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A review by vanishing_librarian
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This is a story about Merry and her sister Marjorie who have to deal with Marjorie's mental health going downhill quite rapidly. Their father convinces their mother to call in a local priest for help and a production team is involved to film the exorcism they are planning to perform. While her parents try to protect Merry from most of this, they don't succeed in doing so and Merry has to come to terms with all that is happening to her sister and her family.
I was really looking forward to finally reading a book by Paul Tremblay because I was hearing so much praise for him and his novels. However, I think I might have set my expectations too high for this type of story. Usually, I do like books about religious fanatics and ghost stories but this one just didn't really catch me.
For me, it was just too slow-paced and could have done with a few pages less. Maybe the way it was told (especially the present timeline) had something to do with my enjoyment level decreasing throughout the book or maybe the fact that I couldn't really empathize with any of the characters was the cause for it. Also for most of the book, I was a little confused about the stuff the sisters were thinking and/or saying (in the present and the past timeline), which probably also didn't help.
Overall, I was expecting a scary book about an exorcism and complicated family dynamics but what I got was a story that wasn't really scary and characters that confused me throughout most of the story.
I am sure there is an audience for this book - sadly it just is not me. Still, please give this one a try if you're intrigued by the synopsis - you might like it!
I was really looking forward to finally reading a book by Paul Tremblay because I was hearing so much praise for him and his novels. However, I think I might have set my expectations too high for this type of story. Usually, I do like books about religious fanatics and ghost stories but this one just didn't really catch me.
For me, it was just too slow-paced and could have done with a few pages less. Maybe the way it was told (especially the present timeline) had something to do with my enjoyment level decreasing throughout the book or maybe the fact that I couldn't really empathize with any of the characters was the cause for it. Also for most of the book, I was a little confused about the stuff the sisters were thinking and/or saying (in the present and the past timeline), which probably also didn't help.
Overall, I was expecting a scary book about an exorcism and complicated family dynamics but what I got was a story that wasn't really scary and characters that confused me throughout most of the story.
I am sure there is an audience for this book - sadly it just is not me. Still, please give this one a try if you're intrigued by the synopsis - you might like it!