Sleep, Pale Sister
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Product Description
Book Description
The reissue of Joanne Harris's second novel, a consuming Gothic tale set in 19th century London
Product Description
Sleep, Pale Sister, a powerful, atmospheric and blackly gothic evocation of Victorian artistic life, was originally published before Joanne Harris achieved worldwide recognition with Chocolat.
Henry Chester, a domineering and puritanical Victorian artist, is in search of the perfect model. In nine-year-old Effie he finds her.
Ten years later, lovely, childlike and sedated, Effie seems the ideal wife. But something inside her is about to awaken.
Drawn into a dangerous underworld of prostitution, murder and blackmail, she must finally plan her revenge.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
80 of 82 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Published before Joanne Harris became famous, this work is the darkest of hers yet.
I wonder if she lightened up her style to be more commercial, as this bears little resemblance to Blackberry Wine, Five Quarters... or Chocolat.
In brief, before going any further, I rate this the best book she has written.
In more detail, then:
Told from the point of view of multiple narrators, (a style Irvine Welsh has excelled in) two of them men (and very convincing they are, too. I found myself checking the title page to reassure myself this was a Joanne Harris novel, so thoroughly masculine were the male characters' voices) the plot, in its complexity and bleak darkness, while not in voice, language or period, could be measured against an Irvine Welsh story.
Set in Victorian England, it tells the story of a wealthy middle aged painter who marries a beautiful girl of seventen whom he has been grooming (shades of Moliere's Ecole de Femmes here) since she was eleven.
He has a murky, shameful past, however, and it is going to catch up with him, through the hands of a bohemian woman with mystical powers and a Byron-esque fellow painter with dishonourable designs on his ethereally beautiful wife.
The pace picks up at a constant rate throughout the book, so the reader is galloping along and defying anyone to interrupt as s/he approaches the denouement.
Love, obsession, sex, dark magic, hypocrisy, murder and death in general drive the plot along.
Buy it, borrow it,steal it!
I wonder if she lightened up her style to be more commercial, as this bears little resemblance to Blackberry Wine, Five Quarters... or Chocolat.
In brief, before going any further, I rate this the best book she has written.
In more detail, then:
Told from the point of view of multiple narrators, (a style Irvine Welsh has excelled in) two of them men (and very convincing they are, too. I found myself checking the title page to reassure myself this was a Joanne Harris novel, so thoroughly masculine were the male characters' voices) the plot, in its complexity and bleak darkness, while not in voice, language or period, could be measured against an Irvine Welsh story.
Set in Victorian England, it tells the story of a wealthy middle aged painter who marries a beautiful girl of seventen whom he has been grooming (shades of Moliere's Ecole de Femmes here) since she was eleven.
He has a murky, shameful past, however, and it is going to catch up with him, through the hands of a bohemian woman with mystical powers and a Byron-esque fellow painter with dishonourable designs on his ethereally beautiful wife.
The pace picks up at a constant rate throughout the book, so the reader is galloping along and defying anyone to interrupt as s/he approaches the denouement.
Love, obsession, sex, dark magic, hypocrisy, murder and death in general drive the plot along.
Buy it, borrow it,steal it!
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Let me start by saying that Joanne Harris is one of my favorite writers - this book is a re-print of a novel that had first been published before she became well-known.
It features her usual blend of colorful characters (including the occasional spirit!) bound together by deep, and often dark, passion and magic.
Unusually, in this book she seems to have little sympathy for her characters - though I must admit that most of them really aren't all that likeable, the fact that even their creator can't sympathize with them or try to make some sort of excuse for them, makes them that much sadder.
I enjoyed reading it, but it's nowhere near one of her best works - I personally think she's at her best when writing about food, Chocolat being one of my all-time favorite books.
It features her usual blend of colorful characters (including the occasional spirit!) bound together by deep, and often dark, passion and magic.
Unusually, in this book she seems to have little sympathy for her characters - though I must admit that most of them really aren't all that likeable, the fact that even their creator can't sympathize with them or try to make some sort of excuse for them, makes them that much sadder.
I enjoyed reading it, but it's nowhere near one of her best works - I personally think she's at her best when writing about food, Chocolat being one of my all-time favorite books.
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
One of the author's earlier works and in my opinion the best I have read by her. Set in Victorian England it tells the tale of a painter who marries a beautiful 17 year old girl who is his favourite model. He has a dark shameful past and it all catches up with him to reach a fantastic conclusion. In this book we have death, love, obsession, sex, murder and magic. A tremendous read and one I fully recommend.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fine Romp in Victorian Art
With echoes of Pre-Raphaelite art, Sleep, Pale Sister is a mad piece of fiction with twists and turns, panto characters and dark, rum doings. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Lily's Mum
Spooky and dark
A scary book to say the least. Tragedy, revenge and self-absorbtion rolled into the characters and how they reflect each other's designs to the others. Read more
Published 11 months ago by K. Chan
Very different but compelling
A long time fan of Joanne Harris, I was as surprised at the darkness of this novel as I was by its ending. Nontheless, a riveting read and one I highly recommend
Published 12 months ago by L P Bilton
Amazing writer, great characterization, slightly disappointing ending
When I started Sleep Pale Sister it took me a while to get into it - it felt like it might be one of those books that trys to be arty for art's sake... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Ms. KL FRANKLAND
Sleep, Pale Sister
There's not much to say about the plot without giving too much away. It could perhaps be summed up as being about revenge for past mis-deeds. Read more
Published on 29 April 2010 by Rich
captivating - couldn't put it down
what a fantastic book!
I have read most of Harris's books and have never been disappointed and this one was no exception. Read more
I have read most of Harris's books and have never been disappointed and this one was no exception. Read more
Published on 30 Aug 2009 by kaz007
A dark tale
'Sleep, Pale Sister' is one of Joanne Harris's earliest novels and due to popular demand was re~released and when you read it, you will find out why. Read more
Published on 18 Aug 2009 by Weave
Too much laudanum?
Having read all of Joanne Harris' other novels I approached this; written before she became a bestselling author, it has the same supernatural and Gothic elements as much of her... Read more
Published on 9 May 2009 by Captain Pugwash
An early but great Harris
I am a huge Harris fan and this novel didn't disappoint. You can definitely see where some of her later ideas took seed and as you would expect there is a huge magical influence... Read more
Published on 2 Feb 2009 by Hayles
Stay up late, and try not to read too fast...
I read this one Christmas Eve and actually ended up being there all night, and not going to bed at all! Dark and delicious gothic. I was creeped out the whole way through. Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2009 by Wendy Harding
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