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pbraue13's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
thebobsphere's review against another edition
5.0
In English, the Italian word strega means witch, however in Johanne Lykke’s Holm’s novel of the same name it, refers to a fictional town near the Alps. Despite the fact that witches do not feature blantantly, there is a coven like aspect to the novel’s plot.
Rafa is sent to work as a maid at the Olympic Hotel near the village of Strega. There she meets a handful of girls like her from all walks of life, also ready to be trained to be maids. Under the strict matrons this group undergo schedules, rituals and punishments, there’s also moments of fun and mischievousness. There is one problem though.
The hotel is always empty; food is wasted, beds are never slept in and yet Rafa and the gang still have many chores to fulfil.
The only exception is on a day of the dead-like celebration where the hotel holds a party and one of the girls goes missing, presumed murdered. This creates a chain-like series of events which include manic dreams, futile searches and disturbing details.
Although I have not read a lot of horror novels, I am quite acquainted with horror cinema and Strega has a lot of elements from them. Deserted Hotel ( The Shining) , A group of girls bound in some twisted unity (Dario Argento’s Suspiria) , there’s a convent across from the hotel (take your pick but I’m going for Black Narcissus, minus the sex) and due to the excellent translation there is a creeping sense of unease ( I’m going for Hereditary here, a film which ramps tension till the last minute). Like every good horror film, Strega starts innocently enough but the reader knows something bad is going to happen and when it does the payoff is great.
However Strega is not only about creeping paranoia and horror of having someone close in your circle missing. It’s also about gender stereotypes – the cleaning staff are all women – and femicide, as seen by Rafa’s dreams in visions, where she imagines men doing all the evil things.
Over the past few years Lolli have been consistently pushing the boundaries of fiction , the short story and even take experimental fiction to new places and now once again we’ve got an interesting take on horror: this is not a book that is supposed to scare the reader, yet in an obtuse way one feels horror lurking between the lines. Strega is excellent and example at how horror can have a social conscious of sorts.
Rafa is sent to work as a maid at the Olympic Hotel near the village of Strega. There she meets a handful of girls like her from all walks of life, also ready to be trained to be maids. Under the strict matrons this group undergo schedules, rituals and punishments, there’s also moments of fun and mischievousness. There is one problem though.
The hotel is always empty; food is wasted, beds are never slept in and yet Rafa and the gang still have many chores to fulfil.
The only exception is on a day of the dead-like celebration where the hotel holds a party and one of the girls goes missing, presumed murdered. This creates a chain-like series of events which include manic dreams, futile searches and disturbing details.
Although I have not read a lot of horror novels, I am quite acquainted with horror cinema and Strega has a lot of elements from them. Deserted Hotel ( The Shining) , A group of girls bound in some twisted unity (Dario Argento’s Suspiria) , there’s a convent across from the hotel (take your pick but I’m going for Black Narcissus, minus the sex) and due to the excellent translation there is a creeping sense of unease ( I’m going for Hereditary here, a film which ramps tension till the last minute). Like every good horror film, Strega starts innocently enough but the reader knows something bad is going to happen and when it does the payoff is great.
However Strega is not only about creeping paranoia and horror of having someone close in your circle missing. It’s also about gender stereotypes – the cleaning staff are all women – and femicide, as seen by Rafa’s dreams in visions, where she imagines men doing all the evil things.
Over the past few years Lolli have been consistently pushing the boundaries of fiction , the short story and even take experimental fiction to new places and now once again we’ve got an interesting take on horror: this is not a book that is supposed to scare the reader, yet in an obtuse way one feels horror lurking between the lines. Strega is excellent and example at how horror can have a social conscious of sorts.
mcquay123's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
chomiczeq's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
4.0
Beautifully written. Loved the language, the eerie, uncanny atmoshpere, the sensual descriptions. While reading, I imagined everything like a movie. Maybe there was a bit of depth missing.
chellovestoread's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
belladoyle's review
Beautiful writing, just not in the mood for it. Would like to return one day
bucher_freund's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.0
"I knew a woman's life could at any point be turned into a crime scene. I had yet to understand that I was already living inside the crime scene, that the crime scene was not the bed but the body, that the crime had already taken place."
Nine very young women come to work at the mountaintop Hotel Olympic, which overlooks the Alpine town of Strega. Their days are filled with repetitive, monotonous tasks to maintain the rooms of a hotel that for much of the story is without any guests. They search for ways to break the monotony, and become almost a hive mind, nine girls experiencing the same thoughts and feelings as their friendships grow into a kind of sisterhood - until one of their number mysteriously disappears.
This novel, translated from Swedish, unfolds in a very poetic, stream of consciousness style. Our narrator Rafa basically rambles descriptions and observations throughout the entire thing. The writing is beautifully phrased and often profound, but not much actually happens and it was a pretty slow read. Not really literary horror, but more of a reflective coming of age story with some dark undertones.
"One gathered autumn leaves and twigs and burned them in piles. One cleared the land ahead of winter, celebrated the winter. In the evening, one drank spirits and ate small dumplings. Boys in papier mache masks appeared in the kitchen windows. One carried pumpkins and sang. It was a festival of death, like the backside of the vernal equinox, a worship of the world's every grave and sinkhole and poisonous plant."
The whole novel flows like that, so use the above quote to determine if this read would interest you.
Gorgeous cover.
Nine very young women come to work at the mountaintop Hotel Olympic, which overlooks the Alpine town of Strega. Their days are filled with repetitive, monotonous tasks to maintain the rooms of a hotel that for much of the story is without any guests. They search for ways to break the monotony, and become almost a hive mind, nine girls experiencing the same thoughts and feelings as their friendships grow into a kind of sisterhood - until one of their number mysteriously disappears.
This novel, translated from Swedish, unfolds in a very poetic, stream of consciousness style. Our narrator Rafa basically rambles descriptions and observations throughout the entire thing. The writing is beautifully phrased and often profound, but not much actually happens and it was a pretty slow read. Not really literary horror, but more of a reflective coming of age story with some dark undertones.
"One gathered autumn leaves and twigs and burned them in piles. One cleared the land ahead of winter, celebrated the winter. In the evening, one drank spirits and ate small dumplings. Boys in papier mache masks appeared in the kitchen windows. One carried pumpkins and sang. It was a festival of death, like the backside of the vernal equinox, a worship of the world's every grave and sinkhole and poisonous plant."
The whole novel flows like that, so use the above quote to determine if this read would interest you.
Gorgeous cover.
kelli_jean_'s review against another edition
3.0
Beautifully written. Lyrical and foreboding but the plot is too vague and open-ended for my taste.
elisloony's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Fleur Jaeggy incontra Shirley Jackson, sarà un bene?