Picnic at Hanging Rock

 

By Joan Lindsay

 

This book got my attention from being placed on the top 50 Australian books to read. It is based on the 1900 Valentines Day disappearance of a group of schoolgirls of Appleyard College from the famous Hanging Rock in Victoria, just outside Melbourne. 

Having not been written until 1967 though, the book needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.

 

I read the pink Penguin version and found the tiny writing difficult, taking much more concentration. This always turns me off.

I always check the writing when I'm in store and buy the version I like best. However, buying this one online, I didn't have that luxury.

 

The start was really good and had me hooked from the get go. The middle dragged on a little and the end was OMG! Very surprising indeed! The novel centres a lot on the community and how it affected them. I would have liked it to focus more of the girls instead.

 

One quote I hated was “woman with masculine intellect”. A woman couldn’t possibly just be intelligent; it has to be referred to as being a masculine trait that a woman is lucky to have! But I guess that’s very indicative of the times.

 

I found the writing a little dated. I usually enjoy that being a huge lover of the classics. But this one I struggled a little with, even at only 189 pages. Not a must read but it’s describes the Australian outback really well and certainly has me wanting me to visit Hanging Rock to see it for myself.