One of my favorite moments as a reader is when a book out-wits me; when I think I know what’s going on and then a twist catches me off-guard. I’m usually pretty good at spotting a twist (my boyfriend makes fun – “wish we could make some money out of it!”) so it’s always a thrill to be surprised.
With Gillespie and I it helped that I went into it without knowing anything about the plot. It helped, but it also made me *this close* to giving up half-way. For a long time the pace felt slow and without direction, but I later realized that was just Harris preparing the ground very carefully.
So no summary from me – it’s up to you how much you’d like to know.
I didn’t completely love Gillespie and I as much as a lot of you out there did. I thought it was very clever and well done. I’m glad I read it and spent some happy hours discussing all the details with friends – it’s the kind of book that demands a post-reading deconstruction. But I wish Harris had been able to pull it off with 100 pages less.
It would also help if the Victorian-speak didn’t feel forced at times, as if the author applied Word’s “Replace All” tool to exchange “house” with “habitation” or “happiness” with “felicity“. Some expressions were really on the border of the ridiculous and I’m now sorry I didn’t write them down. One of then, however, stuck in my mind: someone asks the main character if she’d like something else to eat and she replies “no thank you, I’ve had ample sufficiency“…
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Other thoughts: Savidge Reads, Reading Matters, Iris on Books, Reviews by Lola, nomadreader, BookNRound, Sam Still Reading, She Reads Novels, BooksPlease, Vulpes Libris, Buried in Print, Capricious Reader, Secluded Charm, an adventure in reading, A Musing Reviews, The House of the Seven Tails, Cornflower Books, Wordsmithonia Yours?)
The Sleepless Reader 
15 comments
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October 10, 2012 at 4:46 pm
Andre
Boyfriend agrees;)
October 10, 2012 at 5:32 pm
debbierodgers
I thought that kind of overspeak was showing how the main character was overcompensating for what she felt was her lower station in life – and also to impress Ned. (?) It’s been a while since I read this so I can’t remember: do any of the other characters do the same thing?
October 10, 2012 at 6:00 pm
Audra (Unabridged Chick)
I adored this one — will be on my top ten of 2012 for sure. I thought the odd, archaic style was the narrator’s quirk — her over-dramatic sense of self, self-importance, elegance, etc. I want to reread this now!
October 10, 2012 at 6:46 pm
Buried In Print
I agree. After you read/watch enough, it gets hard to trick a reader/viewer, so I’m always especially thrilled with that experience too. (Maybe I’m just always looking too hard for it and should just relax into the story without always trying to anticipate the next bit?) Anyhow, I thoroughly enjoyed this (and her earlier novel too). Perfect time of year for it!
October 10, 2012 at 8:25 pm
Joanna @ CreateYourWorld
You make this sound really intriguing but I think that the language would drive me up the wall!
October 10, 2012 at 9:13 pm
Sam (Tiny Library)
I absolutely loved this book and my review was similar to yours as I didn’t want to give anything away to potential readers. I was well and truly out-witted! I thought the length was fine but do see where it could be shortened.
October 10, 2012 at 10:03 pm
Helen
I loved this book and remember finding it very difficult to write about without spoiling anything! I was outwitted by the plot twists too and didn’t see them coming at all. I can see how the language could be irritating, though it didn’t really bother me – I thought it was just part of the narrator’s personality (in contrast to the narrator of Harris’s other book, The Observations, who was the complete opposite!)
October 11, 2012 at 2:24 am
Steph (@ 20 Years Hence)
I have read some really great reviews of this book, but none of them mentioned an amazing twist! I love a good twist (have you read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn? It is another book that is all over the blogosphere and it is pretty juicy too!), though I rarely find them surprising, so I will have to try this one out. Since I’ve got nothing but time these days, an extra 100 pages I can afford!
October 11, 2012 at 2:41 am
Jenny
I’m going to institute “No thank you, I’ve had ample sufficiency” as the phrase I and everyone in my life who wants to be in my good graces will use to express that sentiment. I’m going to start using it tomorrow and say it until it becomes a habit.
October 11, 2012 at 3:38 am
Diane@BibliophilebytheSea
Bought this one after reading several rave reviews, but it’s still on the shelf unread:)
October 12, 2012 at 5:04 pm
Charlie
Phrasing sounds awkward, but not having read the book I couldn’t comment further than that. Interesting to hear your opinion about page count though.
October 12, 2012 at 7:03 pm
Arti
Your first paragraph is the best ad for the book. 😉 If not for the occasional flaws… it would be perfect. No? Thanks for the fun review.
October 13, 2012 at 10:48 am
Chinoiseries
I was in the library yesterday and doubting whether to check out this book or not. I didn’t… but now I really want to read it because you’re being so secretive about it 😉
Tigana on audio? That’s probably a very long sit o__O I remember reading it years ago, hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
October 19, 2012 at 4:11 pm
Ti
I like when a book outwits me too. This one sort of passed me by. I heard of it when it first came out and then forgot about it.
January 31, 2014 at 3:39 pm
Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro |
[…] thought a slow re-evaluation of a book over time? I can only remember feeling it once before, with Gillespie and I, which I initially dismissed as too long and slow, but was still ardently discussing months […]