THE LANTERN by Deborah Lawrenson

I hoped this would be a great modem gothic ghost story and murder mystery to kick off my October reads but alas, it fell a bit short.

The author’s descriptions of the south France, the lavender fields and countryside were wonderfully evocative. I understand that setting the scene and creating an atmosphere is important, but it was a bit much.

Two narratives, two timelines and alternating chapters tells the history and the people who lived in and around Les Genévriers (The Junpiers), a home surrounded by small cottages and farmland in Provence, France.

I would have loved it if Marthe’s story about how she became a blind master perfumer in the 1940-50s was a standalone book. That would have been a far more interesting read than another modern retelling of the classic novel, Rebecca.

In short, the writing was lovely, but there was too much emphasis on setting/atmosphere and not enough toward character development. I’d pass on this one.


Rating: 3/5 ⭐️

TOO MUCH DESCRIPTION!! The first 35 pages of this book were almost too much for me, I was suffocating on the extensive detail with which Lawrenson describes the smells from her little hamlet in Provence. (Yes the entire setting of the novel is in fact the hamlet she owns in Southern France, go to her website to see actual photo tours of the property!). The middle of the book starts to pick up and actually piqued my interest, almost enough for me to forgive the first half of the book. However the ending is extremely predictable, and too easily tied together. A huge disappointment!

This book was cozy and spooky at the same time! Lots of imagery of the landscape of Provence. Loved every word about the Lavender fields. It was quite slow moving but did have the build-up that I like in a story. I do crave mystery every now and again!

If Perfume by Patrick Suskind and Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier had a baby, it would be The Lantern. Perfume, love story, mystery, ghost story, Provence...all the good elements for me to enjoy a good fast read.

Started out slow but by the middle I was really engrossed. Good book.

Review originally posted on my blog : http://utahmomslife.blogspot.com/2011/09/lantern-book-review.html

As soon as I read a review that compared The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson to Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, I knew I would have to read The Lantern. I love the psychological thriller Rebecca and looked forward to A newer work with a similar style. The comparison between the two novels is definitely deserved and Lawrenson even pays tribute to Du Maurier by having the main character and narrator of her novel read Rebecca.

While the similarities between the two novels are obvious and numerous, I wanted to enjoy The Lantern for it's own story and tried to divorce my thoughts from the plot in Rebecca. Not only was it possible, Lawrenson succeeded in writing a story that was fresh, riveting and eerie.

The unnamed narrator and the older man she has recently fallen in love with, though she has only known him for a short time, move together to a charming but dilapidated hamlet in France. Not only does she begin to wonder about this man and his former wife, whom he will not talk about, she suspects that the home is haunted by ghosts. Alternately, a second narrator, Benedicte Lincel, the former owner of Les Genevriers, tells of her own haunting experiences.

I love a good ghost story and The Lantern delivers. Lawrenson is adept at building the suspense and moving along the plot at a steady though slower pace, also reminiscent of Rebecca. Lawrenson also paints a lovely picture of the landscape and describes the distinct smells.There are some books that you can very nearly taste. The Lantern is a book with it's own scent. Invoking the senses, the reader easily becomes immersed in the luscious language and the suspicious thoughts of the main character.

I enjoyed the experience of reading The Lantern so much that I was disappointed that it came to an end. It's the type of book that remains on my nightstand for weeks after I've finished it and I'm reluctant to place on the shelf.

As the book jacket attests, The Lantern bears a debt to Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca. Just as in that classic novel, this is the story of a young woman, her relationship with an older man, and the specter of his first wife looming over them.

Eve is a bit adrift in life when she meets older man Dom. They quickly fall in love and move to Provence, where they buy a beautiful but crumbling farmhouse called Les Genevriers. Dom was married previously to a woman named Rachel, but he refuses to speak of their relationship or what happened to her. Eve is content to let things lie at first, but after she meets a woman who knew Rachel, she begins to wonder about her. Her unease is heightened by odd things that happen around the house and a series of disappearances of young women in the area.

Eve's story is intertwined with that of Benedicte, a woman who spent most of her life at Les Genevriers. When we first meet her, she appears to be haunted by the ghosts of family members who've returned to the farmhouse to torment her. We learn her story in a series of flashbacks. The mysteries of her past slowly unfold and there are connections to the present day.

The most effective part of this book for me was the wonderful descriptions of the house and the surrounding countryside. According to her bio, the author lives in an old house in Provence, and her experience with the area really shows in her very detailed rendering of the land and the people. Les Genevriers, even at its creepiest, sounds like a very beautiful and beguiling place to live. It's as much a character in the tale as Eve or Benedicte.

Where the story floundered a bit was on the romance side. Eve's relationship with Dom never really came alive for me. She meets him and they move to a new country in the space of a few pages. Dom is a shadowy character, which makes sense being that he's somewhat shadowy to Eve, but I never really understood why she fell in love with him, so the relationship felt flat to me.

The sense of mystery and unease was much more successfully portrayed, and I felt Eve's dread and growing fear. The tale is just a bit creepy without ever being too scary. It's a light read that would perfect to bring on vacation (and it will make you want to schedule a trip to Provence).

(I received a copy of this book from Amazon Vine.)

I had trouble getting into this book at first--the beginning seemed choppy and disjointed. Normally I'd stop reading a book like this, but as you get more connected with the characters it's impossible to put down. The writing is beautiful, and it's a fascinating mystery/ ghost story that slowly is worked out for the reader. "The Lantern" has been compared to Daphne Du Maurier's "Rebecca," and the main character, Eve, is drawn to her book during a bleak period in her relationship with Dom. I'd like to reread "Rebecca" now for comparison. This would be a great book for discussion!

The description of this book makes it sound like something I'd really like. Unfortunately, when you've got a premise that sounds a lot like Rebecca or a very simplified Jane Eyre, it's big shoes to fill. This simply falls short of expectations. The characters are flat and simple, there really is no love story, and I didn't care what happened to anyone. The narration switches to a character named Benedicte regularly, which is just weird at first, but in the end her story was a welcome distraction from the repetitive "OMG, he's so dark. OMG, what happened to his wife?" from Eve.

The setting in Provence is an upside (and one of the things that drew me to the book). The author's language in describing the setting is beautiful and elegant. It's too bad the rest of it wasn't as compelling.