A review by acarter
Devil House by John Darnielle

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

4.75

Full disclosure: I am a huge TMG fan and a very ambivalent true crime fan, so DEVIL HOUSE was basically constructed for me in a literary laboratory. Every blurb notes this novel's ambition, for good reason -- Darnielle attempts (and pulls off) something very complex and formally daring. The novel defies summary, which is part of the point; it tells a story about true crime writer Gage Chandler, who is tasked with writing a book about 'Devil House,' where a gruesome unsolved murder took place during the Satanic Panic. And yet, it's also a story about telling stories, about what happens to the people involved (however peripherally) in a narrative when it gets set down in words. The payoff of the novel, which really comes after the halfway mark and crescendos in the final pages, is high, but less-intrepid readers might give up before getting there. This isn't a novel for those looking for a straightforward horror story or a true crime tale, but for people who are willing to go with Darnielle through some formal leaps and bounds to pick apart what it means to tell a story, it's an incredibly compelling, worthwhile read.
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