn't out right tell you what is going on, leaving us to wonder about a few things when we finish the book. ( )

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. ( )

[This is a review I wrote in 2009]

**Shortlisted for the Man Booker 2009. A haunting ghost story**

Sarah Waters captures the divisive power of class resentment in post-war middle England with an eloquence of narration which few contemporary writers can claim to equal. The Little Stranger works for the reader on several levels: as a haunting ghost story, reminiscent of accomplished nineteenth-century authors like Wilkie Collins, and Charles Dickens, as well as more modern writers like Margaret Atwood; yet also as a powerful social novel of class divide, society rules and customs, sexual repressions and the beginnings of sexual freedom for women, political upheaval, public health reform, and of course the demise of the English Country House. The novel is set during a period of great change for the country - new ideas were being questioned, old values were being questioned, and thrown into the mix are these supernatural happenings - can psychical research explain these away, or imbalances of the mind? There is no answer with this novel, just many questions; all of which combine to leave you with thoughts long after you have finished reading.

So why only 4 stars? Well, in places I felt the book could have benefited from some tighter editing which I personally feel could have made the book brilliant, rather than just very good, and then of course there's the cover. It shouldn't matter but it does. The cover just does not suit the novel at all. (I have the Virago hardback. Have a look at the cover for the American edition by Riverhead - it suits the book much better). Overall it is very, very good, with some superb writing - Sarah Waters is very accomplished at winding tension slowly at first, and then tighter and tighter until the last thing you can think of is putting the book down to go and do those chores, or go to sleep. As an extra bonus, if you are familiar with the Warwickshire countryside, especially around Warwick, Leamington and Southam you will find extra pleasures in reading about a lovely part of the country which does not often turn up in literary fiction. ( )