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exorcismemily 's review for:
The Devil's Dreamland: Poetry Inspired by H.H. Holmes
by Sara Tantlinger
"I am / your American serial killer, wrapped up / in 19th century shreds of screaming women."
I adore Sara Tantlinger's poetry, and I am intrigued by the story of HH Holmes, so I knew The Devil's Dreamland was going to be perfect for me as soon as I heard about it. I started it as soon as it arrived, and it quickly became one of my favorite books I've read this year.
Sara's research was so in-depth, and you can see the love she had for this project poured out into the pages. Although the poems have a fictional twist, they are organized by chronological events, and the book tells HH Holmes' full life story. I loved that it was set up in this way, and it was like reading a fictional novel about a true crime story told through poems.
I loved that so many poems were from different points of view - you are not in Holmes' head the entire time. Some of them are focused on the people and things around him, and Sara did an amazing job at weaving together as complete of a story on Holmes as possible.
There are all sorts of different emotions here - this poems are so grim and gory, but some of them are amusing, some are sad, angry, hopeful, etc. A range of emotions is covered within this book, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Some of the poems are so lyrical that I could see this as a musical (and it would be the best musical ever). It's so easy to get invested in what's going on, and this real-life horror story is told so beautifully.
It was so hard to narrow down my top 5, but here they are: Metamorphosis, Push, The Devil's Dreamland, Unblessed Excavation, and In the Castle's Heart, You Die. These are the ones that will haunt me the most from this book.
I think this book would be perfect for true crime, horror, and poetry fans. Even if you're only a fan of one, get The Devil's Dreamland so you can enjoy the other two (I love all three). I was both entertained and unsettled by this book, and I already want to read it again.
I adore Sara Tantlinger's poetry, and I am intrigued by the story of HH Holmes, so I knew The Devil's Dreamland was going to be perfect for me as soon as I heard about it. I started it as soon as it arrived, and it quickly became one of my favorite books I've read this year.
Sara's research was so in-depth, and you can see the love she had for this project poured out into the pages. Although the poems have a fictional twist, they are organized by chronological events, and the book tells HH Holmes' full life story. I loved that it was set up in this way, and it was like reading a fictional novel about a true crime story told through poems.
I loved that so many poems were from different points of view - you are not in Holmes' head the entire time. Some of them are focused on the people and things around him, and Sara did an amazing job at weaving together as complete of a story on Holmes as possible.
There are all sorts of different emotions here - this poems are so grim and gory, but some of them are amusing, some are sad, angry, hopeful, etc. A range of emotions is covered within this book, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Some of the poems are so lyrical that I could see this as a musical (and it would be the best musical ever). It's so easy to get invested in what's going on, and this real-life horror story is told so beautifully.
It was so hard to narrow down my top 5, but here they are: Metamorphosis, Push, The Devil's Dreamland, Unblessed Excavation, and In the Castle's Heart, You Die. These are the ones that will haunt me the most from this book.
I think this book would be perfect for true crime, horror, and poetry fans. Even if you're only a fan of one, get The Devil's Dreamland so you can enjoy the other two (I love all three). I was both entertained and unsettled by this book, and I already want to read it again.