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

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I don't think I've seen this kind of symbiotic relationship between a person and the spirit that is bound to them in gothic horror before. Roos is an abused and undernourished 21-year-old who has been raised by "Mama", who forces her to fake seances to communicate with dead spirits. Roos, however, has a spirit bound to her already: her constant companion and beloved Ruth. What follows is an interesting story about the line between schizophrenia and actual spirits possessing someone. Roos is an interesting character to follow for this journey but I wish we had a bit more point of view content from Agnes as well, who seems a particularly interesting character as a half-Cambodian widow of a wealthy man seeking to connect with spirits for her own reasons.

The pace slows down considerably in the second half until the final act, which weakened the book for me overall, but it is a very easy read and an interesting relationship between the living and the dead.
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