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3.19 AVERAGE
3.19 AVERAGE
3.75 stars. This is not quite as good as Wolf in White Van, but I enjoyed it a lot, and recommend it. It's thoughtful both in the writing and the story lines. A patron of a small-town Video Hut discovers that someone spliced in odd and disturbing scenes into some of the movies. The main characters have varying levels of curiosity about it, and the plot unfolds as they try to figure out who did it and why. It's told in four parts, from different perspectives and time points, but with a constant narrator (who is revealed in the end). Some of the reviews have called it disjointed, and although there were points where it wasn't clear why the perspective had shifted, it becomes clear as the story unfolds.
We don't get a simple final answer about the motivations for the main action in the story, but that's purposeful and fits with the story and the characters. As the narrator says, we can imagine different versions of the story, or different reasons why something happened (similar to Wolfe in White Van). My tolerance for the lack of a neat wrap up varies, but it's appropriate here. He balances our need to know and the inability to know (or a reluctance to explain). It is a puzzle that is mostly completed for you, but not totally. In some books that's just frustrating, but here it is executed very well and makes for a coherent narrative.
The title itself is unclear and would be interesting to talk about. But given that it is a major theme in the book, it could be that grief is the universal harvester. Overall, very interesting read, two thumbs up.
We don't get a simple final answer about the motivations for the main action in the story, but that's purposeful and fits with the story and the characters. As the narrator says, we can imagine different versions of the story, or different reasons why something happened (similar to Wolfe in White Van). My tolerance for the lack of a neat wrap up varies, but it's appropriate here. He balances our need to know and the inability to know (or a reluctance to explain). It is a puzzle that is mostly completed for you, but not totally. In some books that's just frustrating, but here it is executed very well and makes for a coherent narrative.
The title itself is unclear and would be interesting to talk about. But given that it is a major theme in the book, it could be that grief is the universal harvester. Overall, very interesting read, two thumbs up.
First things first, HOLY IOWA SPECIFIC. You can really tell John lived in for awhile. So many details. It really makes the world feel lived in. And brings the theme of small towns and people from them into great light.
I once again feel like I’m giving a higher than deserved rating for a John Darnielle book. But I gave Devil House three stars and this book is definitely better than Devil House.
Overall I found this novel a little confusing and slightly unsatisfying. But John’s writing is still some of my favorite and I really liked reading this book. Couldn’t put it down even though half the time I didn’t know where it was going or what was happening.
four stars.
I once again feel like I’m giving a higher than deserved rating for a John Darnielle book. But I gave Devil House three stars and this book is definitely better than Devil House.
Overall I found this novel a little confusing and slightly unsatisfying. But John’s writing is still some of my favorite and I really liked reading this book. Couldn’t put it down even though half the time I didn’t know where it was going or what was happening.
four stars.
A haunting and confounding book that I probably read at exactly the right time — I think you really have to be on its specific wavelength to unlock what Darnielle is trying to do here. What the book lacks in satisfying plot payoffs it more than makes up for with mood, keen observations about grief/loss, and a deep understanding of semi-rural life. 4.5/5.
This was such an interesting premise that for me fell flat. The writing is good but feels too drawn out at times. I have had time to reflect, and I think I understand the choices. The narrator being Lisa Sample at times and how, just like her hobby, the story feels spliced. The same way the vhs tapes are modified with random bits of footage, so is the story, giving us clues while slowly unraveling the plot and motivation along the way. I just felt so disconnected from the plot once we finally get answers as now we are seeing it through the perspective of new people at the very end of the final part literally 10 years after the events of the main story. I really wanted to love this book. It is tragic in a way when you dwell on Lisa's character and motivation. Over all this book just wasn't for me. I really wanted more out of it and hoped for a different motivation. Something more sinister I guess. The simplicity may be more terrifying to some. Though not a favorite I guess this book will stay with me for a bit. For better or worse.
Has a lot of potential but is disjointed and underwhelming.
Absolutely gorgeous writing but ultimately a disappointing read. As other reviewers have said, the premise was incredibly intriguing, but it didn't live up to it's promise. This seemed to me like 2 separate books, with the first being an eerie narrative about mysterious VHS movie recordings in a small town, being investigated by a movie store clerk and his possible big-city love interest, and the second and longer part of the novel, about love, loss, the intimacy of family relationships, the persistence of memories, grief and moving on in life.
I did love the atmospheric and down-right excellent writing and the setting of late 90's small-town Iowa and that's why it's a 3 rather than a 2 star.
I did love the atmospheric and down-right excellent writing and the setting of late 90's small-town Iowa and that's why it's a 3 rather than a 2 star.
Received an ARC copy from Powell's Indiespensable BookClub. Having not read Mr. Darnielle's first book Wolf in a White Van, I was coming to this author with little knowledge of his writing style or any expectations. The blurb on the back of the book sounded terrifying and I was extremely excited to start reading. So much so that I finished the book in just over a day.
First let me say that the way the book is presented is great. Some might think that the clear VHS plastic rental-type cover is overkill but I loved it. But I loved how it reminded me of renting VHS's and DVD's from the now defunct local Blockbuster (and of course, this was deliberate).
The book itself was.... hard to wrap my head around. Many times the prose was mesmerizing and so descriptive of the landscape and locale that I felt transported but there were times when I felt that this descriptiveness took me out of the story. The story itself is haunting. Terror at it's best - odd clips of torture? prisoners? rituals? inserted into late 1990's VHS's! It leaves you horrified and filled with growing dread.
I'll admit that the skipping around in subjects (from Jeremy to Sarah Jane to Lisa) got confusing and frustrating at times. But overall this book is a good read for those fans of terror and suspense.
First let me say that the way the book is presented is great. Some might think that the clear VHS plastic rental-type cover is overkill but I loved it. But I loved how it reminded me of renting VHS's and DVD's from the now defunct local Blockbuster (and of course, this was deliberate).
The book itself was.... hard to wrap my head around. Many times the prose was mesmerizing and so descriptive of the landscape and locale that I felt transported but there were times when I felt that this descriptiveness took me out of the story. The story itself is haunting. Terror at it's best - odd clips of torture? prisoners? rituals? inserted into late 1990's VHS's! It leaves you horrified and filled with growing dread.
I'll admit that the skipping around in subjects (from Jeremy to Sarah Jane to Lisa) got confusing and frustrating at times. But overall this book is a good read for those fans of terror and suspense.
Hang with this book, it will eventually all coalesce. The pastiche of different kinds of loss, grieving. The lifelong task of assimilation and the clumsy attempts at acceptance and understanding.
I didn't have the same feeling of completion at the end of this as I did at the end of Wolf in White Van--it was deliberately more open ended, and I guess it worked in that way, but I was still left hoping for it to be a little longer and more fleshed out.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes