A Sicilian Romance

The house of Mazzini in Sicily are an aristocratic family who you'd think were happy with their lives. Yeah, you guessed it -they're not. Every time I read a description of Julia, I swear I read the word "melancholy" more than once in a paragraph. There's definitely a sense of awe-inspiring gothic romance here - and the men are a little more than vulgar - but a little less than violent. I found this book pretty intriguing and yet, lacking in some sense of hoped happiness. But, as I think that was the point of the novel - we will ignore this as a fault. 

Characters: 

My favourite character was, in fact, Julia. She falls in love with Hippolitus. She is a woman of many talents and a younger sister to Emilia. But, for some reason - she constantly feels inadequate. I like the language surrounding Julia in a sense that she is "never enough" - and the fact that there is "never enough" of her story, contrasting to Emilia's story. I believe this was done on purpose and I think it was very well written into the text. 

Themes:

I did like the gothic theme and its surrounding language. "Melancholy" and "hopeless" were the words that stood out for me. What did Radcliffe mean by "hopeless"? Was she insinuating that all hope was lost? Was she just insinuating that this particular character believes all hope is lost? OR was she trying to offer a juxtaposition to the "light at the end of the tunnel" by telling the reader that there is "hopelessness" - when things are gonna get better soon?

Storyline:

The storyline is a little Shakespearean in the dramatics and logistics of things - it takes a while to get into, but once you get into the romances, it's worth it. The language is gothic, so not common of a romantic story. There is a sort of lamentation about it all underneath - almost like someone is retelling the story after a tragedy has just taken place. 

Verdict:

I give this book 8/9.

100% for characters: Even though I could've done without all the melancholia, I really did like the contrasting, but very similar Julia and Emilia. 

100% for themes: I loved the constant sense of foreboding as well as the perceptive "hopelessness". 

2/3 for storyline: Only because it was a little difficult to get into - not until Chapter 3 was I close to interested.