Despite what for me was a very slow build (and I truly mean slow!), I did find this tale quite gripping. It takes quite some time before you realise what kind of story you are reading. Even then, the author makes you work hard to follow it! I can clearly see why this makes it relatively unpopular.

As much as I found the details about pottery interesting, it was simply overwritten, which added to the slowness. The descriptions of the pottery-making process could have been more concise and engaging. And though the main character's movement between languages seemed very natural, the use of accents in speech was, in my opinion, rather poor. It didn't quite add to the authenticity of the story as it could have. Maybe a more subtle approach to using accents would have been better. Overall, while there were some good aspects to the story, the slow pace and the issues with the writing style did detract from my enjoyment of it.

One of my all-time favorites is this book.

I have read it several times already and I'm certain that I will read it again in the future.

What makes it truly special is that it has a touch of the supernatural.

This element adds an extra layer of mystery and excitement to the story, which is precisely what I love about it.

The supernatural elements are not overdone but are integrated seamlessly into the plot, making the whole reading experience truly captivating.

Each time I pick up this book, I am transported to a different world filled with magic and wonder.

It's a book that never fails to leave a lasting impression on me and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good supernatural story.

This was the slowest paced book I have read in a long time.

It only gets two stars because it has beautiful language and is very well written. The author's command of words is truly remarkable, and the descriptions are vivid and engaging.

However, oh my lord, is there nothing going on in this book. It suffered a complete lack of plot and conflict. I just read 369 pages about ceramics and a man having sex. There was no real story to follow, no obstacles for the characters to overcome, and no sense of progression or development.

The book seemed to meander aimlessly, and I found myself getting bored and frustrated. I wanted more action, more drama, more excitement.

Overall, while the language was beautiful, the lack of plot and conflict made this book a disappointment. I would not recommend it to anyone looking for a thrilling or engaging read.

This novel of the supernatural stands out among the few modern horror novels I've read as it adheres to the classical format.

The author unleashes a powerful, knockout-punch of crazy, disturbing horror only at the very end of the story, which is extremely singular in today's context.

What sets it apart from works by Koontz, Saul, Straub, King, Barker, or McCammon is its "restraint," making it a more genuine novel from the start. Adams is a fluid storyteller, with many innocuous, simple, pleasant, and sweet passages.

There's a tender thread of romance between the protagonist and a strange blonde Dutch girl, and the story mostly takes place in the sunny English seaside, lacking stock or prop menacing characters or spooky settings.

There are a few disturbing notes, but they are so lightly touched on that you don't realize their portent until it's too late.

This adult novel, "Girl in a Swing," is all about anticipation. Until the final chapter, Adams holds you gently in the palm of his hand, not pandering to simplistic or over-eager horror-seekers like Stephen King.

Most contemporary horror works are plagued by the need to place characters in jeopardy immediately to avoid being labeled "slow to take off," a trend also seen in major motion pictures.

But Richard Adams doesn't succumb to this insecurity. He's better than that, having given us "Watership Down" and "Maia." Here, you almost don't know you're reading a horror novel.

He starts with a straightforward contemporary-romantic-narrative, with only a very faint, puzzling twinge of something not right.

It's all character-based and relationship-centric, lacking any overt scares.

So, towards the end, you're completely unprepared for the massive, fearsome wave of destiny headed your way. I won't say more to avoid spoiling it, but beware. You'll be tromped on, and the shock will stay with you for a long time. AaaaaaAAAAaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!

Watership Down is truly one of my all-time favorite novels. A while ago, I made the decision to explore the rest of Richard Adams's bibliography. This particular book, however, drove me completely crazy. It really got on my nerves until I reached the climax. That was when the story took a truly scary turn.

The story revolves around an English ceramics dealer named Alan Desland. While on a business trip to Denmark, he meets and falls deeply in love with his German secretary, Käthe Wasserman. They have a ten-day fling and hastily decide to get married. Käthe starts acting strangely, having random spells of terror. Finally, at the climax, her terrible secret is revealed.

This book has several flaws. I think it would have been better if it were shorter. Many times, I almost gave up on it because Käthe is such an annoying Mary-Sue type. She is good at everything, can learn to do things perfectly on a whim, and everyone who meets her instantly adores her. Miraculously, she manages to find a very rare and valuable ceramic figure of a girl in a swing for only £20. Similarly, Alan is not very likable at times. He is selfish and overly sexually driven, despite claiming otherwise (It's irritating to read about how often the two have sex). However, I can sort of forgive the book for making Alan selfish, as that was probably the intended lesson: don't marry someone you barely know just because they're attractive. Throughout the story, there are clues about Käthe's secret. Although I was able to figure it out quite quickly, the climax was still absolutely horrifying once it was all confirmed. I feel that the ending almost made the whole book worthwhile, and I would recommend it based on the ending alone.

In the end, I'm glad my patience paid off, and I'm happy to have this addition to my Richard Adams collection.

This book truly messed me up.

From the very first page, it took me on a wild and unexpected journey. The storylines were so convoluted and the characters so complex that I found myself constantly confused and disoriented.

I tried to follow along, but it felt like I was constantly one step behind. The author's writing style was also a challenge for me. It was filled with metaphors and symbolism that I had a hard time deciphering.

Despite all of this, I couldn't put the book down. There was something about it that kept pulling me back in, even though it was driving me crazy. By the end, I was left with more questions than answers, and I'm not sure if I loved it or hated it.

But one thing is for sure, this book will stay with me for a long time to come. It made me think, it made me feel, and it definitely messed with my head.

✭✭✭✭
**Original Article**: The importance of recycling cannot be overemphasized. It helps to conserve natural resources, reduce waste, and protect the environment. By recycling, we can make a significant contribution to a sustainable future.
**Expanded Article**: The importance of recycling truly cannot be overemphasized.

Recycling plays a crucial role in conserving our precious natural resources. When we recycle materials such as paper, plastic, metal, and glass, we are essentially reducing the need to extract and process new raw materials. This helps to preserve our forests, oil reserves, and other natural resources for future generations.

Moreover, recycling also helps to reduce waste. Instead of sending our waste to landfills or incinerators, where it can cause pollution and take up valuable space, we can recycle it and turn it into new products. This not only helps to protect the environment but also saves energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Finally, by recycling, we can make a significant contribution to a sustainable future. A sustainable future is one in which we meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Recycling is an important part of achieving this goal, as it helps to reduce our impact on the environment and conserve our natural resources.

In conclusion, recycling is of utmost importance for the conservation of natural resources, reduction of waste, and protection of the environment. We should all do our part to recycle as much as possible and make a positive contribution to a sustainable future.✭✭✭✭

I just re-read this book after having first picked it up about 20 years ago.

It's truly remarkable how time has passed, yet this book still holds its charm.

I think it is going to be one of those books which clearly demonstrates that you simply can't please everyone.

However, for me, I absolutely loved it.

The author has done a wonderful job of creating an evocative image of an England that perhaps never actually existed in the way it is described.

But it's that kind of England that often lingers in our minds, just out of our reach.

It's a simple tale on the surface, yet it left me with that rare and bittersweet feeling of disappointment that it really was just a work of fiction.

Nonetheless, it's a fantastic read that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a story that transports them to another world.

It's a book that will stay with you long after you've turned the final page.

Richard Adams is perhaps best known as the author of the classic "Watership Down," a story about bunnies. However, the novel we are about to discuss is a far cry from that. The front cover features a blurb from the New York Times Book Review that describes it as a tale of "beautiful, haunting erotic love and an absolutely terrifying ghost story." While it's not strictly erotica - I'd say it's more sensuous than erotic, with the sex rarely being explicit and never pornographic - what truly stands out is the gorgeous prose and lyricism.

The first hundred pages or so are rather slow-paced. The protagonist, who is also the first-person narrator, presents himself as ordinary, sexually unfulfilled, and unattractive during this period. It is only the beauty of the writing that saves the story from being dull. Alan Desland, an English ceramics dealer, reserves his passion for porcelain and pottery until he meets Kathe in Copenhagen. She is an exquisitely beautiful woman, and her almost supernatural beauty is often emphasized in the tale, both as a gift and a burden. It is also a sign, perhaps the reason, for an intense and pitiless quality in her, similar to that of the Greek goddesses she is compared to in the first pages, such as Demeter or Hera. Or, more appropriately, as she is compared to in the end, the Hindu goddess Kali.

Almost until the end, this reads like a romance, except for the foreshadowing and periods punctuated by eerie happenings, such as the inexplicable sobbing of a child and the sound of water. This would have made a perfect Hitchcock film. Overall, this is a haunting and underrated novel that is well worth seeking out.

Interesting read. Early on, I was compelled to check the publication date. The writing exhibits a formal quality, and aside from a car and a telephone, there is almost nothing to situate the story in time. Without these artifacts, it would be impossible for me to determine whether the action occurred twenty years ago or one hundred and twenty.

I found the first half to be very slow-paced, with its stodgy descriptions of the protagonist's upbringing, academic training, and burgeoning collector's passion for the china trade. However, when the mysterious Kathe makes her entrance, the story rapidly becomes engaging. The unusual pairing of this self-described homely bachelor and the vivacious, beautiful, enchanting Kathe aroused my curiosity, and my interest deepened as the action became increasingly strange. Without giving away any spoilers, I encourage you to persevere with this fascinating, yet dreadful gothic tale.

This was a rather sad and peculiar ghost story. On several levels, it truly never made sense to me.

I don't wish to include spoilers, but the two individuals involved engage in actions that lead to tragedy, yet the actions themselves lack internal coherence. I suppose it could be regarded as two selfish people setting everything in motion, but there are still glaring holes in the story, the plot, and its internal logic.

It does possess its own kind of terror and that sense of inevitable doom. I wouldn't say it's bad or a waste of time. It's not a terrible read; give it a try yourself and see what you think.

Recently, my attention was drawn back to this book and my review. This is a book I read several years ago because some friends (who all liked it) "recommended it to me". I think I'll add a note under a spoiler tag to clarify what I said.

MAJOR SPOILER BELOW:

The book is one of almost profound romance. The two people involved seem to be incredibly in love. Alan has an obsessive need for a neat and tidy life. He makes a comment about not caring for children. Based on this, the love of his life murders her child. (This is, of course, a simplification, but it's essentially what occurs.)

I've never been able to understand that. This is a crucial plot point. The impending doom that pervades the book and curses the characters' love story depends on it. The horror found in the book stems from it.

The two people who are supposed to be so completely in love never seem to have any intuition about each other... or they block it out. K.'s search for redemption feels hopeless, and in the end, we get the doom we've seen coming.

For me, from the act of murdering one's own child to the blindness about each other, the plot just seems full of holes. It's not that I don't recognize Alan's culpability or K.'s responsibility. It just didn't feel genuine.

That being said, I gave it 3 stars because it is very well-written, highly readable, and still holds the interest completely. I did read it through, and it did prompt the thoughts that you see the result of here.

I'm really not sure what to think of this story.

The beginning of the book is rather slow-paced, and the details about ceramics are just too esoteric for me.

However, once the main character, Alan Desland, travels to Copenhagen on business, the story starts to pick up speed.

There, he meets a mysterious young woman named Karen, and soon becomes completely obsessed with her.

In less than a week, he asks her to marry him, and she agrees. Everything seems perfect on the surface, but that's where the plot takes a rather far-fetched turn.

Amidst all the feverish coupling, it becomes clear that something is seriously wrong with Karin.

The story then takes a downward spiral, and when the climax finally arrives, it's just way over the top.

Eventually, the reader discovers the secret that Karin has been hiding all along, which leads to her downfall.

Unfortunately, it's extremely difficult to believe that anyone would do what she supposedly did just to marry a rather boring ceramics dealer from Newbury in Berkshire, especially since she'd only known him for less than a week.

I'm afraid that the combination of Kali, ghosts, sex, ceramics, and middle-class England just didn't make for a thrilling yarn.