Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
I think this is Darnielle's best work so far. The prose is gorgeous and the layering of stories is deft and effective.
This seems to be the year of reading books that get weird about grammatical person. There was Dune, in third-person omniscient, where it worked for the style it was going for. There was Goddess of Filth, which switched between first and third person and felt clunky. Then there was Devil House, the boss of all perspectives, which somehow featured two different first person POVs, two different second person POVs (arguably, depending how you look at those passages), and third person. This, on top of random forays into quasi-Middle English, and a whole section for a sudden unrelated fantasy story in a challenging typeface, left the book feeling like several drafts away from a finished product.
There's some good content in here, in all fairness. On a more microscopic level, Darnielle has a way with words, and there's passages in this book that are gorgeous. Fitting, I guess, for a lyricist. I liked the critique of the true crime genre. That felt like the main point of the novel, if there was one to be had. There seemed to be a lesser theme of castles/home/houses/castle doctrine interwoven throughout, but it never came together for me and felt unsatisfying.
Generally, I enjoyed it well enough, but it wasn't what I expected and I wouldn't read it again. It's a decent portrait of a true crime author and the impact their work has on their subjects. If you can see past some massive pacing issues and sections which should have been moved around or cut entirely, go for it.
There's some good content in here, in all fairness. On a more microscopic level, Darnielle has a way with words, and there's passages in this book that are gorgeous. Fitting, I guess, for a lyricist. I liked the critique of the true crime genre. That felt like the main point of the novel, if there was one to be had. There seemed to be a lesser theme of castles/home/houses/castle doctrine interwoven throughout, but it never came together for me and felt unsatisfying.
Generally, I enjoyed it well enough, but it wasn't what I expected and I wouldn't read it again. It's a decent portrait of a true crime author and the impact their work has on their subjects. If you can see past some massive pacing issues and sections which should have been moved around or cut entirely, go for it.
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Drug abuse
Minor: Sexism, Xenophobia, Vomit
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rounding up to 3.5
Picked up this book not knowing anything about it for the amazing cover. Ends up being nothing like I thought—way more complex and expansive then a standard horror/crime novel.
Picked up this book not knowing anything about it for the amazing cover. Ends up being nothing like I thought—way more complex and expansive then a standard horror/crime novel.
Darnielle’s gorgeous writing was overshadowed by his wandering, occasionally non-existent, plot and storyline. (also, quotation marks really shouldn’t be stylistic choices. just use ‘em, damn)
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated