'The Little Stranger' by Sarah Waters

Genre: Ghost Story

While reading ‘The Little Stranger’ I was very conflicted on how I felt about it. There were ups and downs with the narrative and I was almost always left feeling underwhelmed or tired of waiting for the big reveal: is there really a ghost.

The setting is perfect for a ghost story, an old Georgian house that is falling into dilapidation due to the war and declining wealth of the family that occupies it. But I found that the time period setting of the late 1940s made it difficult to think of ghosts and hauntings as it is not too far removed from the Victorian era where ghost stories were rampant, it was difficult not to just link everything back to the war and how everyone is just trying to recover. ‘The Little Stranger’ was constantly making me wonder where the plot is going- are the family tired of trying to fix this bleak and dark house and letting it psychologically manipulate them, or is there actually a ghost trying to rid them from the house?

Despite the convoluted plot there were some really great scenes that were filled with tension, both good and bad, and there is a truly terrifying and heartbreaking moment later on in the novel that had me very shocked and fearful for the characters, but everything after that felt lacklustre, and living up to that scene was then difficult despite the proceeding events also being saddening to the characters and readers alike.

I felt as though ‘The Little Stranger’ felt me with unanswered questions, which is not always a bad thing, it is good for a reader to think deeply of the narrative the author has laid out before them and think of all the possibilities, but due to the lengthy chapters and long-awaited answer to the ghost question I felt a bit unsatisfied with the ending. It was still a good read due to those singular moments of shock and terror, but after that, the rest of the narrative could not compare.

Rating: * * *