- Paperback: 401 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins; ANZ Only Ed edition (2 Oct 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007103042
- ISBN-13: 978-0007103041
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,484,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Over the years, Barbara Erskine has been able to build up a considerable following for her densely plotted, imaginative novels of romantic suspense. Her particular speciality is the vigorously created world she imagines for her characters. In Whispers in the Sand, her heroine Anna Fox undertakes a Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan, following the progress of a journey her great grandmother, Louisa, made in the 19th century. The details of the recently divorced Anna's odyssey are handled with dazzling authority, and even if the multiple love story at the centre of the narrative was not so adroitly handled, we would still be beguiled by the panoply of a powerfully drawn Egyptian journey.
Erskine never loses sight of the fact that the reader must be thoroughly engaged by the problems she sets for her characters. Anna takes on her trip two of Louisa's possessions (the latter was a famous artist): an Egyptian scent bottle from the distant past and a beautifully illustrated diary of the original cruise that no one has read for over a century. We are allowed to be caught up in a fascinating love story from the Victorian era as Anna reads the diary, and more sinister relics of the past (such as the glass bottle) give an edge to the romantic intrigue. As Anna's journey progresses, other members of the party seem to be interested in the mementoes, and there is a rivalry between two men for her attention.
However, the most compelling strand to Erskine's tale is the sinister haunting that Anna finds herself the victim of, as a mysterious presence begins to exert a grip over her. Readers nowadays are used to narratives that take place simultaneously in both the past and the present (such as AS Byatt's Possession, for instance), but the device is handled with particular skill here. In fact, those who have enjoyed such Barbara Erskine books as On the Edge of Darkness will probably be surprised at the sophisticated enjoyment on offer here: this is her most ambitious book yet, and her sensuous scene-setting is first-rate:
Louisa set down her pen and stared out of the window at the dark river outside. She had pulled over the lavish shutters to allow the smell of it, the warmth of the night air, the occasional breath of chill wind from the desert to enter her cabin. It all captivated her. She listened carefully. Above, the stars were violent sparks against the blue-black sky. There was a slight movement behind her, and she turned...--Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Recently divorced Anna Coburn cheers herself up by retracing a journey her great-mother Louise made in the nineteenth century, a Nile cruise from Luxor to the Valley of the Kings. She takes with her two mementoes of Louise, an ancient Egyptian scent bottle and her diary which has lain unread for 100 years in which she discovers a wonderful Victorian love story - and a chilling, more distant secret of the scent bottle as she finds herself pursued by the same terrifying spectres as her great grandmother.An eerie tale of romantic suspense by the author of the blockbusters Lady of Hay, Encounters, Distant Voices, On the Edge of Darkness et al.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Barbara Erskine re-explores her favorite themes of obsession, romance, and the supernatural in this 500+-page novel told against the exotic backdrop of the lush Nile banks and the fascinating monuments of Egypt's ancient kings.
In 1866, famous artist Louisa Shelley, newly widowed cruises down from Luxor to Ashram. She recounts her travel adventures through her paintings/sketches and in her diary. In particular she revels in the telling of a newfound love and his gift of an ancient scent bottle.
Now in modern times, Louisa's great-great-granddaughter, Anna, at odds with her own life, returns to the scene of her ancestor's adventure, bringing the diary and the scent bottle back to Egypt where their return initiates a chain of events which threaten Anna's very life. Feelings of greed, obsession,and jealousy stir amongst the passengers on-board Anna's cruise, but the main force unleashed whirls from the hub of the scent bottle, the contents of which is protected by two malevolent priests who drain the lifeforce of all those who come within the bottle's sphere of influence.
This particular foray into the supernatural is written very much in the more hurried style Ms Erskine employs in "On The Edge of Darkness". The characters are not as finely drawn as in her earlier successes, "Lady of Hay" and "Child of the Phoenix", nor does it contain the mind-chilling fear generated so frightfully well in "House of Echoes". Here, the frenetic state of the cruise passengers due from "exposure" to the priests and the bottle seems trite and a little too indignant to be considered realistic. There is a lot of angry repetitive conversation and a lot of toe-treading right from the start which in a normal holiday environment would not exist and could only be thought of as contrived by the author to suggest the dark behind-the-scenes workings of the priests. Even so, the events flow quickly and remain somewhat interesting due to the technique of interspercing Louisa's diary entries with corresponding moments during Anna's tour. One final problem---As the story runs on, accruing one catastrophe after another, it dies abruptly with no apparent ending or resolution other than an afterward by the author where we are told we like the characters must acknowledge the priests' evil and decide that some form of semi-unification amongst the book's persona will eventually and successfully combat it. While this ending may seem "real", it is nonetheless not a satisfacatory literary ending. The priests may or may not be subdued, nothing is rectified concretely and consequently,the reader feels taken for a ride with an appropriate destination in sight, but, alas, disappointingly never quite reaches the goal.
Hopefully, Ms Erskine's next endeavor will render a more satisfactory conclusion and rekindle that fresh interest in the unknown/occult that her earier works evoke.
In 1866, famous artist Louisa Shelley, newly widowed cruises down from Luxor to Ashram. She recounts her travel adventures through her paintings/sketches and in her diary. In particular she revels in the telling of a newfound love and his gift of an ancient scent bottle.
Now in modern times, Louisa's great-great-granddaughter, Anna, at odds with her own life, returns to the scene of her ancestor's adventure, bringing the diary and the scent bottle back to Egypt where their return initiates a chain of events which threaten Anna's very life. Feelings of greed, obsession,and jealousy stir amongst the passengers on-board Anna's cruise, but the main force unleashed whirls from the hub of the scent bottle, the contents of which is protected by two malevolent priests who drain the lifeforce of all those who come within the bottle's sphere of influence.
This particular foray into the supernatural is written very much in the more hurried style Ms Erskine employs in "On The Edge of Darkness". The characters are not as finely drawn as in her earlier successes, "Lady of Hay" and "Child of the Phoenix", nor does it contain the mind-chilling fear generated so frightfully well in "House of Echoes". Here, the frenetic state of the cruise passengers due from "exposure" to the priests and the bottle seems trite and a little too indignant to be considered realistic. There is a lot of angry repetitive conversation and a lot of toe-treading right from the start which in a normal holiday environment would not exist and could only be thought of as contrived by the author to suggest the dark behind-the-scenes workings of the priests. Even so, the events flow quickly and remain somewhat interesting due to the technique of interspercing Louisa's diary entries with corresponding moments during Anna's tour. One final problem---As the story runs on, accruing one catastrophe after another, it dies abruptly with no apparent ending or resolution other than an afterward by the author where we are told we like the characters must acknowledge the priests' evil and decide that some form of semi-unification amongst the book's persona will eventually and successfully combat it. While this ending may seem "real", it is nonetheless not a satisfacatory literary ending. The priests may or may not be subdued, nothing is rectified concretely and consequently,the reader feels taken for a ride with an appropriate destination in sight, but, alas, disappointingly never quite reaches the goal.
Hopefully, Ms Erskine's next endeavor will render a more satisfactory conclusion and rekindle that fresh interest in the unknown/occult that her earier works evoke.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I am a great fan of Barbara Erskine and have read all her books so far. I would be hard pressed to choose a favourite. Whispers in the Sand does not disappoint - you can almost imagine yourself in Egypt experiencing the smells and tastes there. You have to keep turning the pages to see what happens to Anna - and to Louisa too! My only small criticism is the ending - its is sudden, too abrupt. I thought I had pages missing at first. Otherwise another excellent read. How long before the next book Barbara?
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the first book by Barbara Erskine that I've read, and this one was as an audiobook (17 hours) rather than a paperback, which can make the experience different.
Overall I was interested enough to keep reading, the setting of the book in Egypt today and of 100 years ago (through the two narrators, Anna and her great great grandmother Louisa) was very well written and it was easy to get lost into the world of Egypt whilst listening.
Anna, the modern-day heroine, is on an Egyptian cruise and takes Louisa's diary with her, which she has not previously read, along with the scent bottle that has been passed down her family from Louisa. The story of Anna unfolds at the same time as Louisa's - Anna reads Louisa's impressions of the places she visited in Egypt whilst going there herself. I enjoyed the contrast between the far less touristy Egypt of Louisa's visit in the mid 1800s, especially as this was before the building of the Aswan dam and subsequent moving and changing of many of the sites for Anna's visit.
For me, however, the supernatural element of the story didn't work very well. Louisa was given the Egyptian scent bottle by her Egyptian guide Hassan as a gift - the bottle turns out to be ancient and to be a relic that is haunted by two priests who killed each other within a temple 3000 years before. These priests are trying to come back to life and their essences are fixed around the bottle. They tend to appear and disappear again with regularity, giving Anna some spooky moments, but there doesn't seem to be a great deal of reason for the choices of when they appear.
There are parallel love interests in the story, although Anna's two beaux seem rather irritating initially. In fact, Andy, one of these men, is incredibly annoying and patronising and I found it almost incomprehensible that Anna continued to talk to him as the cruise went on. It also seemed rather amazingly convenient that another person on Anna's tour happens to have experience in Isis worship and has a mini Isis altar, as well as incense, with her on the tour. How unlikely is that!
Some people have complained that the story didn't properly end but I thought this ending worked well. You don't know what's going to happen in the future and it continued the sense of mystery.
Overall I did enjoy the book but I think I found it rather slow and turgid in places and the central theme of the book, the priests and the bottle, got a bit repetitious. Worth a read but not something to grip you from start to finish.
Overall I was interested enough to keep reading, the setting of the book in Egypt today and of 100 years ago (through the two narrators, Anna and her great great grandmother Louisa) was very well written and it was easy to get lost into the world of Egypt whilst listening.
Anna, the modern-day heroine, is on an Egyptian cruise and takes Louisa's diary with her, which she has not previously read, along with the scent bottle that has been passed down her family from Louisa. The story of Anna unfolds at the same time as Louisa's - Anna reads Louisa's impressions of the places she visited in Egypt whilst going there herself. I enjoyed the contrast between the far less touristy Egypt of Louisa's visit in the mid 1800s, especially as this was before the building of the Aswan dam and subsequent moving and changing of many of the sites for Anna's visit.
For me, however, the supernatural element of the story didn't work very well. Louisa was given the Egyptian scent bottle by her Egyptian guide Hassan as a gift - the bottle turns out to be ancient and to be a relic that is haunted by two priests who killed each other within a temple 3000 years before. These priests are trying to come back to life and their essences are fixed around the bottle. They tend to appear and disappear again with regularity, giving Anna some spooky moments, but there doesn't seem to be a great deal of reason for the choices of when they appear.
There are parallel love interests in the story, although Anna's two beaux seem rather irritating initially. In fact, Andy, one of these men, is incredibly annoying and patronising and I found it almost incomprehensible that Anna continued to talk to him as the cruise went on. It also seemed rather amazingly convenient that another person on Anna's tour happens to have experience in Isis worship and has a mini Isis altar, as well as incense, with her on the tour. How unlikely is that!
Some people have complained that the story didn't properly end but I thought this ending worked well. You don't know what's going to happen in the future and it continued the sense of mystery.
Overall I did enjoy the book but I think I found it rather slow and turgid in places and the central theme of the book, the priests and the bottle, got a bit repetitious. Worth a read but not something to grip you from start to finish.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Whispers in the sand
This is the first book by Barbara Erskine I have read and have really enjoyed the experience. There are two stories running parallel, one from the main character and one from her... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mrs A M Samson
not the best book
I was given this book by a friend to read and I had never read any of Barbara Erskine's books before. Read more
Published 10 months ago by madii
Spooky Nile Cruise
Barbara Erskine's skilful interweaving of two stories involving a modern day heroine and her 19th century ancestress linked by an ancient bottle guarded by two deceased priests of... Read more
Published on 2 July 2009 by J. Relph
Sub standard
I found this book extremely disappointing on many levels. Not least the ending!
Having read and loved "Lady of Hay" and "Child of the Phoenix" I decided to revisit this author... Read more
Having read and loved "Lady of Hay" and "Child of the Phoenix" I decided to revisit this author... Read more
Published on 17 Oct 2008 by Faerie
A brilliant book...until the ending...or lack of
Never having read a Erskine novel before I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2007 by A. Deighan
An OK read about Egypt but not all that gripping
This is the first book by Barbara Erskine that I've read, and this one was as an audiobook (17 hours) rather than a paperback, which can make the experience different. Read more
Published on 18 Oct 2006 by Helen Hancox
Whispers in the Sand
Always a fan of anything to do with Egypt, I loved the mystery of this novel. I felt I was in Egypt as part of the cruise and kep looking behind me for the spectars. Read more
Published on 18 July 2006 by Georgie
Compelling, yet highly disappointing
I must say I immensely enjoyed reading this book. It was a lovely holiday read full of mystery, romance, ancient (and not so ancient) history, and above all, full of Egypt! Read more
Published on 7 July 2004 by Bojana
Whispers in the Sand - my review
I found this a thoroughly enjoyable (and spooky!) read. It was made all the more enjoyable having travelled to Egypt on a similar tour to that of the present day heroine. Read more
Published on 2 July 2003 by Rachel Butterworth
So much potential, sadly disappointed
As other readers have commented, it just wasn't up to the authors usual standard. As I started the book I had high hopes with such a brilliant setting as Egypt unfortunately I... Read more
Published on 24 Sep 2002 by Staffssal
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