Can you believe that October is nearly over? And with it comes the ending of another wonderful R.I.P. Challenge. But I will not lament that end just yet, as we still have a bit of time left to experience a peril or two. Today does mark the end of our group discussion for Deborah Lawrenson’s debut book, The Lantern. It has been a great pleasure reading and discussing this book over the past few weeks.
I have really enjoyed this contemporary homage to Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca and will certainly be keeping an eye open for more of Lawreson’s work in the future. This last section of the book was full of excitement and revelations and this is likely to be the most spoiler filled discussion post yet.
Let’s get down to it.
1. Now that it’s all said and done; what did you think of the book? Did you see the ending coming?
Being very familiar with Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca, which provides the inspirational foundation for The Lantern, I did see the kind of end coming for the Eve/Dom storyline. And while I said in one of the earlier group read conversations that I hoped it would not go that way because I predicted disappointment if it did, I actually was not disappointed with the ending of the Eve/Dom storyline.
I did not see the whole mercy killing situation coming after it was revealed that Rachel had cancer. Great call for whomever it was that predicted that. Can you buy me a lottery ticket this week?
Given that the story was based on Rebecca, there had to be some kind of ending in which Dom did something he would consider very bad but that wouldn’t ultimately doom the relationship between Dom and Eve. While Eve was often either blind to or purposefully ignoring the warning signs in the earlier part of their relationship, she also talks openly and infers that they also had a wildly romantic, intensely intimate relationship and so it was not unrealistic to me that she would be loathe to give that up as Dom began to unravel in front of her eyes.
There were times I had an inkling that Benedicte might actually be a ghost, but it still surprised me at the end when it turned out that she was, especially after it is revealed that much of Benedicte’s own hauntings were a combination of her guilt feelings and the results of the eye disease that she was later diagnosed with.
2. What do you think of the characters? Lawrenson took us on a twisty little ride there, I had trouble deciding who was good and who wasn’t for a while there! What do you think of Dom? Of Sabine? Rachel?
I like that everyone was questionable during the story. It had an Agatha Christie feel in that sense. I never entirely trusted Sabine and yet I liked that she didn’t turn out to be an entirely bad character. She too was obviously under Rachel’s spell. Rachel turned out to be, perhaps predictably if you’ve read Rebecca, less than the perfect wife she was believed to be. I did like the fact that she turned out to have not been murdered, per se, by Dom in some fit of jealousy. I also like the way that Lawrenson wrote her as a character who might have taken one last parting shot at Dom by deciding at the last minute that she had changed her mind. That one small part of the book leaves the reader with some interesting doubt and you can see why Dom would be so incredibly conflicted.
Both Dom and Eve are the kind of characters who, were they your friends, would annoy you. You would want to set them both down and force them into counseling. But as characters in a contemporary novel that is a throwback to an earlier gothic model of fiction, they were actually pitch perfect. Their bad decision making and poor communication are par for the course for this type of novel and I think Lawrenson walked that fine line with these characters very well.
I loved to hate Pierre and I enjoyed Benedicte and Marthe. I found them both to be highly interesting characters and I enjoyed learning about their lives.
3. Pierre was such a conflicted character. In the end, do you think he killed Marthe and Annette, or did the fall to their deaths because of their blindness?
I don’t see him as being very conflicted. I see him as pretty much being a troubled, warped child who grew into an adult who made poor decisions and was willing to threaten and manipulate his sisters, and lie to them, in order to get his part of the family fortune.
I do believe he killed them. At the very least he killed Annette. It is possible because of where Marthe ended up that she fell, and in some ways I consider that likely since they weren’t buried in the same place. But given the fact that Pierre attempted to assault Annette, I don’t see him letting that go. I think he continued with his actions later and ended up harming and then burying Annette. Marthe could very well have been killed by falling into the pool in an attempt to go for help while Pierre was working on Annette.
4. The book is being compared to Rebecca and Daphne du Maurier’s writing. Do you think the book lives up to that description?
The book is compared largely because Lawrenson used Rebecca as a blueprint upon which to write this novel. And I am fine with that. I don’t mind novels that are an homage to others (one of my favorite authors, John Scalzi, has done that often, and quite well) and I am glad that she is open with the fact that she was doing this. Rebecca is an amazing and special book so I don’t think it is quite fair to expect this to live up to that novel. What I do believe The Lantern does well is pay honor to Daphne du Maurier’s story while also exploring the world of scent and also incorporating a very interesting ghost story. So I do believe Deborah Lawrenson was successful in what she set out to do and I think this is a very fine example of a contemporary gothic novel.
5. Did you have any problems with the book? Narration? Plot? The back and forth between two different characters and times?
I mentioned that I had some problems during the first section with not being able to quickly identify which narrator was speaking from one chapter to the next. But once the story got going I began to discern that much more easily and I actually liked the fact that the story went back and forth between the two time periods and narrators.
I love short chapters and I also mentioned having a little trouble with the short chapters at first because of the rapid cycling between story lines, but that too passed pretty quickly and given my full reading schedule I found the short chapters to be ideal in being able to make progress through the story.
The whole storyline with the scents, which was one of Lawrenson’s big inspirations for writing the book, was one that caused a wide variety of opinions. I felt that Lawrenson stayed just on the right side of the line in regards to the scent-related dialogue in the first sections of the book and then when she brought Marthe’s story in the reason for the focus on scent made perfect sense and it became an even more integral part of the story.
6. Do you think Lawrenson tied both stories together well in the end? Is there anything she could/should have done differently?
I really do. Using the house as one of the main things that tied the story together was great, especially because I really enjoyed hearing about the old house and the fact that it turned out to be haunted was just too good. I was delighted at the end when Benedicte turned out to be still around, and my interpretation of things is that Eve was actually sensing Benedicte in the house when she was experiencing unexplained scents. We are distracted much of the story, thinking that perhaps it is Rachel. So this ‘twist’, if you can call it that, was very entertaining.
I also enjoyed the way Lawrenson tied both stories together by having both Benedicte and Eve reveal things about Marthe and her history. Marthe was an interesting bridge character and the fact that her life and then sudden disappearance was still pertinent in present time period wove the two periods of time together quite nicely. I also enjoyed the way that Lawrenson used Sabine and her enigmatic motives to bring Marthe’s story into the present time line.
7. One problem I had with the novel is the reliability of the narrators. Do you think any of them were telling the truth? Which ones?
Actually it is the unreliability of the narrators that make a novel like this work. That suspicion about who is telling the truth and what facts the narrators are either holding back or are unaware of themselves that adds a layer of mystery to the tale. I think that Eve and Benedicte were largely telling the truth as they saw it at the time, and yet knowing that both narrators are looking back over past events makes you realize that there is the potential for them to be editing various details. So I guess I think both. I think Eve was trying to be as honest about her naive viewpoint of things and yet there is the potential that she was painting herself in a certain light. Same with Benedicte. She certainly was probably more guilty of issues with her brother and sister than she initially was admitting.
But again, I think a gothic mystery like this only works if the characters are somewhat untrustworthy. How else does a writer create an air of doubt and suspicion while trying to keep the reader off balance?
_____
As for final thoughts, I greatly enjoyed this book. I think Deborah Lawreson did a marvelous job crafting an interesting ghost story/travelogue and grafting it on top of the quintessential gothic romance, Rebecca. Her description of the scents and aromas brought the story to life in a way that I had not expected it to do. And while I would not put it in the same class as Rebecca, or more recent contemporary gothic novels like Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale, I do find it to be a really strong debut novel. Lawrenson created the kind of thick, mysterious atmosphere that I hoped the book would hold. I highly recommend the book.
It has been a tremendous pleasure reading this book and discussing it with all of you. Special thanks to Kailana and Heather for the questions for weeks 2 and 3. Can’t wait to discuss this final section of the book with all of you, and I hope you’ll join me in some more group reads in the future. Please remember to put a link to your post below!
Links to the other Lantern discussion posts:
Week One
Week Two
A Conversation with author Deborah Lawrenson
__________________________________
This book is a selection for the Peril of the Group Read portion of the 6th annual R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril (R.I.P.) Challenge. To find out more information and/or to sign up to participate, please follow the link. If you are interested in more books or films that are being reviewed as part of this event, please visit the R.I.P. VI Review Site.
I didn’t see the mercy killing coming either. I knew that she was probably dead, but it was hard to say exactly what method she was going to use to explain Rachel’s disappearance. It might for an interesting idea, actually. And, it explains the guilt and such that Dom obviously feels.
I liked that Rachel’s death happened in this fashion and that Dom didn’t actually murder her in some fit of jealous rage. Eve was so apologetic at times for her lack of assertiveness in dealing with Dom that I did not want him to turn out to be a killer and then have her either throw the relationship away, which would have made for a bummer ending, or have her stay with a murderer, as that would have been a psychotic ending. LOL!
I was the one that guessed the mercy killing last week. I was hoping that Dom wouldn’t have done something purely evil, but instead morally ambiguous. He just didn’t seem the vindictive type. I was surprised though that Rachel turned out to be a somewhat terrible person.
I love that the serial killer was a red herring.
Yes, you win the fortune teller prize for sure!!! You nailed that and nailed it good.
Great answers! I find it really interesting that you, loving Rebecca as well as you do, really enjoyed The Lantern for its parallels. I’m the opposite, and I think I might be the only one in the group read who didn’t care for this book so much, but I found those parallels to be distracting and ultimately a reminder that I should have probably just reread Rebecca. In any case, it’s been interesting to me to see others’ opinions which are so different than mine, but often about the same details.
I like the idea of Rebecca as a “blueprint.” I’ve been using the term “parallel” more frequently, but I think “blueprint” is much more accurate. And visual!
No, Kate, you are not the only one. For me it was clear from the beginning that the end will make me decide whether I like the novel or not.
I liked Bénédicte’s story but not Eve-Dom and for me the whole cancer-mercy killing angle was as far from realistic. I tried to explain why in my answers.
Nevertheless I’m glad I read it because the bits and peices I liked will stay in my memory. And I was never tempted to not finish it.
That is a good point, Caroline. There are books that I’ve not enjoyed that I just couldn’t finish in order to see if the end would pull it all out for me. And then there are others that had just enough of a hook to keep me going. While I ultimately enjoyed both story lines in the end, it was initially Benedicte’s story that was that hook for me and kept me motivated to turn the pages.
There are parts that will stay in my memory as well. Even some books that I hated (like Tana French’s “Into the Woods”) are well written and have parts that cannot help but stick with me. I’m glad you participated with us and have enjoyed reading your responses.
You aren’t the only one Kate, check out Daphne’s post! And I haven’t read Caroline’s post either but my assumption is that she wasn’t fond of it either.
Part of my being okay with its parallels to Rebecca has to do with the fact that it has been a long time since I’ve last read the book, and part of it is that I really don’t have a problem with writers doing homage works, as long as they are up front about it and are also willing to accept the comparisons that will inevitably come.
While Rebecca is far superior, and always will be to ANY novel that uses it as a guide no matter how good it is, I am very pleased with this one.
Interesting that you had associated the scents with Rachel… I had decided, right or wrong, that Bénédicte was a ghost from the start, so I just attributed those to her.
Also, since you’ve read Rebecca… is that amount of ending exposition part of that “blueprint”? It drove me batty as I read it, like Lawrenson didn’t trust the rest of her story to be interesting if I couldn’t explain it all.
I’m not sure I necessarily associated the scents with Rachel, but that is what Lawrenson was wanting the reader to do as that was what Eve was doing. I actually thought they would turn out to be Marthe once Benedicte said she saw her ghost, so I was unprepared for the medical explanation of Benedicte’s phantoms so it turned out to be really fun for me that it was Benedicte’s ghost leaving the scent trails.
No, there certainly wasn’t that much explanation with Rebecca, but there also weren’t as many overlapping story lines either. You really have to read Rebecca at some point, it is a marvelous piece of fiction.
That modern need to dumb down everything, which I consider the “movie voice over mode” of storytelling, is one of the few reasons why I would knock a couple of points off my rating for this book. I personally would have liked the serial killings to have remained unsolved as that would have left the reader with some more doubts in regards to Dom but also in regards to Pierre and his ancestors.
I liked this one a lot too, though I think the specifics are going to fade from my mind rather quickly. I have not read Rebecca, and it’s a scandal, I know. I WILL get around to it! 😀 I hear nothing but good things.
It is scandalous!!! That has to go on your list for next year’s R.I.P. Challenge. 🙂
I guess I’ll just have to read Rebecca now. I read it years ago but have very little memory of it, I have a lot more memories of the tv show based on the book.
I think this is a book that is very enjoyable while reading it, but it isn’t going to be one of my all time favourites, and while I like the feel and atmosphere of it, I never loved it. Still, a very good fit for the RIP challenge though 🙂
Yes, and you are not alone Fence! Maybe I should just schedule the Rebecca group read for next R.I.P. right now!!!
Not one of my all time favorites either, though I did really enjoy it.
I actually like unreliable narrators, too. They don’t work for every story but for a suspenseful novel it does make you uncertain and plays into suspicions you have about the events and people. I thought it was interesting that in Rebecca, Rebecca also had cancer, though she met with a premature ending. This time around Dom isn’t really culpable. I enjoyed the story–it was a little uneven in parts but a nice atmosphere story. I think the elements I like overshadowed those that maybe didn’t quite work for me. Thanks for doing this–it has been fun reading along!
It has been fun and it has been wonderful having you join in with us. It is rare that you and I are reading the same book at the same time and I’ve really enjoyed your thoughts.
I liked that Dom wasn’t really culpable either and I am with you in that minor complaints aside, the things I enjoyed about this novel far outweighed them. And truth be told, if it wasn’t for the analysis that comes from doing a group read like this, I might not have even noticed those minor quibbles and instead you would find a post over here raving about the book. Or raving more than I already have. 🙂
I actually (contrary to how my post might seem) didn’t hate the book — I thought it was quite lovely… i just feel like so many of the revelations were like… huh? Eye disease? Mercy killing? Wha? I was hoping Rachel was so awful that she pushed Dom to the brink and he tossed her over a cliff or something like that, and then Eve decided to keep his secret because she agreed that Rachel had to die, or something like that. I just feel like the denouement was so anti-climactic — I think that’s the main problem I had with it. Every single storyline that could have been satisfyingly dramatic in some way (maybe not even a sinister way) was just explained away with very easy answers, or totally random causes, like Bene’s eye disease.
I didn’t mind that she was a ghost, but I totally saw it coming. I just feel like this book, which was written so prettily, and started with such a great atmosphere, really just petered out at the end and that was a shame — that’s where my disappointment lay. But I didn’t think it was a bad book – I was just disappointed because it *could* have been so much more! But that’s just my wanting.
You are right, Daphne. I shouldn’t have jumped to the conclusion that ‘disappointed’ meant ‘didn’t like’. It is lovely.
It is fun how people can want opposite things from their stories because I would have been incredibly disappointed myself if they end had been what you were hoping the end would be. I certainly wouldn’t have minded more revelation about Rachel being an awful person, but beyond that I am so glad Dom didn’t do anything truly murderous to her and if so I would have been driven to distraction had Eve stayed with him.
Your description about what the book “could” have been sound so much like my experience not only with some books of late but also films I’ve went to recently. I don’t need films to be three hours long and as you know I’m no big fan of thousand page books, but I often feel that with just a little more time, a few more pages, the right details could be added to make a story go from good to great.
Thanks for clarifying how you felt about the book.
It’s so awesome to hear everyone’s final thoughts on The Lantern – I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get caught up for our read-a-long this week, so it’s extra awesome to be here!
I think, in general, I’m having my biggest frustrations with something that Daphne is hinting at, which is that things were a bit TOO resolved – this bugged me the most in terms of Benedicte’s eye disease causing her visions. I just think it would have been more satisfying (as well as more creepy) if they really had just been ghosts (or ‘memories’) she was seeing before she died. And, while I think that the whole mercy-killing thing provided a bit of an out for Dom to be bad enough to doubt his own morality while still being sympathetic, I just didn’t necessarily like it. I wish he had just killed Rachel – plus, then maybe Eve would have had to make some more tense decisions. The pretty red bow on top of this story was a bit too much at times.
That makes it sound like I didn’t like the book, but I did! I found that the writing was lovely, and with the exception of Eve’s insistence on staying with Dom, I thought all the characters were complex and well thought out. I LOVED (adored is probably more accurate) Benedicte and Marthe’s story the most for a few reasons: I liked the historical setting more than the modern one; Pierre was just so deliciously evil to read; the scents and their descriptions were one of my favorite parts of the book, hands down.
Thanks again, Carl, for hosting such great read-a-longs this year, and for basically (but not really) making me read The Lantern – or at least, give me a really good reason to read it before it was due back to my library! This book has made me want to sink my teeth in to Rebecca again something fierce, and I’m hoping that will be the last read I can sneak in for R.I.P!
PS: I didn’t mind the homage to Rebecca at all. I liked it, actually, although this might have something to do with the fact that I haven’t read it in forever. As long as Lawrenson is being upfront about what she’s doing, I think she’s doing a great job at it!
I’m sure glad that you did!
I too said on someone’s post that I didn’t need to have every part of the story wrapped up. I would have liked to see the serial killer story be left unresolved and there to still be some mystery about that. I am one who is glad Dom didn’t really murder Rachel. There seems to be a dividing line about that one and I’m happy Lawrenson didn’t go that route.
I thought the eye disease thing was fun.
I liked the homage to Rebecca as well, and didn’t initially think I would.
I’m glad you enjoyed the book and I’m happy the group read inspired you to do so now rather than later. Its been fun reading your thoughts on the various discussion posts and I do hope you do more group reads with us in the future.
I finally posted my thoughts! Thanks for hosting this discussion. It was a lot of fun.
Lari @ Lari Is Writing
You’re welcome, I’ll be over to check it out.,
Great thoughts. I really enjoyed this story, and I agree with you that the added twist of Rachel changing her mind at the end adds more to it. As far as the Rebecca references, I wish I had read Rebecca years ago instead of just a few weeks ago. I think I probably would have enjoyed the references to Daphne du Maurier’s works more.
I still can’t trust Sabine, or like her all that much. She is still questionable to me.
Great book and I hope Lawrenson comes out with another Gothic tale soon!
Thanks for hosting this readalong!