Comments (35)

What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 35 items
Oct 16, 2023tjdickey rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
A smooth and chilling gothic drama, like "The Fall of the House of Usher" meets "Downton Abbey," with a painfully shy dose of romance seeping into the story. The language is mannered (like Poe or the fading Edwardian society of the county…
Jun 12, 2022LeslieDRobertson rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is basically a literary ghost story, written with all the subtlety and intelligence characteristic of Waters's work. It starts in 1919, with a little boy visiting a local manor, where his mother had once been a servant, then jumps…
Feb 02, 2021Tigard_HalstedB rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
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…
Nov 04, 2020Einer2 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Agree with many that this a bit long and drawn out. Descriptions are nice and the reader of the audio version fits the character of the narrator.
Nov 02, 2020ABCDot rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Atmospheric and strangely haunting conclusion.
Jun 07, 2020Brontina66 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Sarah Waters is a fine storyteller and to read one of her books is always a treat. The Little Stranger is a horror story and at first it might seem to be a rather conventional one. Faraday becomes the doctor of the Ayre family, owner of an…
Mar 01, 2020PimaLib_ChristineR rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I actually picked this up after it was mentioned in The Starless Sea. There, the narrator mentioned several atmospheric books, including The Shadow of the Wind (which I loved) and this, The Little Stranger. No further urging was…
BookishBrooke
Oct 17, 2019BookishBrooke rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The Little Stranger follows Dr. Faraday, a rural doctor in post World War II Warwickshire, England. After being called to Hundreds Hall (the estate of the Ayres family) to see to an ill servant, Dr. Faraday's life slowly becomes entwined…
Aug 17, 2019WhidbeyIslander rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Although I enjoyed the writing style, and I never thought about abandoning the read, I can't quite give it a higher recommendation. It's too long, and as I read through pages of details that could have been eliminated (sort of like most of…
May 13, 2019JCLCatherineG rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
I love Gothic fiction but I can't say I liked this book. The story was too long and drawn out and the characters were a bit annoying. For a good ghost story, try any of Wendy Webb's books.
Nov 06, 2018SnoIsleLib_LindseyA rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This book took me by surprise. Dr. Faraday is our narrator, but by the end of the book my opinion of him had changed completely. I've read one other Sarah Waters book (Tipping the Velvet) and I recall being swept away by it, whereas it…
Oct 10, 2018LPL_AdamL rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Gothic fiction novels are some of my absolute favorite to read, and this is, by far, one of the best. The eeriness of the entire situation slowly envelops the reader, so by the end you feel just as suffocated and paranoid as the characters…
May 03, 2018JCLChristiH rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I enjoyed this subtly spooky story, set in postwar England of the 1940's. Don't look for a jump in your face fright with this one; but, a beautifully descriptive story of the demise of a once great family in a huge crumbling estate with…
Aug 20, 2015readerpat rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
A strange story . I couldn't make up my mind whether the house was haunted or all the family were mentally ill. The ending seemed unfinished somehow. It took a long time to read.
Sep 17, 2014WVMLStaffPicks rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
In post-WWII England, village physician Dr. Faraday is called to Hundreds Halls—a once grand estate that is now in decay and a financial burden on its once grand and no longer wealthy upper class owners. After this first visit, he slowly…
Diell
Apr 09, 2014Diell rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I read this book when it first came out, I think I still have it somewhere. I'm stealing from a few of the earlier comments as some of them made me remember the book quite clearly. Yes good development of the characters because after all…
Jun 17, 2013
"Set against a grim post-WWII British backdrop, this novel focuses on working-class Dr. Faraday, who's summoned to Hundreds Hall to attend to the aristocratic Ayres family. Faraday, the son of an Ayres household servant, has not seen the…
Jul 27, 2012uncommonreader rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This book is about the class system in post WW II Britain. Although it takes the author about 50 pages to set up the story, it is suspenseful to the end. A very good read.
Mar 06, 2012
The Little Stranger has some spooky parts, however, I kept waiting for soemthing more in the story. It was a little slow to start but kept me reading. I enjoyed the descriptions of the house and I thought the characters were nicely…
Jul 29, 2011lotusreader rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
What I liked about this book was the sense of foreboding atmosphere Waters created, and how the characters were affected by it over time. What I didn't like was the wishy-washy approach to what actually haunted the family at the center of…
May 31, 2011
This novel, part gothic tale and part historical suspense kept me up until all hours. The Little Stranger is an old-fashioned ghost story, complete with spooky house, eccentric inhabitants and a narrator who may not be as mild-mannered as…
ksoles
May 19, 2011ksoles rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Hundreds Hall, a once-grand estate in rural Warwickshire, frames the setting of Sarah Waters' newest novel. Post WWII, the house is declining rapidly: the masonry is crumbling, the wallpaper is peeling and weeds have entirely choked out…
Mar 18, 2011maven rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Much too long, and not engaging enough to read the whole thing.
m2
Jan 17, 2011m2 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Incredibly creepy -- because it slowly dawns on you that the narrator is not a credible witness. And that his plans and purposes are not what he thinks they are. A slow start but so thrillinig by the end that I read this almost naked by…
Nov 18, 2010heartofoak rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Although it has a bit of a slow start, it does help build on the suspense later in the novel - then I couldn't put it down. The menace grows slowly through the book & I was not at all prepared for the events-particularly the ending. …