Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - Devil House

Merriam-Webster defines stewardship as "the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially : the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care."

Sorry to start this off like an essay, but it's what a book like this deserves.

Stewardship is really what is at the heart of a book. What does it mean to take care of something? A child, a piece of land, (maybe most especially) a story? Even more specifically, a story you have not been trusted to tell but rather named yourself the teller of.

Throughout the book, Gage Chandler wrestles with this moral quandary. How do you tend to something that may or may not be considered "yours?" Is there a healthy way to do such a thing, or is there only the best way you know how? Are you allowed to do such a thing, and once you've made the choice to do it anyway, what is the best way to validate or redeem your choice?

This book is art. The book is beautiful the whole way throughout, but when Darnielle inverts the reader's understanding in the last 15 pages, it becomes elevated to the realm of the truly spectacular.

Do yourself a favor and read this book.

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br00k3a133n's review

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Oh gosh. So I loved the format of this and the twists and turns it took, especially in the end....but the sections with the "olde English" writing was hard for me. On one hand to parse and on the other to physically read. The whole section (that as far as I can tell was an insert to contextualize some of the themes) "Song of Gorbonian", was printed in a near incomprehensible font. I basically ended up having to just skip it and hope for the best.

I want to love this more, but the detrators really were too strong.

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kleinekita's review against another edition

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dark sad medium-paced

Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Honestly just left me really confused. There were parts I liked quite a bit and parts a had to push myself through. Overall I don't know what it all added up to.

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loveallthis's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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savvy999's review

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Occasionally confounding, and intricately woven, the novel places a deliberate haze over the eyes of the reader, asking them to parse the morality and verity of the prosaic and lyrical content of the novel. Darnielle’s songwriting deeply influences the strength of description and scenario as well as ( I suspect) playing into the game of alternating narration that pervades the book. The novel is ultimately more meditation than horror, asking layered questions about the ethics of true crime and the mythology it creates.

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elsebeok's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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ashcrash's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

maybe it’s just because i’ve been up darnielle’s ass since i was like 13, but i Loved this book. it’s a lil opaque and confusing and the sentences run on forever, sure, but i feel like u get a really good look into chandler’s brain and how jumbled everything gets as the plot progresses. there were definitely parts where i thought maybe i wasn’t smart enough to be getting the message or just that the message was convoluted, but i think it works itself out by the end and leaves lots of room for thought. i really ended up caring about the characters too and loved the white witch passages especially. second person isn’t normally my bag but it worked super well here. i think darnielle’s writing style either works for you or doesn’t, but it really worked for me.

tagging this as a spoiler just in case but my main complaint is that i spent most of the stylized Song of Gorbonian chapter trying to figure out the font. i like the idea of it, but it was really hard to read that script. as far as the ending goes, i think it was about how he can’t tell the real true story anyway, because as jana’s letter showed he can only show one side of the coin, so he gave us the archetypes true crime types want instead. it was so easy to fall into derrick, seth, alex, and angela because they’re exactly the kind of characters we want and are supposed to root for, in a sort of doomed way.

soooooo many thoughts about story and true crime and archetypes and the meanings we make from all of them. definitely not the horror i was expecting from the cover but so so good nonetheless, will definitely be eating my brain for the foreseeable future

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zw_books's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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