Tabikat is a crime and mystery novel written by Harriet Redfern. The book begins with a prologue that contains news reports about the discovery of an unidentified body alongside the A40 outside GCHQ then flashes back six months earlier. James Sampfield Peveril, known to his friends as Sam, the wealthy horse trainer and owner of Sampfield Grange, receives an unexpected and strange visit from a long lost childhood friend, Frank Stanley. Stranger still is the request Frank makes, that is, to give a certain Isabela Hall a temporary job as his office manager. Isabella’s arrival in the house creates turmoil among the household staff of Sampfield Grange as each employee feels threatened by the newcomer and suspicious of her presence. As they speculate about Isabella, another surprise rocks Sam’s monotonous and predictable life. Tabikat, a talented racehorse bred in Ireland, is …show more content…
After only a few chapters, I felt glad I decided to read it. It was exciting and suspenseful, with the mystery getting deeper and deeper every chapter. The settings were described in details and the characters, even the minor ones, were well developed, complete with interesting backstories. The variation of dialogues from formal to informal English, to Welsh, then to Irish, made the story amusing and, consequently, more interesting. The author created fascinating characters including Sam, the wealthy man with an uninteresting life; Susan, the tough and brave woman; and Eoghan, the determined and diligent boy, among others. However, the story had not only too many subplots but also too many characters, which may be confusing to other readers. The abrupt shift of topic and introduction of new characters can also be vexing. Moreover, I found the backstory on Tabikat lengthy and, in some instances, verbose. I also noticed some errors like missing words and typos, which are, thankfully, very
The diverse alternation of point of views also provides the story an effective way to reach out to readers and be felt. The characterisation is effectively done and applied as Sam, Grace, and the other supporting characters play individual, crucial roles in the course of the story. All the elements of a typical young adult novel, consisting of a gap-filled relationship between children and parents, emotion-driven teenagers, and a unique conflict that makes the book distinct from fellow novels, combined with the dangerous consequences of the challenges the couple encounter, make the book different from all other of the same genre. The plot unfolds slowly giving readers enough time to adjust and anticipate the heavy conflict when it arises. It has gotten us so hooked but the only thing we could possibly dislike about it was the slow pace of plot. The anticipation was too much to handle and we were practically buzzing and bouncing to know how the story turns out as we read. It builds the anticipation, excitement, thrill, sadness, grief, loss, and longing in such an effective way to entice and hook readers further into the world of Sam and
In movies there is always a villain or bad guy to ruin someone’s life or career. The only reason why they go after that person is because of jealously, money, or hatred. It is not always easy for villains or temptresses to get their targets, so they have to come up with clever ideas to lure their victims in. In the movie The Natural Harriet Byrd’s killing spree started off as jealously towards people who are very experienced in what they do and only want fame and fortune from it. When Harriet sees how much potential Roy Hobbs has in playing baseball, she then tries figures out what he wants from his extraordinary talent making him her next victim due to his answer.
The story itself was quite interesting. The characters are believable and some had obvious arcs, the plot seems well paced, and most plot points are memorable. The dialogue didn’t seem forced, and flowed fairly realistically. The conflict, Devine Corporations vs the Beanfield (well, really, it’s owner but…), ended well, with Devine not being able to do anything about it, not for a lack of trying. Overall, the story was fairly interesting. The oldest man in their town’s whole story was, in particular, quite interesting. I’m still wondering about a few things, specifically to do with the illusion/ghost/whatever the old guy kept speaking with. That whole plot point both confuses and intrigues me. The only problem I have with the story is the student who came to work on a thesis paper. His whole character and insert into the story just seemed forced. He truly wasn't
I found the book to be easy, exciting reading because the story line was very realistic and easily relatable. This book flowed for me to a point when, at times, it was difficult to put down. Several scenes pleasantly caught me off guard and some were extremely hilarious, namely, the visit to Martha Oldcrow. I found myself really fond of the char...
This book is a very interesting read, if you have some self discipline. I mean that you need some self discipline because this book didn’t really captivate me in the sense that I couldn’t put it down. But after reading it for a while, I started to appreciate the author’s way of describing the characters and actions in this book.
My overall opinion of this book is good I really liked it and recommend it to anyone. It is a good book to read and it keep you interested throughout the whole book.
This is my personal reflection about this book. First and foremost, I would like to say that this book is very thick and long to read. There are about nineteen chapters and 278 pages altogether. As a slow reader, it is a quite hard for me to finish reading it within time. It took me weeks to finish reading it as a whole. Furthermore, it is written in English version. My English is just in average so sometimes I need to refer to dictionary for certain words. Sometimes I use google translate and ask my friends to explain the meaning of certain terms.
could have done a better job in explaining the plot. Facts were thrown in throughout the story
.... I found that the use of unclearness in the narration was really confusing but at the same time it gave me an idea that there would be a big twist the end of the novel about the narrator. Also, the Holman challenged some of the characters characteristic and human conditions that our society on girls and how they are viewed by our society that we currently live in. Though out this novel Holman made lots of connection to real world situations and she used lots of different ways to develop the novel so that the reader could find something interesting about her writing style.
have chosen it for my report. Finally, I will give my reactions to the novel
“I asked why the curse of slavery was permitted to exist, and why I had been so persecuted and wronged from youth upward.” Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery and knew from the start that it was wrong. You can only imagine what exactly men and women’s experiences were while going through life as a slave. “If you have never been a slave, you cannot imagine the acute sensation of suffering at my heart.” Jacobs details the abuses of slavery, and the struggles slaves went through. She often referred to slavery as the demon, a curse, or as venomous similar to that of a snake. Many slaves wished death upon themselves and even their children instead of continuing on with their life as being a slave. Slaves went through extremely harsh conditions and were abused not only physically but also mentally. Even through all the tragedies, slaves stayed strong and stuck together and did everything they could to assert their power and gain freedom or to help someone else gain it. “There are no bonds so strong as those which are formed by suffering together.”
In her story Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs presents what life was like living as a female slave during the 19th century. Born into slavery, she exhibits, to people living in the North who thought slaves were treated fairly and well, how living as a slave, especially as a female slave during that time, was a heinous and horrible experience. Perhaps even harder than it was if one had been a male slave, as female slaves had to deal with issues, such as unwanted sexual attention, sexual victimization and for some the suffering of being separated from their children. Harriet Jacobs shows that despite all of the hardship that she struggled with, having a cause to fight for, that is trying to get your children a better life
Why does Harriet Bird shoot Roy Hobbs? This is the core question in the book, The Natural, by Bernard Malamud. Harriet Bird, the woman who shoots Roy Hobbs, covers less than one tenth of the book. However, she is definitely a major character since she affects Roy’s entire life. Malamud depicts Harriet as a special and mystical woman. Such portrayal creates tension throughout the novel. The suspense is formed as the author describe the costume and behaviors of Harriet Bird. The suspense draws the attention of the readers while making the novel novel more intriguing and fascinating.
Overall, this was a great book because I finished it in two days. It was filled with suspense, action, valuable themes, and it made me feel a wide variety of emotions. The book explored the value of family, the corruption of government, and the fundamental question of “Should one follow the order if it’s immoral to one?”
...e end of the day feels no better about himself than he did before. Sam?s inaction did not have the effect on Hally he might have hoped for. But Sam loved the boy, and wanted to teach him the right attitude to have. Unfortunately, the effect society had on Hally?s character was too deep. So Hally is just a product of his circumstances, and nothing more.