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A review by readthesparrow
Universal Harvester by John Darnielle
dark
mysterious
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
I have... complex feelings about this book.
It was labeled as horror on the library's site, and after reading through the description, I assumed the same. It's not horror, though. No, certainly not.
I do love the story, and I'm very glad I listened to it. It's got some very interesting ruminations on grief, memory, and loss, particularly in a small town context. I liked all the characters (except the new family at the end--not that I disliked them, but more so that they were part of an unsatisfactory end ), especially as they all felt deeply, deeply real. Of the issues I have with this novel, character writing was not one of them.
My issue is that the narrative holds onto revealing *anything* about Lisa and the truth of the tapes for so long that it becomes tiresome. I was so ready for things to wrap up at the end of section two, but was more than a little annoyed to see that there was still an hour and a half left, then even more annoyed when there was a jump to the future with a whole new family of people.
Yes, this time skip is narratively thematic, and yes, it does have some interesting stuff on the theme of loss and remembrance.But those final act reveals come via an infodump by Lisa which reveals she's been the (possibly part time?) narrator all along. Instead of getting to discover this conclusion alongside Jeremy--or even get to experience what he experiences during the farmhouse interrogation--we are randomly ripped to another time, painstakingly introduced to four new people, those four new people find the tapes and figure out a little about them. We get to see what happened to Jeremy, which for some reason comes now, not earlier. Then the new guys wander offstage while Lisa mops the story up all clean in a final narration that reveals that the tapes were of a cult deprogramming.
I want to like this book. I loved the prose and the characters, and it hits a lot of themes/topics I love;small towns, religion/cults of personality, complex but deeply loving family dynamics, VHS and found footage, and loss and grief . But the narrative's tendency to skirt around actually telling the story was growing to overstay its welcome at about 70%. Events (such as the Jeremy tape and anything new about the actual content of the tapes) were not shown to to the reader for no discernible reason other than an attempt at mystery, which is a risky move and was not executed well here.
The summary focuses pretty hard on the weird spliced footage moment. While that is the spark that begins the novel, and the footage is a thorough line of the novel, that creepy footage is not the main focus of the novel at all, even when it is the primary plot point on the page.
Also, it was a little hard to follow at times. But that is likely because I was listening on audiobook (which I would actually recommend; it's read by the author, who has a lovely voice).
It was labeled as horror on the library's site, and after reading through the description, I assumed the same. It's not horror, though. No, certainly not.
I do love the story, and I'm very glad I listened to it. It's got some very interesting ruminations on grief, memory, and loss, particularly in a small town context. I liked all the characters (except
My issue is that the narrative holds onto revealing *anything* about Lisa and the truth of the tapes for so long that it becomes tiresome. I was so ready for things to wrap up at the end of section two, but was more than a little annoyed to see that there was still an hour and a half left, then even more annoyed when there was a jump to the future with a whole new family of people.
Yes, this time skip is narratively thematic, and yes, it does have some interesting stuff on the theme of loss and remembrance.
I want to like this book. I loved the prose and the characters, and it hits a lot of themes/topics I love;
The summary focuses pretty hard on the weird spliced footage moment. While that is the spark that begins the novel, and the footage is a thorough line of the novel, that creepy footage is not the main focus of the novel at all, even when it is the primary plot point on the page.
Also, it was a little hard to follow at times. But that is likely because I was listening on audiobook (which I would actually recommend; it's read by the author, who has a lovely voice).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief