Amazon.com info for 'The Tiger in the Well'

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Back to reviews and details of The Tiger in the Well

Amazon.com reviews:

Rating: 5 Summary: No fainting Victorian damsels here!``````
Comment Well, our heroine does faint at the very end of the book, but at that point it's fully justified. This romp through the sinister side of Victorian England is a thoroughly enjoyable read. I wouldn't insult this book by categorizing it as a "mystery," which makes me think with a shudder of rehased plots and two-dimensional characters and dull prose. Nor would I call this book a work for juveniles by any stretch of the imagination, any more than Orwell's 1984 is a juvenile book. While this novel may well be appropriate for and appreciated by some mature high school students, I would not lightly share it with any pre-teens. There are veiled references to child sexual abuse, and some references to prostitution. Set in gritty times, the novel reflects its era. Any reference to sex or adult themes in the book is tasteful and plot-driven, but an adult considering buying this book for a child based on its "juvenile" status should be aware, and be wary. It is certainly not appropriate for your average 9-12 year old, as the Amazon listing suggests.

Happily for those of us over age 12, it is written to enchant readers of every age. Whether you love it for its clever plot, its "in the trenches" view of the people and places of Victorian London, its subtle criticism of social mores of the time, its gentle flagwaving for socialism, its weaving of Judaic lore into the tale, or its simply fearless and fear-inspiring heroine, you WILL love it!

Now, when can I expect to see the movie version of this gem?...

Rating: 4 Summary: Almost, but not quite...
Comment "The Tiger in the Well" begins almost three years after the events of "The Shadow in the North". (Note: if you haven't read "Shadow", skip this review; it gives away important plot details.) Sally, still unmarried and living in London with her 2 year old daughter (by the deceased Frederick), Harriet, is occupied with a successful financial advisory business. Her friends Jim Taylor and Webster Garland are out of the country, exploring South America. This intricately plotted novel is set in motion when a process server arrives at Sally's home to deliver a notice of divorce. Initially dismissive (for she has neither seen nor heard of the man purporting to be her husband), Sally discovers that she is the target of an insidious plot to rob her of everything she holds dear, including her daughter. Driven out of her home, a fugitive from the police, Sally learns that her enemy is as dangerous as any she has faced. Pushed to the brink of total surrender, Sally receives help from an unexpected quarter, and she begins to fight back.

"The Tiger in the Well" is an engrossing journey through Victorian London. Much of the story is devoted to frank and disturbing descriptions of the depraved condition of London's poor, and to Sally's discovery of the injustices inherent in the system from which she had gained such a comfortable living. Her fugitive existence brings Sally face to face with these harsh and unsettling realities. In this sense, Pullman writes in the tradition of Charles Dickens, who famously used his serialized novels to protest the injustices of his time and suggest many progressive reforms. Yet, as one might expect from a modern writer, Pullman is more explicit (and much angrier) in his criticism, and he rails at length against the system as a whole. Social and political criticism are not a new feature to the series. "The Ruby in the Smoke" revolved around the British Empire's active participation in the opium trade, an indisputably true and shameful episode in its history. "The Shadow in the North" was somewhat less historical (with its bullet-spewing locomotive), yet Axel Bellman was a sort of personification of every scientist who ever worked on a weapon, and the book (written when the Cold War was still on) is clearly critical of the role of technology in improving the welfare of society. Thus, the socialist criticism that underscores "The Tiger in the Well" is neither good nor bad... it frames the story and provides some historical perspective. At least we know where Pullman stands, politically. I am no socialist, but the fact that he is makes me no less appreciative of his writing... for the most part.

The problem is, Pullman lets his political agenda get the best of his sense of the story and the unfolding drama, and his sermonizing ultimately intrudes upon the novel's true climax, when Sally defiantly confronts her tormentor, the man who has attempted to steal her daughter and brought her to near-total despair. As I read the novel, I was totally caught up by Pullman's narrative. Yet in this scene, when I should have been in the author's power, Pullman strikes a brutally discordant note. Sally, courageous as ever, does not inveigh against her enemy's total immorality. Instead, she starts jabbering on about how he's not really evil, how the system is evil, and through her agony she has discovered that she has herself been a part of that evil. Pullman is using Sally's speech to state explicitly, for the benefit of the reader, what has already been made completely apparent in the narrative itself. It's akin to those "gee Dad I sure learned that X is bad for Y" moments at the end of episodes of old sitcoms--totally unnecessary and condescending. An excerpt from Sally's speech gives the sense of the problem: "...Just as I made that family starve and put those men out of work and drove that man mad with misery and despair so that he tortured his child with a red-hot poker. I did it, without knowing it. So I'm guilty, me and all the other shareholders and speculators and capitalists. You know where evil is? It's not just in you. It's in... pretending not to know things when once you've seen them. Seeing something bad and shutting your eyes, turning away."

The speech is totally implausible and somewhat ridiculous. A passage with the same tenor would have been mildly annoying at any point in the narrative, but its timing proves to be particularly poor and quite damaging to the book. What human being, in such a moment, would take the opportunity to inform her enemy (as loathsome a man as ever drew breath) that she has, in effect, discovered that Marx is right. I was half expecting her to go on about how the workers need to seize the means of production. Even if one concedes that these books are meant for adolescents (and I submit that they're fit for adults as well), Pullman is guilty of grossly underestimating the intelligence of his audience. He would have benefitted from a more courageous editor, someone to point out that Sally's speechifying was bringing the plot to a screetching halt. It's truly unfortunate, because this is almost a great book. As a mystery, it is better (and darker) in most respects than the previous two in the series. For moments of pure pathos, it is rivaled only by Frederick's death in "Shadow". As usual, Pullman's characters are wonderfully written, particularly the supporting cast. So it is almost great. But, as my father is fond of saying, "Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades." What we are left with is a great story and a poorly executed finale.

Rating: 2 Summary: Wish it were better
Comment Instead of reading the book, I listened to the audiobook so I may have a different take on things.

I really wish this book was better because it did have some things to say, but I felt it was way too preachy and one-sided to be considered serious and if you don't want your audience to take what you say seriously, then why put it in. I fast forwarded through a lot of it.

Pullman let down his main character Sally Lockhart to make his points and I felt that was atrocious. She would never be so lax as to let her daughter and money be unprotected and compromised. She's way too smart. Yes, she became complacent, but he made her stupid as well.

Ruby in the Smoke and Shadow of the North were excellent and I was disappointed in this one. I didn't even care what happened at the end since it had been so diluted with other issues and didn't fully listen to the end of the CD before sending it back to the library. Also, I didn't particularly care for the characterizations of the Irish who were helping by making them drunken louts and always fighting, stealing and roughhousing. Way to continue stereotypes.

Enough with the "tiger" references. We get it already! As you can tell, I wan't that impressed with this book at all even though I had high hopes. I would like to see the adaptation of Ruby for Mystery! though.

Rating: 3 Summary: Amazing until half way through
Comment ***CAUTION SPOLIERS*** Ruby & the Smoke was one of the best children's books I've read with 2 interlinked mysteries and real heart to the characters. A masterpiece. Unfortunately this third book in the series is a let down. Pullman does something I thought he would never do: patronise his readers! The plot seriously creaks when the basement opportunistically collapses at a critical moment and Pullman too thickly underlines his theme by having Ah Ling tell Sally the story of the tiger in the well he remembers from his childhood. Gedditt readers???!!??? A shame as the opening is utterly gripping with the amazing set-up of Sally being divorced, slowly stripped of her wealth and cut off from her middle class comfortable life. Like a Victorian version of The Fugative. Also a pity I worked out who the baddie was before Sally Lockhart. Sally says later she always knew but could not face the truth but this does not ring true re her intelligence & fortitude. Another huge creak in the plot. Also, avoid the 4th book in the Lockhart series (The Tin Princess) which really is totally silly and does not have our heroine Sally except as a bit-part character!

Rating: 4 Summary: Strange, good, satisfying
Comment I loved Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy so much, so I picked up his Sally Lockhart series to keep my glow going. They're really good; not quite as incredible as the HDM books, but very interesting, engaging and suspenseful. I loved the first book in the series; the second was confusing but very good too. This one, book 3, was a very odd book, with odd characters, to put it mildly. But it was even more gripping than the previous Sally Lockhart installment. Some awful things happen in it, too; I cried several times throughout reading this. I most definitely recommend this, but read books 1 and 2 first, to get the background of the characters and their motivations.