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matildazq's review against another edition
2.0
I would like to find whoever put this on a Best 100 novels of all time list and give them such a pinch. This was deeply stupid, lazily written, and gaggingly self-congratulatory. One is moved to quote Anya: Why can't you just masturbate like the rest of us?
lecybeth's review
3.0
I came into this novella with a lot of expectations. I had heard this work compared to Austen's Northanger Abbey and even Milton's poems L'Allegro and Il Penseroso. Unfortunately, all I picked up on was the air of pretension and I couldn't get past it to enjoy this. It's quality writing, but not at the bar that had been set by other writers of this time. It was a mediocre read for me.
annalbloom's review against another edition
challenging
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
graylodge_library's review
4.0
Clever use of language, gentle satire of the sometimes ridiculously unintentional hilariousness of Gothic novels, fun characters based on real people, strange fiddling with ghosts and mermaids, and overall funny frolicking in a gloomy castle. Leaves a smile on your face.
Bring on the Madeira (preferably in a skull of a dead ancestor)!
Bring on the Madeira (preferably in a skull of a dead ancestor)!
bama_mama2026's review
3.0
I really enjoyed this novel. I would recommend it to fans of Romanticism. I believe the novel needs to be taken within the context of the Romantic poets' work. When taken within that context, the novel becomes a comedy. It truly has funny moments in poking fun at the poets and their beliefs.
bigalsbooks's review
3.0
I think this is probably a really good book that I'm neither intelligent enough or informed enough to understand. Most of the dialogue is dense satirical philosophical discussion that just went way over my head but I imagine people more informed in the technicalities of philosophy would enjoy it.