Scan barcode
A review by readundancies
Smothermoss by Alisa Alering
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book befuddles me.
As in, I was totally and completely engrossed by the hauntingly beautiful writing of the setting and characters and the thoughts they had, but I'm also 150% positive that I have no clue what really happened plot-wise.
I am unsure of what this book is and was trying to be. I am unsure as to if both Sheila and Angie were manifestations of the madwomen trope or if they were just wildly unreliable narrators. I am unsure of where the magical realism began and ended, where the speculation lies between the veins of gothic fantasy and mad reality. I am unsure of the imagery and metaphor behind the rope that constantly chafed Sheila's neck and the tarot-like cards that spoke to Angie. I am unsure as to whether Sheila and Angie even like one another, how they coexist as sisters and strangers.
I have so many unanswered questions but I also feel sated? It feels like I experienced a fever dream that just kept hold of me until the story was finished being told to me. And I don't really know what any of it means, but I feel humbled by the experience.
Even though it's touted as a horror novel, I'm not convinced that it is. And while it has a mystery within its pages, it's very much not the focus and merely a sub-plot of the story to allow the girls' characters to be further explored. It feels literary and Gothic and speculative and it's unashamed in it's difficulty to categorize. The pace is inconsistent; slow at times, fast at others, and it all leans in very well with the ominous atmosphere that surrounds the tale - it isn't outwardly malicious but still secretive and suspicious. And it's tangible within the world-building; the imagery of how the mountains and the lands of Appalachia are alive and under constant change, pruning that which is tainted and wrong, and tending that which is healing and growing.
I don't know who this is written for, I don't know who to recommend it to, I just don't know what this novel is or even what it supposed to be. I just know that it has evoked a strong emotional response from me, and I don't regret picking it up.
As in, I was totally and completely engrossed by the hauntingly beautiful writing of the setting and characters and the thoughts they had, but I'm also 150% positive that I have no clue what really happened plot-wise.
I am unsure of what this book is and was trying to be. I am unsure as to if both Sheila and Angie were manifestations of the madwomen trope or if they were just wildly unreliable narrators. I am unsure of where the magical realism began and ended, where the speculation lies between the veins of gothic fantasy and mad reality. I am unsure of the imagery and metaphor behind the rope that constantly chafed Sheila's neck and the tarot-like cards that spoke to Angie. I am unsure as to whether Sheila and Angie even like one another, how they coexist as sisters and strangers.
I have so many unanswered questions but I also feel sated? It feels like I experienced a fever dream that just kept hold of me until the story was finished being told to me. And I don't really know what any of it means, but I feel humbled by the experience.
Even though it's touted as a horror novel, I'm not convinced that it is. And while it has a mystery within its pages, it's very much not the focus and merely a sub-plot of the story to allow the girls' characters to be further explored. It feels literary and Gothic and speculative and it's unashamed in it's difficulty to categorize. The pace is inconsistent; slow at times, fast at others, and it all leans in very well with the ominous atmosphere that surrounds the tale - it isn't outwardly malicious but still secretive and suspicious. And it's tangible within the world-building; the imagery of how the mountains and the lands of Appalachia are alive and under constant change, pruning that which is tainted and wrong, and tending that which is healing and growing.
I don't know who this is written for, I don't know who to recommend it to, I just don't know what this novel is or even what it supposed to be. I just know that it has evoked a strong emotional response from me, and I don't regret picking it up.