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3.16 AVERAGE
3.16 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
The Bell Witch was probably the first ghost story I ever heard. Growing up in Nashville, she was the go-to scary story. A local haunting that literally everyone I knew believed was at least somewhat real. I remember my older sister telling my that my grandmother’s house was really close to the house where the Bell Witch haunting took place, and that because it was so close to the house it was likely that she would haunt my grandmother’s house too. I had to spend the night once when I was 10 and I didn’t sleep all night, convinced I was hearing taunting voices and laughing.
Little Sister Death is William Gay’s spin on the Bell Witch haunting. A writer born in East Tennessee but now living in Chicago has modest success among the literary elite with his first novel but can’t seem to recapture that creative spark to write a second novel and is thus struggling financially. In order to make ends meet, he agrees to write a cheap paperback thriller that will sell well so that he can make some money. Fascinated by a haunting in Tennessee, he moves into the supposedly haunted mansion with his wife and daughter in order to research for his novel. Strangeness ensues.
Unfortunately, Gay didn’t complete the novel before his death, and that’s clear towards the end. The last 20 pages or so feel super rushed and disparate, and there’s really no ending. But it really speaks to how amazing of a writer Gay was that even his unfinished manuscript is so much more suspenseful, entertaining, and well-written than a lot of fully formed novel. The man was a once-in-a-generation talent who died far too soon. I was engrossed by this novel. I couldn’t put it down. There were parts that legitimately terrified me, and as someone who loves horror that is no easy feat. But Gay imbues this ghost story with his typical literary brilliance. This book is like if Stephen King had the writing ability of Faulkner with a good bit of Flannery O’Connor sprinkled in. It’s just such a shame that the last bit was so much weaker than the rest of the book, and that there’s no real resolution. I would love to know what Gay had in mind to wrap up this amazing story.
The book includes two essays as well. The first essay, written by Tom Franklin, one of Gay’s few friends, details what William Gay was like. It’s a moving and intimate portrait of a reclusive and simple man who also happened to be a brilliant writer. It’s well worth reading if you’re a massive Gay fan as I am. The second essay comes at the end of the novel and is a non-fiction piece about the real Bell Witch, the inspiration for this story. It includes Gay’s reflections about the story and the truth or myth surrounding the haunting, as well as his own firsthand experience in the cave on Bell’s property where the Witch still supposedly resides today. This was the first non-fiction piece I’ve read by Gay and it turns out he’s just as talented and brilliant at that as he is with fiction. It’s truly a massive loss that he died with so little finished work.
Little Sister Death is William Gay’s spin on the Bell Witch haunting. A writer born in East Tennessee but now living in Chicago has modest success among the literary elite with his first novel but can’t seem to recapture that creative spark to write a second novel and is thus struggling financially. In order to make ends meet, he agrees to write a cheap paperback thriller that will sell well so that he can make some money. Fascinated by a haunting in Tennessee, he moves into the supposedly haunted mansion with his wife and daughter in order to research for his novel. Strangeness ensues.
Unfortunately, Gay didn’t complete the novel before his death, and that’s clear towards the end. The last 20 pages or so feel super rushed and disparate, and there’s really no ending. But it really speaks to how amazing of a writer Gay was that even his unfinished manuscript is so much more suspenseful, entertaining, and well-written than a lot of fully formed novel. The man was a once-in-a-generation talent who died far too soon. I was engrossed by this novel. I couldn’t put it down. There were parts that legitimately terrified me, and as someone who loves horror that is no easy feat. But Gay imbues this ghost story with his typical literary brilliance. This book is like if Stephen King had the writing ability of Faulkner with a good bit of Flannery O’Connor sprinkled in. It’s just such a shame that the last bit was so much weaker than the rest of the book, and that there’s no real resolution. I would love to know what Gay had in mind to wrap up this amazing story.
The book includes two essays as well. The first essay, written by Tom Franklin, one of Gay’s few friends, details what William Gay was like. It’s a moving and intimate portrait of a reclusive and simple man who also happened to be a brilliant writer. It’s well worth reading if you’re a massive Gay fan as I am. The second essay comes at the end of the novel and is a non-fiction piece about the real Bell Witch, the inspiration for this story. It includes Gay’s reflections about the story and the truth or myth surrounding the haunting, as well as his own firsthand experience in the cave on Bell’s property where the Witch still supposedly resides today. This was the first non-fiction piece I’ve read by Gay and it turns out he’s just as talented and brilliant at that as he is with fiction. It’s truly a massive loss that he died with so little finished work.
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It was ok, rather incoherent though.
dark
slow-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Creative process, writing, history, supernatural, South, psychological
3.5 stars
Creepy, eerie, like Flannery O'Connor but less irritating. Would have been a solid 4 but for the end of the Binders' story...I wanted more.
Creepy, eerie, like Flannery O'Connor but less irritating. Would have been a solid 4 but for the end of the Binders' story...I wanted more.
I was really disappointed in this. The haunting was a background occurrence at best and the writing was really disjointed and confusing. As soon as something interesting started happening, the book abruptly shifted to a different time and setting which was really frustrating.
There were certain points, like the thing with Aaron Swaw, that really didn't make much sense and didn't fit in with anything in the plot. That situation never got resolved either so I'm not sure what it's purpose was in the book.
I had a hard time reading this format wise because it wasn't made apparent when someone was speaking. There were no quotation marks and no separation to show that there was dialogue as opposed to thoughts or just general writing.
I had really high hopes for Little Sister Death but I just found myself really disappointed in how the plot shook out.
There were certain points, like the thing with Aaron Swaw, that really didn't make much sense and didn't fit in with anything in the plot. That situation never got resolved either so I'm not sure what it's purpose was in the book.
I had a hard time reading this format wise because it wasn't made apparent when someone was speaking. There were no quotation marks and no separation to show that there was dialogue as opposed to thoughts or just general writing.
I had really high hopes for Little Sister Death but I just found myself really disappointed in how the plot shook out.