The Little Stranger: A retrospective view

Having reached the end of the course, I would say that this was the weakest of the novels we read this semester. That is not because its writing style was lackluster; indeed, the novel drips with authenticity of the period and atmosphere. Nor is it because of the low level of supernatural elements, though I must confess this threw me a little. No, the reason I so heartily disliked this book is because there doesn't seem to be nearly enough plot to support a 500+ page volume. The details dragged out the book far longer than necessary, causing an incautious reader to miss crucial details. I know I had to reread several pages as a result of unintended skimming.

Overall, I like the idea of the haunted house sub-genre. However, after reading The Haunting of Hill House, The Little Stranger came up woefully short.