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162 reviews for:
The confessional of the black penitents, or The Italian
Ann Radcliffe, Ann Radcliffe
3.35 AVERAGE
162 reviews for:
The confessional of the black penitents, or The Italian
Ann Radcliffe, Ann Radcliffe
3.35 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The novel opens with a lot of excitement and action drawing you in but then it sort of falters throughout. However, the inquisition scenes later on are very tense. Radcliffe builds up tension to breaking point, and then nothing very bad happens - the heroine is abducted but she just has to ride around for a while with her kidnappers; the prisoner is threatened with torture but returns to his cell unharmed, and so on. The big plot points in The Italian all in the backstory, and so we get a lot of explication at the climax of the novel, but no events.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
If it wasn't for the long (very long) sweeping descriptions, annoying characters and sometimes overcomplicated story plots I may have enjoyed this.
There are aspects I enjoyed for example, Schedoni's character was interestingly flawed and rather strange, some of the plot twists were entertaining and I am interested in how women wrote at this time and the reaction these books received. There were some wit and humour which I appreciated also in some of the dialogue.
However, there was quitie a bit about this book that just bored me. There was a lot that could have been cut out and that I really didn't need to read. Endless pages just about the scenery, or about how much Vivaldi loved Ellena, or some story about a minor character that didn't really add to the story.
Then there were the characters. Vivaldi, Paulo, and at times Ellena really annoyed me. They were just infuriatingly dull and did not undergo any character development.
Overall, I would not have carried on reading this if I didn't have to for Uni.
There are aspects I enjoyed for example, Schedoni's character was interestingly flawed and rather strange, some of the plot twists were entertaining and I am interested in how women wrote at this time and the reaction these books received. There were some wit and humour which I appreciated also in some of the dialogue.
However, there was quitie a bit about this book that just bored me. There was a lot that could have been cut out and that I really didn't need to read. Endless pages just about the scenery, or about how much Vivaldi loved Ellena, or some story about a minor character that didn't really add to the story.
Then there were the characters. Vivaldi, Paulo, and at times Ellena really annoyed me. They were just infuriatingly dull and did not undergo any character development.
Overall, I would not have carried on reading this if I didn't have to for Uni.
i began this book with lots of enthusiasm and felt so sucked into it, that it’s shocking to see how by the time i got the end it felt like a labor to finish. it’s established as a gothic tale, and though i think it defiantly has gothic elements and scenes that feel very gothic, i would say it is more a story of love and suspense. lots of twists and turns-two times the amount you could expect-which could get tiring, but i can appreciate the fact that none of them felt super obvious. i also can appreciate that even though it is a love story, it is not one that happens easily and it really feels like the characters have to fight for the love to come to fruition in the end. overall, it was a 3/5; didn’t love it but didn’t hate it either.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Ann Radcliffe is all about the atmosphere, and this novel is probably her most atmospheric. The inquisition scenes are very tense. I love her but she is so frustrating to read. My constant problem with Radcliffe, in all the novels of hers that I've read, is that she builds up tension to breaking point, and then nothing very bad happens - the heroine is abducted but she just has to ride around for a while with her kidnappers; the prisoner is threatened with torture but returns to his cell unharmed, and so on. The big plot points in The Italian are all in the backstory, and so we get a lot of explication at the climax of the novel, but no events.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape
Lettura a tema
Titolo gotico della Radcliffe scelto appositamente per la settimana precedente alla notte di Ognissanti, si è fatto leggere in un fiato, complici la brevità e il ritmo serrato senza inutili fronzoli.
L'autrice è sempre all'altezza, nonostante una vicenda piuttosto elementare e personaggi stereotipati.
Titolo gotico della Radcliffe scelto appositamente per la settimana precedente alla notte di Ognissanti, si è fatto leggere in un fiato, complici la brevità e il ritmo serrato senza inutili fronzoli.
L'autrice è sempre all'altezza, nonostante una vicenda piuttosto elementare e personaggi stereotipati.
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No