Setting: 1900. Appleyard College, a private boarding school for young ladies in Australia.
First line: "Everyone agreed that the day was just right for the picnic to Hanging Rock--a shimmering summer morning warm and still, with cicadas shrilling all through breakfast from the loquat trees outside the dining-room windows and bees murmuring above the pansies bordering the drive.
The plot: The book starts out with a pleasant outing: twenty girls and two teachers having a picnic lunch at Hanging Rock. Then four of the girls take an innocent walk up to the monolith. Only one of them comes back, hysterical. The others are nowhere to be found. The mystery of what happened to those three girls, and the repercussions of their strange disappearance and how it affects those left behind, take up the rest of this novel.
My thoughts: This is not a fast page-turning thriller. The narrative is slow, almost methodical, with more description than dialogue. But I thought it was interesting, especially seeing the impact this one tragic incident has on those at Appleyard College. Although it's not the girls who are at the center of this novel. (A fact I found a little disappointing.) I like stories set in boarding schools, but there's no immediacy in this one, and no real sense of daily life. The school is mostly in the background.
There were three characters I liked: Michael Fitzhubert and Albert Crundall, two young men who help search for the girls, and Mademoiselle de Poitiers, the young French teacher at Appleyard. But I never felt a deep connection with any of them. There's an almost surreal quality to this novel. And the mystery is left unsolved at the end. Although I actually liked that about the novel. The truth probably would have been a letdown. I prefer the not-knowing. All in all, I'd give this one 3 stars.
This book was published in 1967, and counts as my Mystery/Detective/Crime Classic for Karen's Back to the Classics Challenge.
Happy Reading!
I've seen the film of this but not read the book, and so many years ago I can't remember a lot about it. I'll consider picking it up at some stage as it does sounds quite good.
ReplyDeleteIt's a book that I've been curious about for years, but my library only recently got a copy, which made for good timing with this year's classics challenge. :)
DeleteI saw the movie based on the book and it gave me chills. I've always thought of Ayers Rock with awe and dread since then!
ReplyDeleteThe story does have an eerie quality about it! I wonder if my library has a copy of the movie.
DeleteInteresting. I've heard of the book but never really read the synopsis. Maybe I should put it on my wishlist. LOL
ReplyDeleteAnother book to add to the list! We do seem to do that to each other, don't we? ;D
DeleteAll the time. Which is nice, I follow quite a few bloggers who have something interesting to say but it's always sooo lovely to meet someone with a similar interest.
DeleteI agree! :D
DeleteThis does sound a bit Agatha Christie-ish in concept, although I can't imagine Christie ever leaving an ending hanging with no solution.
ReplyDeleteNo, Agatha Christie would never leave things unsolved. But I think not having a solution actually works for this book. At least it did for me. :)
DeleteLark, I actually had this one on my unread shelves for years and ended up donating it unread. Doesn't seem like I missed a gem. Sorry it wasn't more enjoyable for you.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting, and I actually didn't mind the slower pacing; there were even parts of it that I really liked. It just won't ever make one of my favorites list, you know?
DeleteI've seen this one forever, and for some reason never even been tempted to read it. Maybe I'll give in and watch the movie.
ReplyDeleteIf you do ever watch the movie let me know if it's any good. My library has two different movie versions of this book and I'm not sure which to try, or to even bother with either of them.
DeleteIt has such an interesting premise. I'm glad you liked it. I think the movie might be more my style than the book.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to see how they handle the whole disappearance of the girls in the movie.
DeleteHmm interesting. Not being resolved at the end can be a problem for me sometimes, but you're right- sometimes it works, and nice that that's the case here.
ReplyDeleteI just think any explanation the author came up with at the end of this one would have been a letdown, you know? But usually I'm with you on this one; I like for things to be resolved at the end.
DeleteHi Lark, the plot of this mystery is fascinating but it sounds like more needed to be done with the actual writing. I think the surreal quality as you say might be a mistake because in terms of the effect it would have on the teachers and students left behind that needed to be more of an emphasis.
ReplyDeleteIt was an interesting choice for the author to make, that's for sure. I wonder what her reasoning was. But she does really focus on how the disappearance of these three girls affects so many other people in different ways.
DeleteI know this one, both book and movie, as only a vaguely remembered title from my past. Something about "Hanging Rock" just stuck in my memory for some reason. From the sound of it, that may be just as well.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's not one of those really good books you never want to forget. :)
DeleteI don't think I have heard of this--at least I don't remember it--nor anything about the movie others have mentioned. It sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't quite what I was expecting when I first started reading it, but it did turn out to be an interesting read.
DeleteThat's a very good choice for a classic mystery--I've also only seen the movie, though.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if I want to even see the movie now that I've read the book. Although I'd kind of like to know how the two versions differ.
DeleteI've never heard of this classic, but I would think I'd be disappointed by the mystery not being solved. Nice to get one checked off your challenge. Too bad it wasn't a better read. Wonderful review, Lark. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is a book I've been meaning to read for years, so I am glad to finally be able to check it off my list. :)
DeleteLooks good.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting. :)
Deleteha... i've a dreamy sense that i've read this, but it's not concrete enough to say for sure... when was it published?
ReplyDeleteIt was first published in 1967, so not super long ago.
DeleteI've never read this but it sounds intriguing.
ReplyDeleteIt has a unique premise which I liked.
DeleteI don't think I've heard of this classic, but it does sounds like an interesting read. :)
ReplyDeleteIt won't make my favorites list at the end of the year, but I did think it was interesting. :)
DeleteThat's interesting that the mystery is left unsolved. I can't decide if I would like that or if it would drive me crazy, lol.
ReplyDeleteMost times I think it would drive me crazy, but not this time. It actually kind of worked in this book.
DeleteI bought this e-book on sale not long ago, but I haven't gotten to it yet. I think I will like how it has a surreal quality about it ... though I might be frustrated not to find out what happened to the girls. I'm still intrigued to give it a try.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to know what you think of it when you've gotten a chance to read it. :)
DeleteIt does have a unique premise. I will skip it though because I enjoy more dialogue driven books :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, this one is very descriptive, and not long on dialogue, so probably not the book for you. :)
DeleteI have been wanting to read this book, especially since I learned that it is relatively short. I have never seen the film, although I have heard about it. Your review gives me a good idea of what to expect. I will look out for a copy at the book sale later this year.
ReplyDeleteHope you're able to find a copy! It's an interesting read.
DeleteLooks like you are off to a good start with the 2022 Back to the Classics Challenge! I really liked this book. It was surreal but I appreciated the atmosphere. The author did actaully write an end to it, but her editor convinced her to leave it off. I think if you look on Wikepedia, you can read it. It's an odd ending and I agree with the editor that leaving it open was better.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I want to read her ending because I kind of like having it be a mystery, you know?
DeleteI have had this book on my TBR and classics list for years, but haven't gotten to it. I am the opposite where I NEED to have the ending (especially a mystery) spelled out for me because the ambiguity drives me crazy, so I may not like this one after all, LOL.
ReplyDeleteMy mystery for the challenge was Three Blind Mice. Agatha Christie always surprises me at the end, but spells out everything clearly for me at the end, even if I have to re-read it a few times to finally understand what just happened, haha:
https://elle-alice.blogspot.com/2022/04/jan-feb-march-books-reviews.html
I do love how Christie spells out everything at the end of her books. That's why they're always such satisfying reads. Thanks for commenting! :)
DeleteThe book does have a slow, dreamy quality to it, which for me rendered it eerie. Definitely not in the thriller category.
ReplyDeleteSlow and dreamy describe this one very well. :)
DeleteI recently read this, and my edition had an essay attached that explained the open-ended "ending." There was actually a final chapter that explained what happened to the girls, and the publisher convinced the author to leave it out. And it's a good thing too, because the original ending (rediscovered since then) is pretty stupid/nonsensical and sucks all the reality out of the book. It's definitely better as a haunting non-ending.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I think I'm glad my copy of this book didn't have an explanation of that final chapter that never got published if her original ending was that bad. I kind of liked the not-knowing of it. Thanks for commenting. :)
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