Picnic at Hanging Rock
Lindsay, JoanNineteen school girls accompanied by their teachers set off for a day's outing. An Australian "more-than-a-mystery" story of an innocent and happy outing that ends in tragedy.
Comments from Groups
What a gripping story! Very cleverly crafted. Hard to put down once started. Ashhurst 001 Most of us remembered the film (which was memorable!). We all found the descriptive writing brought us right into the story - a great yarn! Wellington 074 A mixed response. We thought the story was rather too far-fetched to be plausible in places. We thought some of the characters could have been further developed. Wellington 130 We had a good discussion about the role of fantasy etc in literature. Many of us had memories of reading the book when much younger, and going to the movie. Wanganui 008 Most of us were so enchanted that we didn't want to return the books! Warkworth 003 This was our first book - we thought it a great choice to start with. We had a lively discussion with much checking of text when someone came up with an idea others hadn't thought of. Many would have liked to take it away to read again. Lower Hutt 008
Pages
213
213
Year
1967
1967
Reviews
24-08-2022
Most enjoyed it even if we were all very sceptical!
24-08-2022
Most enjoyed the book and were intrigued by the story, but found the writing style and words used hard to read at times.
24-08-2022
A good read - it was important to read this book carefully. Full of great 'prose' and substance.
24-08-2022
Overall the group enjoyed this book. It promoted a lot of debate about truth and imagination. Stories were recounted of our own experiences of powerful places. There was some dissatisfaction over the ending, but all enjoyed the writing style and found it compulsive reading.
24-08-2022
Mixed reactions. A few enjoyed it, but most felt important threads not developed, and the (unpublished) final chapter would have been as valuable as everything that WAS retained. Themes ( time, landscape, contrasts) did generate good discussion though.
24-08-2022
We all liked the book and the discussion went well. Some of our members found scientific, natural reasons for the girls' disappearance, while others of us favoured a more mystical, magical explanation...
24-08-2022
Intriguing but frustrating that there's no resolution! Enjoyed the contrasts of the English culture/ Australian setting. Some very interesting characters and thought-provoking scenarios.
24-08-2022
Some of the group were discouraged by the style in the beginning of the book. Those that persevered thought the writing style charming and the story engaging.
24-08-2022
We enjoyed this book - particularly its exploration of the ripple effects of one event. Some of us found the detached narrative style less engaging, but another really liked that about the book.
14-05-2021
This book was not one of our favourite choices. Rather slow at times , and we were left with too many unanswered questions.