Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Wonderland by Zoje Stage

4 reviews

minimicropup's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

đŸ‡ș🇾 Set in an isolated old farmhouse in the Adirondacks of New York State, USA 
POV: We explore a family’s transition from the bustle of Manhattan to the eerie quiet of rural life as experienced from the perspective of our main character, a retired ballet dancer, with their spouse and two kids. 
 
Mood Reading Match Up:
-Psychological suggestive terror with threads of ‘how far would you go’ for your family  
-Wintery “stay out of the woods” energy
-Deep, existential, and fantastical elements in a chilling, fairy tale-like setting
-Themes of grief, death, familial bonds, nature, spirit, meaning, intuition, love, survival, art, dreams, connection, ‘otherness’, rebirth, and displacement. 
 
—
đŸș Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐕
✏ Writing: The narration is third person where we are immersed into the protagonist Orla’s psyche. She is really introspective and we hear every layer of her thoughts and plans, which added to the story but also felt overwhelming sometimes. I liked the writing style though and it avoided actual repetitiveness while delving into Orla’s processing of her new life and its challenges. 
 
đŸ«„ Characters: I liked the portrayal of the family. Each member was realistically flawed, so they had a believable dynamic. There was no clear-cut villain, only people navigating significant changes and their own fears. Their interactions and individual responses to the events around them added to the suspense.
 
đŸ—ș Worldbuilding: The farmhouse and surrounding woods had a wintery charm that was both inviting and ominous. The setting evolved as the family explored, so we were also expanding our own mental image alongside the characters. This is a great read for a dark, snowy season.
 
đŸ”„ Fuel: We started off suggestive and subtle with small, unnerving occurrences. Then I was questioning what was happening and if it was going to have a rational or supernatural explanation. There are some surprisingly dark twists that ramped up the tension and that’s when reality and supernatural started to blend in a scary way. If you are looking for direct or fast-paced horrors this may feel sluggish, confusing, vague, or like ‘nothing is happening’. 
 
🐱 Pacing: The pacing was consistent, though it felt slow at times because of the density of the narration and the heavy themes. 
 
🎬 Scenes: The fairy tale-like scenes were done well; they blended modern storytelling with the timeless feel of folklore. While some scenes seemed prolonged, they effectively built suspense and emotional investment for me. And they were described in such a way that I could easily imagine even the more bizarre ones. I found myself considering what I would do in that situation. 
 
đŸ€”  Random Thoughts: The philosophical depth of the story kept my attention, but I took more breaks than I usually do for reflection and  to get away from the story. Sometimes (for me) reading this felt like a nightmare and I was so grateful to be back in my little world whenever I put the book down. I still think about these characters and the unease I got reading this. I think if you were a sensitive kid or are particularly sensitive to themes of familial protection and safety, this will hit harder.
 
Overall, I thought this was a moving story but was surprisingly heavy with grief and loss. I think this novel is a good choice for those who appreciate psychological and emotional depth (and rumination) and the interplay of reality and the supernatural. Just be ready to dive deep with the grief and loss feels (could be cathartic, could be anxiety-inducing!). 
 
—
 
Content Heads-Up: Generalized anxiety. Gun violence/accidents. Death, blood, gore. Trapped/confined. Natural disasters (snow, ice). Loss of a child. Loss of a parent. Food insecurity. Loss of a spouse. 
Rep: Multi-Racial and White American characters. 
 
Format: Paperback
 
“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles đŸ¶ refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✹”
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ecn's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Overall I liked it and got what I wanted out of a wintery thriller.
I could have done without the entity talking though. I think it would have been better with a creature that didn’t speak and you’re left guessing what’s going on. Or if the creature was more explicitly evil and people had to make harder decisions/fight more


Not a 5 mostly bc it was a bit too long and kind of dragged in the middle. The ending wasn’t a big build up, stopped being spooky or atmospheric once you find out a bit more of what’s going on, and I was getting so SICK of hearing the name “Elenor queen” (literally why. Maybe every now and then but wtf)
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

archaicrobin's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

First of all, this is NOTHING like The Shining or Shirley Jackson’s novels. I hate when books are marketed as other books because it’s a disservice to everyone, the authors and the readers. While the Shining weaves together the supernatural well with suspense, Zoje Stage goes a very different direction, instead creating a tense, slow burn. I would not recommend Wonderland if you’re expecting something scary and fast paced like The Shining. 

In Wonderland Orla and Shaw take their kids (Eleanor Queen and Tycho) to rural New York in the middle of winter to start their new artistic lives out in the wilderness, far away from the city. Obviously things don’t work out, and soon the family feels a presence and finds themselves being contacted and terrorized by an unknown presence. 

This is a great one to read during the winter or especially around Christmas, since the story concludes around that time. Zoje Stage is great at creating characters and settings that pull you in, however when it came to the actual story I wasn’t that interested. Honestly I don’t really know what to say about this one. It starts VERY slow, but if you stick with it, the novel picks up and suddenly it’s great, then you get to the end, and in my opinion it sucks again. 

Wonderland feels like it’s not sure what it’s supposed to be. Is it a thriller? Is it a family novel? Is it a supernatural story? Is it possession? I don’t know, and the story doesn’t know.  Despite this I still gave it 3 stars because for awhile there it was a good time!

Wonderland has great writing that is all her own, and I look forward to reading more by her. 


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

megsib's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Audiobook is fantastic. Xe Sands is the narrator. I liked the story as well. It was weird, unpredictable, and the desolation and bleak choices were felt in the gut. Feeling trapped in a Yellow Wallpaper kind of way also added to the slow horror of this novel. Made me want to reread other frozen, snowy horrors like The Terror
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...