The Small Hand and Dolly

I'm a big fan of Susan Hill. This book is actually two short stories that will give you the creeps...but with subtlety. Ms. Hill brings you into the story and keeps your interest with great characters and fascinating stories.

"The Small Hand", Susan Hill:I thought this was a great slow-burn, atmospheric tale at heart, but the modern technology seemed "at odds" with a Victorian ghost setting. A lot of information about the MC's day-to-day activities felt like filler, and unnecessary to the understanding of the story itself. Still, the ending brought much together, and some parts were quite chilling. 3 stars."Dolly", Susan Hill:The second novella in this book had more going for it, in my opinion. A faster pace, the time setting worked perfectly, and the backstory wasn't "too much", but rather just enough that was needed. Of course, a haunted doll is almost always a win in my opinion. 4.5 stars.Overall, a solid collection of two well-written novellas, with deep supernatural themes.Recommended.

Susan Hill never disappoints. Love her books. I haven't read this yet but I know it will be good. Trust me on the author!

This is a very good book, spooky! If you liked the lady in Black, you will like this book! I highly recommend!!!!

The writing brought back memories of the old masters..A very nice pair of ghost stories...

What's better than a ghost story? Two ghost stories! And that's what Susan Hill gives us in The Small Hand and Dolly. I love the cover -the doll's eye is unsettling and just set the tone for what awaits the reader.I've fallen in love with Hill's Simon Serrailler detective series, but it was only on looking at the author's website that I realized she was the author of The Woman in Black - a classic ghost tale that has been made into a stage play (opened in 1989 and is still running) as well as a movie starring Daniel Radcliffe.Hill writes the most delicious stories - atmospheric with slow building tension that increases with every page turned. And all accomplished without overt gore and violence. Just wonderfully wrought words.In The Small Hand, a rare book seller is on a way to a client's home when he takes a wrong turn - and discovers an abandoned house. "I should have gone back then. I needed to be in London and I had already lost my way. Clearly the house was deserted and possibly derelict. I would not find anyone her to give me directions." But he explores a litter further and finds that the house once housed a spectacular garden. It is while standing in the ruins that "I felt a small hand creep into my right one, as if a child had come up beside me in the dimness and take hold of it."That wrong turn haunts him in more ways than one - he now feels compelled to throw himself into water, knowing that he will drown. And this in turn drives him back to house...."What would I find? I did not know and I tried not to give my imagination any rein. I would obey the insistent, silent voice that told me I must go back and once there I would see. I would see."Delicious!In Dolly, Edward revisits the home of his now deceased aunt. He spent a summer there as a child, along with his cousin Leonora, a spoiled girl subject to fits of anger. In the forty years following that summer, he never returned. Until now. In present day, in the empty house, he hears a sound that brings back memories from that summer....memories of Leonora's wish for a dolly and her anger when it wasn't the right one."The cupboard. It was something about the cupboard, something in it or that had happened beside it? I shook myself, and was about to close the cupboard door when I heard it - a very soft rustling, as if someone were stirring their hand about in crisp tissue paper, perhaps as they unpacked a parcel."Dolly's tension builds as well, but in a different way. This time there's a more tangible scary thing - the inanimate doll. (I'm not a doll fan - they give me the creeps) You could even say this story dipped it's toe in the horror pool. Lots of foreshadowing leads the way to the final chapter. I was slightly disappointed with the ending of this story - I thought one character did not deserve their ending.But with both stories, I enjoyed the slow build, the weaving of possibilities and the gothic ghost flavour.Of the two, I preferred The Small Hand. But, both are perfect one sitting with a cup of tea before you head to bed reading. Who knows what your dreams will conjure up? Or what that rustling under the bed might really be......

From the author of  The Woman in Black: A Ghost Story  comes two gothic ghost stories to send chills creeping up your spine. In "The Small Hand", a bookseller named Adam Snow finds himself lost in the English countryside. Pulling up to a house to ask for directions, he feels a small hand clasp his own, but the derelict, overgrown house is clearly abandoned. He eventually finds his way home, but the sensation of the invisible child's hand continues to haunt him. Snow attempts to replicate the experience, but with each supernatural visitation more sinister demands are placed on the antiquarian. The second story, "Dolly", brings a young orphan to his aunt's house for a summer visit. Worried that her nephew Edward will be lonely by himself, his Aunt Kestrel invites his cousin Leonora to join them. Spoiled, selfish and cruel, Leonora terrorizes and fascinates Edward. When she tells him that she desperately wants a doll for her birthday, Edward passes the information on to their aunt - but the doll she purchases is not the type that Leonora wanted, so in a fury the ungrateful girl smashes it. Her wrath unleashes a curse that follows her and Edward through the years, slowly poisoning their lives.Susan Hill's ghost stories definitely make me think of classic 19th century ghost stories from authors like  Sheridan Le Fanu  and  M. R. James . Her narrators are nearly anonymous; we learn their names and a few details of their lives, like their employment and names of family members. But there's no strong sense of personality - Adam Snow and Edward Cayley are merely reporters describing frightening events in as factual a manner as they can.Of the two stories, I found "Dolly" to be more successful. Placid, peaceful Edward and the furious terror that is Leonora create a strange odd couple; he is always eager to please his fiery cousin, who either torments or ignores him, as suits her whims. I suppose his attachment stems from the fact that he is an orphan, and he's desperate for any family at all. Still, his devotion is perplexing, especially once he's an adult and fully aware of how terribly Leonora treats him. But the cursed doll has always been a staple of the horror canon ( Chucky, anyone? ) and its menacing presence is far more memorable than the man it so frightens. The story is also made horrible by the fact that the curse impacts Edward and Leonora equally. Sure, Leonora gets her just desserts, but why is Edward punished? Is he equally to blame for their troubles because he never stood up to his cousin, or does he suffer simply because evil doesn't discriminate?"The Small Hand" builds a wonderful atmosphere at the crumbling manor house where Adam Snow first encounters the ghostly hand. Each subsequent return to the property adds to this darkness, feeding the gloom and rot. But I found Adam even less engaging than Edward Cayley, and while his story is spooky it never ramps the tension enough to genuinely frighten.

Interessante, di facile comprenzione, Susan Hill non tradisce. Consigliatissimo x chi ama testi in Inglese non troppo impegnativi.

Good but not the best..Slow and not very scary.

These 2 novels are BRILLIANT. Both sent chills up my spine when I finished reading them. Susan Hill is really the queen of ghost story novels. Every bit as good as "The woman in black". I'd recommend them to any one who is interested in contemporary novels!

Lived up to the great standard one expects from Susan Hill

Having read Susan Hill before found this book of two short stories disatifing. I expected better. Dislike the endings found wanting more