Reviews

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

Only show reviews with written explanations

titannineteen's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny mysterious tense 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

4.25

mspilesofpaper's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

A House With Good Bones is one of T. Kingfisher's horror novels and I still feel conflicted about it. A+ narrator though!

The following review will likely contain spoilers.

Sam is an archeo-entomologist (someone who examines bugs at archaeological sites) who returns to her childhood home in North Carolina after her brother's worried mentions that "mom is acting weirdly". Well, and after the planned dig was paused due to human remains from Native Americans that required proper handling. Slowly we learn about the family, their dynamics and their past. Bit by bit Sam notices what's odd with the house, the neighbourhood and with her mother. There's the change of wallpaper colours from bright and unusual ones to ecru and all kinds of off-white/eggshell white. The return of the racist painting that Sam's grandmother had above the fireplace (despite mentions of grandma saying several times that she isn't racist, of course). Her mother's change in behaviour from being carefree to nervous and taking up habits that Sam associates with her grandmother (saying Grace, ...). Well, and vultures circling the house in increasing numbers.

The horror aspect unfolds very slowly and it is the psychological, gothic-like horror that is common with Southern settings. It cumulates into the last part of the book (~9 chapters before the end) where it gets really freaky, bizarre and utterly creepy. I tend to listen to audiobooks while doing daily errands and at work when the work is the monotone kind and throughout the book, I had several Wtf? moments but the last part ... damn. Partly, I stared at my Excel spreadsheets while being absorbed in the story (and freaked out, tbh). Aside from the psychological aspect, the horror plays a lot with unexplained phenomena and magic, but also with insect horror.

Sam is a great character; she's in her early 30s (which is common for Kingfisher's characters), has a plus-size figure, has likely ADHD and is utterly sarcastic but also very scholarly. She tries to find a logical, science-like explanation for what is happening despite also realising that science won't help her.

TWs & CWs
insect horrors, sleep paralysis, violence against insects, racism (mentions of the KKK), fatphobia, alcohol consumption, soft gore/mentions of cannibalism (in the last chapters)

brandilion's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

danydany28's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious 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

To be honest, I'm really struggling to gather my thoughts on A House With Good Bones. I think Kingfisher's books might not sit well with me. She has wonderful ideas and her books always sound good, but they keep leaving me disappointed.

For a majority of this book, it didn't feel like there was really much going on; there's a fairly bland haunting and the discovery of a weird ancestor, sure, but nothing terribly scary or too bizarre. AHWGB was presented as a gothic horror novel, but I don't think it really delivered that, at least not anywhere before (roughly) the 80% mark, when the story suddenly picks up. Once everything was in motion, it was definitely interesting. I liked the dynamics between the characters, the weirdness, the rose descriptions foreshadowing each part, and how it all came together in the end. And I do like Sam's acknowledgment of fatphobia (especially in medical settings!). But I don't think it was worth reading so much of a boring book, only for some bits and pieces and the last 20% to feel "worth it".