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A review by wordswritinstarlight
A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A fantastically weird horror story about roses, relatives, and bugs. I love T Kingfisher’s devotion to making me afraid of The Concept Of Houses.
In a more serious tone, I grew up in a situation a lot like Sam’s, complete with nightmare grandmother, and while this particular book didn’t viscerally unsettle me on that subject like The Twisted Ones did, I vibed powerfully with both Sam and her mother in their efforts to wrangle the memory of Gran Mae, both literal and supernatural. I also really love Kingfisher’s dedication to providing clear and rational reasons that the main characters of her books don’t go to a psychiatrist, the cops, the hospital, etc. On the one hand, I understand why authors include that plot point, for the sake of verisimilitude, but it drives me up the wall to sit through it. Huge fan of Kingfisher just plucking out one of INNUMERABLE reasons that someone might not want to take that route and making it a plot point—in this one, Sam is a fat woman, and therefore very reasonably concludes that she won’t be taken seriously by a doctor. Top marks.
Bonus points for the Thelema cameo, more people should know that the guy who invented the modern rocket was also a passionate devotee of some DEEPLY questionable sex magick.
Overall, recommended to people who like a good haunted house story, or who have strong feelings about rose cultivation and feel the need to get some catharsis about that, which I’m given to understand is common in people who cultivate roses.
In a more serious tone, I grew up in a situation a lot like Sam’s, complete with nightmare grandmother, and while this particular book didn’t viscerally unsettle me on that subject like The Twisted Ones did, I vibed powerfully with both Sam and her mother in their efforts to wrangle the memory of Gran Mae, both literal and supernatural. I also really love Kingfisher’s dedication to providing clear and rational reasons that the main characters of her books don’t go to a psychiatrist, the cops, the hospital, etc. On the one hand, I understand why authors include that plot point, for the sake of verisimilitude, but it drives me up the wall to sit through it. Huge fan of Kingfisher just plucking out one of INNUMERABLE reasons that someone might not want to take that route and making it a plot point—in this one, Sam is a fat woman, and therefore very reasonably concludes that she won’t be taken seriously by a doctor. Top marks.
Bonus points for the Thelema cameo, more people should know that the guy who invented the modern rocket was also a passionate devotee of some DEEPLY questionable sex magick.
Overall, recommended to people who like a good haunted house story, or who have strong feelings about rose cultivation and feel the need to get some catharsis about that, which I’m given to understand is common in people who cultivate roses.