tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30395167.post8831130074570388398..comments2023-08-15T07:41:19.933-05:00Comments on <center>Slaves of Golconda</center>: CuriousQuillhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07601080339912553168noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30395167.post-28111008157070215322009-10-31T13:05:26.284-05:002009-10-31T13:05:26.284-05:00E.L. Fay, you are right that the true horror are t...E.L. Fay, you are right that the true horror are the deaths at the end. Unfortunately by that point I just wanted to finish the book and I couldn't muster any feeling for it. Maybe if I had been able to read it in one or two sittings instead of in dribbles over the course of two weeks.<br /><br />Jodie, that's a good question regarding Arthur's choice of second wife. I hadn't thought about it but it totally makes sense.<br /><br />Dorothy, thanks! I liked Hill's writing but I just couldn't slip into the atmosphere of the book.<br /><br />Danielle, I think we like the feeling of being scared--heart racing, adrenaline pumping, on edge, fully alert--but we can only enjoy it if we know that we are ultimately safe. It seems like everyone who was able to read the book in one or two chunks liked it, so perhaps my method of reading it by grabbing a few minutes here and there was a real disservice to the story.Stefaniehttp://somanybooksblog.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30395167.post-64211012846837641412009-10-30T13:55:11.173-05:002009-10-30T13:55:11.173-05:00It's funny how as much as the reader/viewer is...It's funny how as much as the reader/viewer is thinking don't open that door--because you know something terrible is behind it, you really do want them to open it (so you can see) but all along you're thinking how foolish they are! I wonder what it is about humans and the desire to have a good scare (but only a fictional one--not real!). This is a story that worked for me, but I can see where if you weren't into this one, all the build up might get on your nerves and ruin any climax. I have a feeling that the devices behind making a scary story must be similar and might likely have been the reason behind the feeling that you'd heard this one before.Daniellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06415242678720695754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30395167.post-89440348684604264322009-10-30T09:02:25.296-05:002009-10-30T09:02:25.296-05:00I think you've outlined the basic elements of ...I think you've outlined the basic elements of a ghost story very well -- without that innocent, ignorant outsider, this story wouldn't exist. And one of the horrible things about the story is how that innocent outsider becomes an insider and can't get back on the outside again. <br /><br />I can see how this book might work for some and not for others -- you get caught up in the story and don't mind its shortcomings, or you stay painfully aware of them and find them unforgiveable. Or, in my case, you fit somewhere in between :)Rebecca H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10825532162727473112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30395167.post-64362227875300353692009-10-30T03:38:47.201-05:002009-10-30T03:38:47.201-05:00All the things you mentioned in your bullet points...All the things you mentioned in your bullet points were things I found to dislike in 'The Mist in the Mirror', but no one else really found, so perhaps it is a case of each of us finding the Susan Hill ghost story for us.<br /><br />Also on E L Fay's point about parents, in light of what happens to Arthur's child do you think he deliberately seeks a woman with children from another marriage so he doesn't have to risk losing another child?Jodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11462660276240016464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30395167.post-92042915251616965302009-10-29T18:43:52.735-05:002009-10-29T18:43:52.735-05:00I think it was interesting that you felt like this...I think it was interesting that you felt like this book was something you had already read, or that you had already seen a similar movie. I think that definitely goes with my analysis of <i>The Woman in Black</i> as a ghost story that knows it's a ghost story.<br /><br />I think you're right in that the climax is rather anti-climatic - at first. From all the foreboding, I had guessed that what Arthur experienced in Eel Marsh House would be horribly traumatic, and was disappointed in how lame it seemed. (He runs around in the swamp, sees the nursery all smashed, and that's about it.) But that's where I think Hill's originality comes into an otherwise self-consciously typical ghost story. The true horror is the Woman in Black's murder of Arthur's wife and child. It goes back to one of the book's themes: that of the bond between parent and child and how powerful it is.Eileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11058705381647529328noreply@blogger.com