Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid
Why?
My mum has books all over her house - there is the "keeps" in the many bookcases in the lounge and hall, the tbr's in her bedroom and the hbr's (to be given/shared with relatives - she puts her initials in them to make sure that they don't come back again) in the spare bedroom. I started to go through the 4 massive stacks of hbr's and found Northanger Abbey with JK Rowling quoted on the front "Witty and shrewd, full of romance and skulduggery - I loved it". It appears that I am easily influenced by authors.
What?
Otherwise known as amazon spiel:
Jane Austen in the hands of queen of crime, Val McDermid. Get ready for a very different Northanger Abbey.
Seventeen-year-old Catherine ‘Cat’ Morland has led a sheltered existence in rural Dorset, a life entirely bereft of the romance and excitement for which she yearns. So when Cat’s wealthy neighbours, the Allens, invite her to Edinburgh Festival, she is sure adventure beckons.
Edinburgh initially offers no such thrills: Susie Allen is obsessed by shopping, Andrew Allen by the Fringe. A Highland Dance class, though, brings Cat a new acquaintance: Henry Tilney, a pale, dark-eyed gentleman whose family home, Northanger Abbey, sounds perfectly thrilling. And an introduction to Bella Thorpe, who shares her passion for supernatural novels, provides Cat with a like-minded friend. But with Bella comes her brother John, an obnoxious banker whose vulgar behaviour seems designed to thwart Cat’s growing fondness for Henry.
Happily, rescue is at hand. The rigidly formal General Tilney invites her to stay at Northanger with son Henry and daughter Eleanor. Cat’s imagination runs riot: an ancient abbey, crumbling turrets, secret chambers, ghosts…and Henry! What could be more deliciously romantic?
But Cat gets far more than she bargained for in this isolated corner of the Scottish Borders. The real world outside the pages of a novel proves to be altogether more disturbing than the imagined world within…
So there are several things that I have taken from this. I don't like Austen so why would I want to read a modern reworking? Although I did like Pride and Prejudice, but Emma is on my top hate list. And I will never trust a quote from JK Rowling again.
This would probably be a better critique if I had read and loved the original. This is McDermid's reworking of Austen (apparently Joanna Trollope and Alexander McCall Smith had a go as part of the same project) taking it in to the modern world. So there is a lot of facebook and twitter references and the horror of being in a WiFi less world when arriving at Northanger Abbey was funny. The embarrassment of the teenage host to have to explain this and the rushed visit to the local cafe to enable social media interaction did make me laugh. Maybe a bit out of sync with modern times though - I cannot remember the last time I used email to express an emotional message (as Bella did), normally we would write the most ridiculously long whatsapp or facebook message and that would be considered normal :).
There were elements that were just not believable. Cat had a active imagination but she would need it to read this book and believe that a man ten years older than her would be intent on spending time with her. Or that they would have anything in common to enable the blossoming relationship. You and I have a love of books but we're not about to jump in to go on dates together. In fact that there was a lot of over enthusiasm to get engaged which is perhaps not as believable in this decade as it was in the time of Austen's books. I found the crazy vampire obsession (and the fact that Henry still talked to Cat after her confession) more acceptable than the romance twists.
This book was ridiculous but funny because of it. I read it within two days and it would be a suitable holiday read when you do not want your brain or emotions to be engaged. It was sweet but that is about it.
If you've read any of McDermid's crime novels, do let me know. I've always wanted to try them but this has put me off. Other reviews claim that this book bares no resemblance to her other work but I think I need some reassurance.
I certainly will not be adding Austen's "Northanger Abbey" to my list of classics that I need to read.
This would probably be a better critique if I had read and loved the original. This is McDermid's reworking of Austen (apparently Joanna Trollope and Alexander McCall Smith had a go as part of the same project) taking it in to the modern world. So there is a lot of facebook and twitter references and the horror of being in a WiFi less world when arriving at Northanger Abbey was funny. The embarrassment of the teenage host to have to explain this and the rushed visit to the local cafe to enable social media interaction did make me laugh. Maybe a bit out of sync with modern times though - I cannot remember the last time I used email to express an emotional message (as Bella did), normally we would write the most ridiculously long whatsapp or facebook message and that would be considered normal :).
There were elements that were just not believable. Cat had a active imagination but she would need it to read this book and believe that a man ten years older than her would be intent on spending time with her. Or that they would have anything in common to enable the blossoming relationship. You and I have a love of books but we're not about to jump in to go on dates together. In fact that there was a lot of over enthusiasm to get engaged which is perhaps not as believable in this decade as it was in the time of Austen's books. I found the crazy vampire obsession (and the fact that Henry still talked to Cat after her confession) more acceptable than the romance twists.
This book was ridiculous but funny because of it. I read it within two days and it would be a suitable holiday read when you do not want your brain or emotions to be engaged. It was sweet but that is about it.
If you've read any of McDermid's crime novels, do let me know. I've always wanted to try them but this has put me off. Other reviews claim that this book bares no resemblance to her other work but I think I need some reassurance.
I certainly will not be adding Austen's "Northanger Abbey" to my list of classics that I need to read.
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