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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Absolutely addictive. The audiobook narrator was amazing, and I can't wait to read/listen to more by this author.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Bit of a slow start but get better once the story really starts to unfold.
mysterious
fast-paced
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I gave this book a chance because I was in the mood for something Gothic and it was popping up on a bunch of lists. While I liked the post-WW1 angle and the integration of shell-shock, the whole thing felt kind of flat. I liked the themes it was trying to play with, but ultimately, the story didn't quite come together in a satisfying way.
WRITING: On a sentence-level, St. James's prose is fine. It's clear and it moves along quickly, so if you're looking for a book like that, you'll be ok.
There were some macro-level qualities that I didn't quite enjoy, however. For one, St. James undercuts a lot of her suspense by diffusing tension when it could have been amped up. For example, we know from the outset that Kitty is faking her history as a nurse, but rather than showing us how she might struggle to fake her way through her new job, St. James has her characters realize right away that Kitty is lying. Similarly, when we first learn of the mysterious Patient Sixteen, Kitty wastes no time finding out who he actually is. As a result, there isn't much sustained suspense through the book.
A couple of passages feel heavy on the dialogue, which is sometimes ok, but other times, makes dialogue the vehicle for a lot of expositional work. Especially at the beginning, a lot of dialogue feels like I'm being told things rather than shown.
Also, as a small note: this book is supposed to be set in 1919, but there are references to both Axis and Allies and Winston Churchill. I'm not an expert on the early 20th century, but seeing these references made me think that perhaps this book was originally supposed to be set post-WW2 and the editor didn't catch on.
PLOT: The plot of this book follows Kitty Weekes, a twenty-something year old girl who fakes being a nurse so she can get a job at the remote Portis House sanitorium. Kitty is running from a mysterious past and hopes Portis House will be far enough away where nothing will catch up with her. But Kitty soon realizes that the residents of the hospital are not just seeking treatment for shell-shock - they seem to be trapped in the building and they refuse to speak of the strange things they see.
I enjoyed the post-WW1 setting of this book and the way shell-shock served as a metaphor for being haunted. Patients have flashbacks but also claim to see mysterious figures, and as a reader, these claims make it unclear as to whether anything supernatural is actually happening. I also liked that there are moments when Kitty has to grapple with her prejudices against men who experience shell-shock; she initially thinks of them as weak but quickly comes around to realizing that their experiences are indeed horrifying and that the patients should be treated with care and respect.
I also liked the atmosphere St. James creates with the descriptions of the hospital and the eerie sounds coming from the lavatory walls. Portis House is a former mansion that has been converted into a psychiatric hospital, and I loved the descriptions that reminded us that someone wealthy used to live in the building. Rather than crumbling, the house is neat and pristine, making the strange sights and sounds all the more unsettling because they are so out-of-place.
All that being said, I wish the main narrative had more suspense. As I mentioned above, St. James has a tendency to undercut the story's tension by revealing some secrets too soon. As a result, the ghost story isn't tied up with Kitty's personal arc and it feels like the pace plods along until something strange suddenly happens. I personally prefer stories that gradually escalate tension because it leaves more room for doubt.
This book also contains a romance subplot that didn't work for me. The story would have been stronger if the relationship was platonic.
Lastly the ending to this book was disappointing. While I liked some of the parallels between the supernatural plot, the patients' experiences, and Kitty's past, the actual resolution of the storyline felt too convenient and hollow.
CHARACTERS: Kitty, pur protagonist, is ok, but her arc didn't captivate me as much as I'd hoped. While I did like that she changed her attitude towards the patients and I liked her arc of coming to terms with her past, I also got the sense that some of her core traits were contradictory (rather than her going through an evolution). For example, she tells us multiple times that she's tough and can withstand anything on account of her past, but a few paragraphs later, she's throwing her hands up and crumbling under pressure. I wanted her to be a bit more resilient in part because I think it would have made her more agentive, but I also think more resiliency would have allowed some room to really dig into her past and her psyche.
Jack, one of the main supporting characters, is admittedly a little boring. He's handsome and charming and despite being in the hospital, he doesn't seem to be affected by his past very much. After the events of the book, he's seemingly cured, which felt way too easy. I would have liked to see this book interrogate his status as a war hero and famous icon and the expectations that come with that. The book touches on them, but I think really thinking about how society views veterans and shell-shock could have been fascinating.
Other supporting characters were varied in their personalities so I felt like I was reading about real people. The other nurses had their different strengths and attitudes towards their jobs and the other patients were sympathetic. This story does bring up that all the patients come from wealthy families, and I don't think the story digs into that detail as much as it should have, but overall, I found the supporting characters compelling.
TL;DR: Silence for the Dead is a bit uneven, wanting to be a Gothic novel but not putting in the needed effort to explore its core themes. While the characters were compelling and this book does address things like shell-shock, the writing could have enhanced the tension and used the supernatural elements to reflect on important topics.
WRITING: On a sentence-level, St. James's prose is fine. It's clear and it moves along quickly, so if you're looking for a book like that, you'll be ok.
There were some macro-level qualities that I didn't quite enjoy, however. For one, St. James undercuts a lot of her suspense by diffusing tension when it could have been amped up. For example, we know from the outset that Kitty is faking her history as a nurse, but rather than showing us how she might struggle to fake her way through her new job, St. James has her characters realize right away that Kitty is lying. Similarly, when we first learn of the mysterious Patient Sixteen, Kitty wastes no time finding out who he actually is. As a result, there isn't much sustained suspense through the book.
A couple of passages feel heavy on the dialogue, which is sometimes ok, but other times, makes dialogue the vehicle for a lot of expositional work. Especially at the beginning, a lot of dialogue feels like I'm being told things rather than shown.
Also, as a small note: this book is supposed to be set in 1919, but there are references to both Axis and Allies and Winston Churchill. I'm not an expert on the early 20th century, but seeing these references made me think that perhaps this book was originally supposed to be set post-WW2 and the editor didn't catch on.
PLOT: The plot of this book follows Kitty Weekes, a twenty-something year old girl who fakes being a nurse so she can get a job at the remote Portis House sanitorium. Kitty is running from a mysterious past and hopes Portis House will be far enough away where nothing will catch up with her. But Kitty soon realizes that the residents of the hospital are not just seeking treatment for shell-shock - they seem to be trapped in the building and they refuse to speak of the strange things they see.
I enjoyed the post-WW1 setting of this book and the way shell-shock served as a metaphor for being haunted. Patients have flashbacks but also claim to see mysterious figures, and as a reader, these claims make it unclear as to whether anything supernatural is actually happening. I also liked that there are moments when Kitty has to grapple with her prejudices against men who experience shell-shock; she initially thinks of them as weak but quickly comes around to realizing that their experiences are indeed horrifying and that the patients should be treated with care and respect.
I also liked the atmosphere St. James creates with the descriptions of the hospital and the eerie sounds coming from the lavatory walls. Portis House is a former mansion that has been converted into a psychiatric hospital, and I loved the descriptions that reminded us that someone wealthy used to live in the building. Rather than crumbling, the house is neat and pristine, making the strange sights and sounds all the more unsettling because they are so out-of-place.
All that being said, I wish the main narrative had more suspense. As I mentioned above, St. James has a tendency to undercut the story's tension by revealing some secrets too soon. As a result, the ghost story isn't tied up with Kitty's personal arc and it feels like the pace plods along until something strange suddenly happens. I personally prefer stories that gradually escalate tension because it leaves more room for doubt.
This book also contains a romance subplot that didn't work for me. The story would have been stronger if the relationship was platonic.
Lastly the ending to this book was disappointing. While I liked some of the parallels between the supernatural plot, the patients' experiences, and Kitty's past, the actual resolution of the storyline felt too convenient and hollow.
CHARACTERS: Kitty, pur protagonist, is ok, but her arc didn't captivate me as much as I'd hoped. While I did like that she changed her attitude towards the patients and I liked her arc of coming to terms with her past, I also got the sense that some of her core traits were contradictory (rather than her going through an evolution). For example, she tells us multiple times that she's tough and can withstand anything on account of her past, but a few paragraphs later, she's throwing her hands up and crumbling under pressure. I wanted her to be a bit more resilient in part because I think it would have made her more agentive, but I also think more resiliency would have allowed some room to really dig into her past and her psyche.
Jack, one of the main supporting characters, is admittedly a little boring. He's handsome and charming and despite being in the hospital, he doesn't seem to be affected by his past very much. After the events of the book, he's seemingly cured, which felt way too easy. I would have liked to see this book interrogate his status as a war hero and famous icon and the expectations that come with that. The book touches on them, but I think really thinking about how society views veterans and shell-shock could have been fascinating.
Other supporting characters were varied in their personalities so I felt like I was reading about real people. The other nurses had their different strengths and attitudes towards their jobs and the other patients were sympathetic. This story does bring up that all the patients come from wealthy families, and I don't think the story digs into that detail as much as it should have, but overall, I found the supporting characters compelling.
TL;DR: Silence for the Dead is a bit uneven, wanting to be a Gothic novel but not putting in the needed effort to explore its core themes. While the characters were compelling and this book does address things like shell-shock, the writing could have enhanced the tension and used the supernatural elements to reflect on important topics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Physical abuse, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Confinement, Death, Suicide, Medical content, Death of parent, Sexual harassment
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes