Tittle : The GreatcoatAuthor : Helen Dunmore
Publication date : March 5, 2012 by Hammer
When I first read the summary of The Greatcoat
, I was instantly interested. Lately, I am in in the mood to read ghost stories, so I picked this book without a second thought. It is my first time reading Helen Dunmore's work as well. I expected this book to be romantically haunting (does that make sense?), since there is a ghost involved. I was quite sure that the story would be interesting, I mean, falling in love with a ghost? How cute and creepy can that be?
The story is set in Yorkshire, within the second World War and 1950s. A young newlywed Isabel Carey was lonely. She married a doctor, Phillip who was busy all the time with his patients and seemed not to care about spending more time with her. One day, when the weather was cold, she found a greatcoat and used it to comfort herself. Then she started to get a visitor knocking at her window.
, I was instantly interested. Lately, I am in in the mood to read ghost stories, so I picked this book without a second thought. It is my first time reading Helen Dunmore's work as well. I expected this book to be romantically haunting (does that make sense?), since there is a ghost involved. I was quite sure that the story would be interesting, I mean, falling in love with a ghost? How cute and creepy can that be?The story is set in Yorkshire, within the second World War and 1950s. A young newlywed Isabel Carey was lonely. She married a doctor, Phillip who was busy all the time with his patients and seemed not to care about spending more time with her. One day, when the weather was cold, she found a greatcoat and used it to comfort herself. Then she started to get a visitor knocking at her window.
Since it is the ghost story that is being highlighted, I can say that this book has no creepiness at all (which I personally think as a must have for a horror book). I didn't feel scared, I didn't get goosebumps, to me, the story just fell flat. I also found the description to be weird, for example, Isabel felt the warmth of the ghost, saw him breathed etc. I mean, really? I bet everyone knows that ghosts don't breathe. They're dead, for God's sake. And as for the body warmth, it's no rocket science because, if you believe in or know about paranormal experience, you should be aware that the temperature drops when "they" are around.
I also found the characters to be flawed. I didn't get to know them to feel for them. I just couldn't care enough about what Isabel does or feels. There are parts of The Greatcoat where Isabel remembered herself as someone else, but those parts are also confusing. There's no clear information of who she was or what happened to her. Isabel also seems to had no clue about what was wrong with her. Well, if the main character doesn't know what's going on, then how would we?
where Isabel remembered herself as someone else, but those parts are also confusing. There's no clear information of who she was or what happened to her. Isabel also seems to had no clue about what was wrong with her. Well, if the main character doesn't know what's going on, then how would we?Deep down I believe that The Greatcoat actually has a big potential to be a awesome ghost story. It has perfect ingredients to be one, unfortunately, it just didn't please me. If you are looking for a quick read, then you may want to read it and be the judge.
2 rating for this book
Have you read other works by Helen Dunmore? Did you like it?
