Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - The Cloisters

Slow, not much happened until the last three hours of the audiobook. Wasn’t a huge fan of the narrator. I thought the characters were boring and predictable. Leo was kinda interesting and I wanted to hear more about him but everyone else felt lifeless. I finished this book because I liked learning about tarot and it was an Audible credit so I wanted to make it worth it. If this had been a print book, I wouldn’t have finished it. I feel half satisfied with the ending.

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alexreadsalex's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

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moonchild_cos's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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kfquarium's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense 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

4.0

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shelfofunread's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

The Cloisters, billed as ‘The Secret History meets Ninth House‘, is the debut novel from Art History professor Katy Hays.

Now, if I had a pound for every time I’ve been picked up a book that promises to be ‘the next The Secret History‘, I’d…well, I’d almost certainly have enough to buy the recently released hardback anniversary edition of Donna Tartt’s acclaimed novel. Fortunately, however, The Cloisters more than lives up to its illustrious namesakes.

Set within the titular Cloisters – the branch of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicated exclusively to the art of the Middle Ages – the novel follows Ann Stilwell, a recent graduate of a small liberal arts college, as she is plunged head-first into a world of academic rivalries and dangerous secrets.

Desperate to escape the humdrum rhythms of provincial life – and the tragic death of her beloved father – Ann is thrilled to have been accepted for a summer internship at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. When a mix-up on arrival leads to her being re-assigned to The Cloisters, she is drawn into the close-knit circle that surrounds the museum’s curator, Patrick Roland, and his research into the history of Tarot. But as Ann’s relationships with her colleagues – the enigmatic Rachel Mondray and handsome gardener Leo – develops, she suddenly finds herself at the centre of a dangerous game of power and ambition: one that is only complicated when she discovers the hidden key to unlocking their research. Is Ann’s fate tied to the cards she has been dealt? Or can she break free of the fortune they have foretold and shape her own future?

Moreish and beguiling, The Cloisters provides all the dark academia feels. Toxic friendships, professional rivalries, candlelit rituals, and Gothic architecture abound. There’s even a poison garden that, mild spoiler alert, turns out to be exactly as deadly as the concept suggests.

Ann is a pleasingly unreliable narrator who, over the course of the novel, appears to follow the standard trajectory from naïve small-town girl to assured city slicker under the tutelage of the charismatic Rachel Mondray. Some shocking revelations towards the novel’s end, however, made me rethink Ann as a considerably more complex character than she first appears. Equally complex are Rachel, Leo, and Patrick, Ann’s colleagues at The Cloisters. All are playing dangerous games but to what ends? And can Ann navigate between them to fulfil her own dreams of success?

Katy Hays has absolutely nailed the claustrophobic, ‘Knives Out’ side of academia and does an excellent job of portraying the disadvantage that Ann – a first generation PhD student – has in navigating some of the more unwritten codes and rules that govern the ivory tower she has determined to climb. Given that everyone is, essentially, out for themselves, none of the characters in The Cloisters are especially likeable if you examine them closely. As with The Secret History, however, they are all deeply charismatic and, before long, I could not only understand why Ann wanted ‘in’ on their club, I found myself willing her to succeed in her quest to reinvent herself in their mould.

There’s so many different layers to The Cloisters that it’s a hard novel to sum up in a review – especially when I don’t want to give away any spoilers! Safe to say, however, that very little at The Cloisters is quite as it seems. Tarot and divination are a running theme, as is the related debate about fate and free will. As such, The Cloisters is a novel that touches upon history, art, philosophy, and literature, although it wears its learning lightly and gradually draws the reader into thinking about complex, age-old questions.

Combining a Gothic mystery with a compellingly dark coming-of-age tale and a dash of extremely interesting history, The Cloisters is an accomplished debut that is told with spellbinding assurance. I will, however, freely admit that the novel might as well have been labelled ‘Shelf of Unread Catnip’ because it has all the ingredients that make me love a book: modern gothic, twisty mystery, literary/historical references, dark academia feels, and unhealthy but compelling relationships. In short, The Cloisters would have had to work quite hard to make me not love it. That said, I genuinely do think this is a captivating debut and I heartily recommend it to fans of The Secret History, The Historian, Ninth House, and Babel.

NB: This review also appears on my blog at https://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpress.com. My thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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