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A review by emrysmerlyn
The Familiar, Volume 2: Into the Forest by Mark Z. Danielewski
4.0
Read December 2019
This one is a slightly stronger follow-up to the first installment. The various characters are finally beginning to show hints of how their stories intersect, which gives it a more complete feeling than the first novel. The formatting continues to lean into the serialized television style of story-telling, but with more consistency, perhaps born out of the way this installment takes place over the period of a month rather than one single day. This allows for more momentum and feels a little less like the pressure behind a shaken can of soda that refused to explode—the first book was a building of suspense and a looming feeling of fate or destiny, but had no resolution or explanation.
The story does some very strong character work, particularly with Xanther and Astaire, and surprisingly, the Narcons. However, Luther has continued to be detestable to the point where I can barely stand to see the black corner at the top of his pages.
The scene that will stick with me is one that I could have lived without. In volume one it was Xanther’s desperate CPR on a dying kitten. In this book, it will be the sickly yellow mental image of an over-sized deep fryer. I had to put the book down for a bit when I got to that exchange. I think it is going to haunt me for some time.
This one is a slightly stronger follow-up to the first installment. The various characters are finally beginning to show hints of how their stories intersect, which gives it a more complete feeling than the first novel. The formatting continues to lean into the serialized television style of story-telling, but with more consistency, perhaps born out of the way this installment takes place over the period of a month rather than one single day. This allows for more momentum and feels a little less like the pressure behind a shaken can of soda that refused to explode—the first book was a building of suspense and a looming feeling of fate or destiny, but had no resolution or explanation.
The story does some very strong character work, particularly with Xanther and Astaire, and surprisingly, the Narcons. However, Luther has continued to be detestable to the point where I can barely stand to see the black corner at the top of his pages.
The scene that will stick with me is one that I could have lived without. In volume one it was Xanther’s desperate CPR on a dying kitten. In this book, it will be the sickly yellow mental image of an over-sized deep fryer. I had to put the book down for a bit when I got to that exchange. I think it is going to haunt me for some time.