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evavroslin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
If you haven't read "The Good House" by Tananarive Due, though it was released originally in 2004, I urge readers to pick up a copy STAT. It is Black horror from one of the most brilliant voices in the field, as well as a professor who teaches Black horror at UCLA in a course, The Sunken Place. It is so much more than a haunted house story. There are ancestors who reach out to descendants to warn them about family curses and danger, love lost and regained, as well as the tragedy of losing a son in a violent manner. The protagonist, Angela, is dealing with so much overwhelming emotion, trying to get to the root of the circumstances of her son's brutal death, for which she will have to return to the house where it happened, a house she has avoided for the past two years because of extreme trauma. What she finds when she arrives is so much worse than anything she could have imagined.
Everything about this book is stellar--the incorporation of Haitian vodou in Angela's Toussaint family background, their origins in New Orleans, the signs that pointed her grandmother, Marie, to go to a specific house on the other coast of the country, the family curse, and so much more. The plot kept me turning the pages, feverishly trying to find out what would happen next. There were moments I shouted "No!" when I was reading, and praying for the safety of the main characters. The characterization was excellent, particularly the chapters of Angela's son, Corey, and showing the reader what he was going through mentally when he discovered parts of his family history unknown to him before, what he did with it, the consequences, and so much more. Due also nailed the teenager's dialogue. Angela is a strong woman but she is also fraying at the edges and has been for a long time. Her family's past was hidden from her purposely, as she was kept in the dark, something that comes back to haunt her in a huge way. As she races to discover what she must do to set things right, the plot goes into a frenzy of some of the best horror out there.
I hope that this work will be adapted as a film or television series, because it is absolutely one of Due's masterpieces in her voluminous body of work. Along with her short story collection, The Good House is my favourite of her amazing works.
Everything about this book is stellar--the incorporation of Haitian vodou in Angela's Toussaint family background, their origins in New Orleans, the signs that pointed her grandmother, Marie, to go to a specific house on the other coast of the country, the family curse, and so much more. The plot kept me turning the pages, feverishly trying to find out what would happen next. There were moments I shouted "No!" when I was reading, and praying for the safety of the main characters. The characterization was excellent, particularly the chapters of Angela's son, Corey, and showing the reader what he was going through mentally when he discovered parts of his family history unknown to him before, what he did with it, the consequences, and so much more. Due also nailed the teenager's dialogue. Angela is a strong woman but she is also fraying at the edges and has been for a long time. Her family's past was hidden from her purposely, as she was kept in the dark, something that comes back to haunt her in a huge way. As she races to discover what she must do to set things right, the plot goes into a frenzy of some of the best horror out there.
I hope that this work will be adapted as a film or television series, because it is absolutely one of Due's masterpieces in her voluminous body of work. Along with her short story collection, The Good House is my favourite of her amazing works.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Infidelity, Gun violence, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Death, Child death, and Blood
rorikae's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
'The Good House' by Tananarive Due is a haunting family saga that follows the Toussaint family's home and all of the mysterious and horrific events tied to it.
The Good House is well known in its town. Angela Toussaint's grandmother owned the house and it received its nickname under her care. But when a tragedy that upends Angela's life takes place in the house, things begin to change. There are strange happenings around the town and not everyone is acting normally.
Due has created a haunting tale that pairs family saga with the horrors of a haunting that crosses generations. After an initial spot of violence, the story takes on a subtly haunting tone as ominous events unravel and we come to learn more about the Good House and the Toussaint family. Each of the characters is so fully fleshed out that they jump off the page. They are all incredibly flawed but their humanness also makes them easy to care for. The added element of the story winding through different family members perspectives over different years, stiches the story together in a really satisfying way.
So much happens across this book and there is practically every content warning that you can imagine. I've been excited to read this book for a while and it lived up to and exceeded my expectations. I can't wait to read more of Due's work.
The Good House is well known in its town. Angela Toussaint's grandmother owned the house and it received its nickname under her care. But when a tragedy that upends Angela's life takes place in the house, things begin to change. There are strange happenings around the town and not everyone is acting normally.
Due has created a haunting tale that pairs family saga with the horrors of a haunting that crosses generations. After an initial spot of violence, the story takes on a subtly haunting tone as ominous events unravel and we come to learn more about the Good House and the Toussaint family. Each of the characters is so fully fleshed out that they jump off the page. They are all incredibly flawed but their humanness also makes them easy to care for. The added element of the story winding through different family members perspectives over different years, stiches the story together in a really satisfying way.
So much happens across this book and there is practically every content warning that you can imagine. I've been excited to read this book for a while and it lived up to and exceeded my expectations. I can't wait to read more of Due's work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence
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