![]() ![]() ![]() It's a petty gripe, I know, but when you're discussing a writer of this quality, small gripes seem more prominent. Because while the former is built up nicely throughout the story, the latter just seems to suddenly happen. ![]() I think I would have found it easier to root for her if Purcell had lent into her clear mental health issues more, rather than her alcohol dependence. ![]() It's not that I didn't like Hester, but I found it harder to feel sympathy for her for some reason. I did find that I liked the protagonist less than in Purcell's previous books. And while we can dismiss all the talk of Cornish folklore being thrown about, Purcell presents all of it in a way where we can never 100% discount that it might all be playing a part at the same time. Her new mistress is the aged Louise Pinecroft, who spends most of her time sitting in an armchair eyeing a set of bone china, permanently on edge. Pinecroft's failures are down to a lack of medical knowledge, and we know Hestor's problems are caused by mental trauma and substance addiction. Pages: 430 Published: 19th September 2019. Purcell has managed that in every one of her horror novels, and Bone China is no exception. While I can enjoy a straightforward monster or slasher story, they can never reach the same heights as a story where you can never be certain if the events driving the plot are a string of coincidences, the protagonist being an unreliable narrator, or actually supernatural. The other is her ability to so finely balance the question of whether her plots are supernatural or all in the protagonist's mind. One is her skill at character and setting. Laura Purcell is one of my favourite writers for a couple of reasons. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |