A review by oliviagwynne
My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

My Darling Dreadful thing reminds me of House of Hollow and Juniper and Thorn in tone, and that is high praise. Gothic, a bit grotesque at times, pretty word choices.  

Set in post WWII Netherlands, you don’t explore the setting too much and instead spend most of your time exploring Roos and her spirit companion. I felt the first person narration style really worked for this. I enjoyed Roos’ voice and character. 

I will say that even though it is set in the 50’s, it felt more like the 20’s to me so that is what I was picturing in my head. 

It is a start at the end kind of story, where the narrator tells you how you got to where you start. 

I loved the device of the sessions with the doctor and how they kept pace with the story. I wasn’t sold on them at first but they grew on me. 

I liked Agnes right away. She seems cheeky, like a character who has gumption. And growing up mixed race (Indonesian) in this time period and as a bastard child of a rich man had to have helped harden her shell. 

It is a slower paced novel, using that to build up tension and intrigue for the reader. The spirit companions and the comfort of menace they can bring was a great tool to examine the human characters’ failings. 

Overall, I really enjoyed myself.