The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

The Little Stranger

by Sarah Waters

WOW.

Thank you Bookseller at The Country Bookshop in Pinehurst, NC for this recommendation. I must hurry and write this review so I may go grab EVERY SINGLE OTHER THING WATERS HAS WRITTEN.

I admit, I am a sucker for historical fiction. It is my favorite. I am also a sucker for a big Victorian mansion, strong women, and strange goings-ons in said mansions. Check, check and....check!

While our narrator I found to be exasperatingly weak and condescending to our two main women, I had to forgive him as this was most likely just a sign of the times. Post War England, to be exact. The aristocracy are failing Downton-like, and our narrator, a small town doctor with not much to look forward to, befriends the local manse owners - a widow and her two grown children who still live with her in the dilapidated and crumbling Hundreds Hall. The daughter, described as "solid," is not your typical debutante - plain and sturdy, she is a no-nonsense kind of girl. Her brother, injured in the war, is surly and withdrawn. But our Dr. Faraday (what IS his first name, anyway???) is fascinated by the house and eventually by "spinster" Caroline (she's like 32, sheesh). 

This story has a very slow build to it and sucks you in. I was distracted by Faraday's constant diagnosis of the women being "tired" all the time though. That got old. But as one after another of the family falls ill or worse, Faraday becomes frantic to rescue Caroline somehow and save the house from demolition to the town's new growth. Is something in the house? Is there a curse? Are the family members crazy? And what is it that Faraday is really after - love of this woman or love for this house? We may never know, as the end is shocking and maybe inevitable, but the book itself is well written - I read it over Spring break in about two days, couldn't put it down. 

Gothic, creepy but not scary (no nightmares here), you pull for Caroline and Faraday and yet somehow.....the House always wins......this one leaves a lot to discuss, so let me know if you read it and let's discuss! Especially the part about a "split soul" and the last page's reference to a mirror....hmmmmmm...