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smcscot's review
3.0
McGrath is always a pleasure to read. I believe the designation he's been given is a modern gothic author, which basically means that he deals in old mansions, and creepy, dark material. Not horror per se, but think Shirley Jackson. He's just a bit literary, and just enough unsettling to make his stories work. He deals heavily in madness, which comes front and center in this book, through the lens of obsession.
What I love about McGrath is his remarkable ability to tell stories though the perspective of an unreliable narrator. You see things through troubled minds, and that's what truly makes the gothic appeal come to light. If you've not read McGrath, I highly recommend him.
This one got a little bit of a drop in rating, just because it wasn't quite as engaging as his others (thinking about Asylum and Spider), but it's still worth it and an entertaining read.
What I love about McGrath is his remarkable ability to tell stories though the perspective of an unreliable narrator. You see things through troubled minds, and that's what truly makes the gothic appeal come to light. If you've not read McGrath, I highly recommend him.
This one got a little bit of a drop in rating, just because it wasn't quite as engaging as his others (thinking about Asylum and Spider), but it's still worth it and an entertaining read.
brynhammond's review
2.0
'New Gothic'. I'm a fan of old Gothic, and found these books attractive: always liked that Friedrich picture, and he's said to be at the literary end of grotesque. "With artistry and profound understanding of the frontiers of human experience..." --that's the sort of description to draw me in, but I found these (two of his) flat and empty, whether in Gothic exploration, psychology or style.
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