Customer Reviews

Here I Stay

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Since I don't like romantic novels -that is, novels that are centered on the romance between the characters- I began to read this with extra caution and a pinch of prejudice. I also bore in mind that it is extremely difficult to find a "gothic" novel that is not full of the usual "blood-curdling" clichés. But I knew this author already as Elizabeth Peters and thought that she narrated wonderfully well with a great sense of humour, and I had heard such good things of her as Barbara Michaels that I decided to give it a try .... Boy, was I wrong! This writer is particularly good at character building (more so than in the Amelia Peabody series, where the characters are funnier but more like charicatures), so much so that we feel we are getting to know real people. This is especially the case with the main character, Andrea, who is bound to learn a great lesson and evolve throughout the story, and from whose point of view the events are told.The romance comes really as a natural consequence of the evolution of these characters, and it is never forced or far-fetched -and, of course, thank heavens!, it is not a romance between physically perfect, young and extraordinary people, but quite a realistic affair between two common middle-aged persons. The "gothic" atmosphere is never cliché and it is very intelligently contrived, so that rational, intelligent readers don't have to laugh or feel indignation...It is, well, there and not there (I can't say more without revealing). But the most important thing is that this novel centers on the evolution of well-built, round characters and the lessons they learn about life. The romance is part of this evolution, and never the most important element, and the "gothic" is part of the setting and never full of clichés or the justification of the events. I expect to read more from this author soon.

I read it at least once a year. I love the story, the atmosphere, and the characters--including Andrea, the main character. Many reviewers here have found her off-putting, and she certainly is at first. She's selfish, opinionated and abrasive, not to put too fine a point on it. But she evolves. The sharp tongue doesn't completely go away, but she softens--love for Martin softens her, and although she doesn't submit to it willingly, it happens all the same. There's a haunting incident at the end in which she recognizes and repudiates the way she's tried to control Jim (her brother), has tried to clip his wings, metaphorically speaking. It sickens her, and she draws back from it. Her personal growth is one of the reasons I like this book so much.

I have read this book three or four times, and each time I read it I enjoy it even more, this is one of those novels where the world that Ms. Micheals creates is one that you don't want to leave. It made me wish she had written another novel with these characters.

"Here I Stay" is an example of gifted suspense writer Michaels at the top of her form. Part Gothic thriller, part psychological
novel, in "Here I Stay" Michaels displays her easy mastery of vivid imagery and provocative character insights. The reader will be drawn in immediately, and the unusual tale satisfies from beginning to end. Highly recommended, good to curl up with on a cold winter's night, or to read on the hammock on a summer afternoon.

Like all Barbara Michaels' novels, Here I Stay is a superb book. I couldn't put it down. Michaels recreates the atmosphere of a country inn in a small town with consummate skill, and the characters are cleverly drawn. If you've read this author's works before, you know that she relies on certain formulas, and most of them are again in evidence here. So what! They are formulas that work, and Michael's tale is, as always, intelligently written. Be forewarned: the heroine of this particular novel is bitter, extremely unlikable, and astonishingly old-ladyish for 31. Nevertheless, that doesn't stop her from being believable, and it shouldn't put you off from this wonderful, suspenseful book.

This novel is set in a bed & breakfast in rural Maryland. The three main characters are Andrea (a single-minded, self-focused young woman), Jim (her much younger brother), and Martin (a journalist staying at the inn). These characters are interesting and well drawn, but I feel that the book would have been far more compelling if it had been told from Jim's point of view rather than Andrea's. The conclusion would have been more satisfying, in my mind, if we knew more of what Jim experienced. A pretty good book, but not one I will read again.

...but still a good read. The heroine is largely unsympathetic, although given her history, her outlook and reactions aren't hard to understand. In spite of that, the book is thoroughly spooky with moments of humor. Even though Michaels has done better, lots of other people haven't. This is worth a read--just don't expect a heroine you'd want to identify with.

I have read all of Barbara Michael's books, and also many from her other name of Elizabeth Peters, but this one is by far my favorite of all of her books. The heroine is tough and funny and the other characters also kept me enjoying this book. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a wonderful book.

I enjoyed "Here I stay". While I agree with the others about Andrea's character (bitter spinster type), I liked the book the most because of Jim, because I also have a much-loved younger brother. So the ending was very powerful for me; I was practically crying by the time I read the last page! Plus, the plot was interesting enough even without the ending. Read it and see if you agree.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NJL75A/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_img

Jim was meant to die when his car went off the road. He said so. But his sister Andrea wouldn't let him die. Instead, she seized on the only thing that had interested him the day before his wreck--an old house left her by a distant cousin. When Jim finally left the hospital minus one leg, the wreckage of the old house had been miraculously transformed into a bed and breakfast of surpassing wedding-cake Victorian beauty.

But it was haunted, or was it? By Mary, who also had made the house into an inn or her daughter Alice, who was born in 1866 and died in a jump from the tower window in 1883 at the age of 17? Or by the black cat Satan, who belonged to himself but had belonged to--Mary? Or was that Satan's ancestor Beelzebub?

Martin, the journalist who came to stay for a weekend, fell in love with Andrea, and moved in permanently, knows in his gut that there is something wrong with Jim, even after Jim gets past a half-hearted suicide attempt, even after Andrea hears him in one-sided conversation with someone who isn't there, in the tower room Jim has made his own.

The denouement is sweet and touching, and the reader knows that everything is going to be all right. To say more would be a spoiler. And I do NOT agree with the reader who says the story should have been told by Jim. The story could not successfully be told by Jim without planting spoilers on every tenth page.

This is one of Michaels's best novels, and a very sharp contrast to Ammie, Come Home, with which it could be compared and contrasted.