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4.43 AVERAGE
4.43 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a very confusing book. The plot's not confusing, it's fairly straightforward in that regard. I'm just baffled that it's popular and highly rated. And I guess if you come in this looking for a very detached family saga (I considered drama but there's not enough suspense to justify the word) with occasional hints of something supernatural happening in the background then maybe you'd be happy with it. But based on how the book's described here I don't know why you'd expect that.
The book's description sounds like it's going to be a horror story that really focuses on Elinor but it's not. It's an extremely high level overview of the history of the Caskey family after Elinor arrives. And for the first half it leaned into what I was hoping for, it's more personal, it deals with Elinor integrating into the family, Mary Love's suspicion of her and their subsequent competition in the family. But the horror elements, the mystery of who and what Elinor is are still very minor and it's much more about a controlling and emotionally abusive contending with her son's new wife than it is about some kind of monster embedding itself into a small isolated town. Honestly, if the book had ended about half way through I would've liked this a lot more. It still wouldn't have been what I expected but that would've been a story worth telling.
After that though? It turns into a high level overview of how the family continued to accumulate wealth, first they continue to invest in their sawmill and make bank during the Second World War, then they in all the swampland they've been buying up so they get even richer. . . Yay for them I guess but not exactly interesting to read.
Then there's the characters, they're almost all varying levels of despicable. The women are all domineering and manipulative, the men are all doormats happy to be controlled by the women in their family (except two who are a domestic abuser and rapist). That could've worked if the book had leaned into a 'the real monsters are the human abusers lurking behind a smiling face' approach but it doesn't. We don't get a look into the stress of dealing with a manipulative family member, that stress of looking back and seeing how your emotions have been manipulated to control you but not being able to fight back because you love your family and gosh, you don't want to hurt your family do you?
Heck, maybe that was supposed to be the horror here, the idea of seeing all these people so darn beaten down that they don't even know they're being controlled by those who ought to love them. But we never get a hint in the book that maybe that's bad, we never get the hint that any of the men are uncomfortable with this situation. Some of them even come off like they're happy to have a woman come in and run their life for them.
What kept me sticking with it is that, 1) I bought the book, if this was a library book I probably would've cut bait fairly quick and 2) I kept hoping that there'd be some answer about what's going on with Elinor and the supernatural going ons. There's not, certainly no satisfying answers.
I really would've liked answers to the questions raised in here, like why? Was it really necessary to to ensure the levee was successfully built? If so, why? Why did the builders only have problems at that particular part of the levee? What problem did that act solve? What is Elinor and what can she do? At the beginning, how does she just appear in the hotel room? At the end, why ? Do Elinor and her kin really need to ? If so, how does Elinor do without while living in the town? If not, is that just a matter of an opportunity presenting itself for Elinor and her kin?
Those all open really interesting questions to explore, heck it would've been nice to have someone in the novel actually wonder about any of this for more than a sentence. My personal theory is that Elinor and her kin are. But that's just me speculating.
Anyway, if you're looking for an actual horror book, I wouldn't recommend this at all. If you're still interested, I'd read the spoilers here just so you know what you aren't going to get out of this story.
The book's description sounds like it's going to be a horror story that really focuses on Elinor but it's not. It's an extremely high level overview of the history of the Caskey family after Elinor arrives. And for the first half it leaned into what I was hoping for, it's more personal, it deals with Elinor integrating into the family, Mary Love's suspicion of her and their subsequent competition in the family. But the horror elements, the mystery of who and what Elinor is are still very minor and it's much more about a controlling and emotionally abusive contending with her son's new wife than it is about some kind of monster embedding itself into a small isolated town. Honestly, if the book had ended about half way through I would've liked this a lot more. It still wouldn't have been what I expected but that would've been a story worth telling.
After that though? It turns into a high level overview of how the family continued to accumulate wealth, first they continue to invest in their sawmill and make bank during the Second World War, then they
Spoiler
find oilThen there's the characters, they're almost all varying levels of despicable. The women are all domineering and manipulative, the men are all doormats happy to be controlled by the women in their family (except two who are a domestic abuser and rapist). That could've worked if the book had leaned into a 'the real monsters are the human abusers lurking behind a smiling face' approach but it doesn't. We don't get a look into the stress of dealing with a manipulative family member, that stress of looking back and seeing how your emotions have been manipulated to control you but not being able to fight back because you love your family and gosh, you don't want to hurt your family do you?
Heck, maybe that was supposed to be the horror here, the idea of seeing all these people so darn beaten down that they don't even know they're being controlled by those who ought to love them. But we never get a hint in the book that maybe that's bad, we never get the hint that any of the men are uncomfortable with this situation. Some of them even come off like they're happy to have a woman come in and run their life for them.
What kept me sticking with it is that, 1) I bought the book, if this was a library book I probably would've cut bait fairly quick and 2) I kept hoping that there'd be some answer about what's going on with Elinor and the supernatural going ons. There's not, certainly no satisfying answers.
I really would've liked answers to the questions raised in here, like why
Spoiler
are there ghosts in the front room of the houseSpoiler
sacrifice John RobertSpoiler
does the rain start only when she's shot and the levees finally break when she finally diesSpoiler
eat people since they only seem to attack those who've entered the two riversThose all open really interesting questions to explore, heck it would've been nice to have someone in the novel actually wonder about any of this for more than a sentence. My personal theory is that Elinor and her kin are
Spoiler
analogous to Greek river nymphs or local gods. Maybe like Shinto kami for the swamp and rivers. It'd explain their relation to the river and swamp, why the behavior of the river is tied to Elinor's health, why she asserts that the river won't flood as long as she lives in Perdido and her knowledge of oil in the swampAnyway, if you're looking for an actual horror book, I wouldn't recommend this at all. If you're still interested, I'd read the spoilers here just so you know what you aren't going to get out of this story.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Really, really enjoyed this. Devoured it. It falls off somewhat after the death of Mary-Love, which kills the main engine of the story, and after which the story just kinda hits the same beats over and over before ending . But I so enjoyed these gorgeous sentences and rich, real world and people. Finally some good fucking prose.
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'll admit that part of my rating is due to the fact that this book/series is often sold and described or recommended as horror, while it is most decidedly not. This is a family drama with a decent dose of southern Gothic mixed in, and a sprinkling of horror elements on top. And honestly I am not really a fan of family dramas, so I didn't enjoy it as much as other people did.
Are there ghosts? Yes. River monsters? Absolutely. But those elements mostly serve as a way to give this family drama an unusual flavor. At its heart, at least 95% of this book is just a chronicle of the life of a few generations of the Caskey family. The supernatural and horror elements are often used to spur action, resolve a plotline, or provide interesting flavor or unusual motivation to the events of the characters' lives.
That all said, I think this is a very well done family drama with interesting conflicts, I thought the horror elements improved the story, and I did really enjoy the creature/ghost story elements and scenes. But at the end of the day, this isn't really a genre that resonates with me. While a lot happens in that the book covers several generations of a family through their conflicts, successes, and changing fortunes, really not a lot happens about that I care to spend time reading about. I don't care about the speculation on where so and so will go to college, or who is taking on more responsibility at the mill, or who got married unexpectedly, or what so and so thinks about the way someone is raising their child, or who spent a lot of money on clothing in Mobile or New Orleans - and those events are the real heart of what this book is. It just so happens that there's a river monster or two.
So if family dramas are your thing and you enjoy a southern Gothic & light horror flavor, I think you'll love this book. If you want to read horror, this is not the book for you.
Are there ghosts? Yes. River monsters? Absolutely. But those elements mostly serve as a way to give this family drama an unusual flavor. At its heart, at least 95% of this book is just a chronicle of the life of a few generations of the Caskey family. The supernatural and horror elements are often used to spur action, resolve a plotline, or provide interesting flavor or unusual motivation to the events of the characters' lives.
That all said, I think this is a very well done family drama with interesting conflicts, I thought the horror elements improved the story, and I did really enjoy the creature/ghost story elements and scenes. But at the end of the day, this isn't really a genre that resonates with me. While a lot happens in that the book covers several generations of a family through their conflicts, successes, and changing fortunes, really not a lot happens about that I care to spend time reading about. I don't care about the speculation on where so and so will go to college, or who is taking on more responsibility at the mill, or who got married unexpectedly, or what so and so thinks about the way someone is raising their child, or who spent a lot of money on clothing in Mobile or New Orleans - and those events are the real heart of what this book is. It just so happens that there's a river monster or two.
So if family dramas are your thing and you enjoy a southern Gothic & light horror flavor, I think you'll love this book. If you want to read horror, this is not the book for you.