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A review by singularitme
The House of Dead Maids by Clare B. Dunkle
2.0
More like a 2.5 but I can't score it a 3 so I rounded down. Spoilers to come if you plan on reading this book (but I would suggest a pass).
I'm not exactly sure what I read. It's certainly not a bad book but it's not a good book either. I thought it would be a good, quick read but I think the length of the book is part of the problem. Ideas are introduced but there isn't enough time allotted to address them all.
Tabby and Himself find two wax dolls, male and female. The male doll is stuck with straight pins. Are they voodoo dolls? I get that they're supposed to represent the Maid and the Master but what other reason is there for them?
They discover that the Seldom House is actually 4 different buildings that surround a courtyard. Why? What is the reason besides to have a courtyard in the story? Couldn't the house just have been built with a courtyard?
The biggest problem is the heathen ceremony that takes place at Seldom House by the Master and the villagers. It's never explained why this is done (to keep the house...? Maybe?) and the rules are very convoluted. Example: the ceremony requires that the master (or proxy) must not be christened, but the maid can be christened (Tabby is). Also sitting on the Master's Chair (or throne or whatever) renders the christening null? What? I just don't get this. Also WHY are the ghosts haunting Himself and Tabby? Tabby says she thought it was to warn them but then she realizes at the end it's really to gloat. Ok...? I mean, they're partially the reason Tabby discovers so much about Seldom House but still, it doesn't make sense. The plot turns in this story weren't very intuitive. Yes, I want to be surprised with where a story goes but I also want it to make sense. There really aren't clues that allude to anything about the ceremony. When they first came upon the courtyard with all the bones I thought there was some secret curse on the house. The master and the maid would die under mysterious circumstances and their bodies would be dumped in the courtyard. That would make more sense.
Because this is a prelude to Wuthering Heights I was fully expecting there to be more references and foreshadowing to the aforementioned story. Instead, it was all wrapped up and explained in the last chapter of the book. Tabby ends up being the real-life housekeeper to the Bronte family and she tells the children her creepy stories. Great, that makes sense and it's a cool way to tie the two books together. But then it's also explained that Himself is picked up by a man who names him Heathcliff (due to something he misheard) and taken to a place called Wuthering Heights. So Himself is both an inspiration for Heathcliff and the real Heathcliff himself? I wish the author had chosen one or the other because it just makes the ending messy. It's more like a well written but bad fanfiction, if you know what I mean. The author's writing style is compelling and even though it's not exactly the same it fits in with Wuthering Heights. The storyline is just so disjointed and underdeveloped.
I'm not exactly sure what I read. It's certainly not a bad book but it's not a good book either. I thought it would be a good, quick read but I think the length of the book is part of the problem. Ideas are introduced but there isn't enough time allotted to address them all.
Tabby and Himself find two wax dolls, male and female. The male doll is stuck with straight pins. Are they voodoo dolls? I get that they're supposed to represent the Maid and the Master but what other reason is there for them?
They discover that the Seldom House is actually 4 different buildings that surround a courtyard. Why? What is the reason besides to have a courtyard in the story? Couldn't the house just have been built with a courtyard?
The biggest problem is the heathen ceremony that takes place at Seldom House by the Master and the villagers. It's never explained why this is done (to keep the house...? Maybe?) and the rules are very convoluted. Example: the ceremony requires that the master (or proxy) must not be christened, but the maid can be christened (Tabby is). Also sitting on the Master's Chair (or throne or whatever) renders the christening null? What? I just don't get this. Also WHY are the ghosts haunting Himself and Tabby? Tabby says she thought it was to warn them but then she realizes at the end it's really to gloat. Ok...? I mean, they're partially the reason Tabby discovers so much about Seldom House but still, it doesn't make sense. The plot turns in this story weren't very intuitive. Yes, I want to be surprised with where a story goes but I also want it to make sense. There really aren't clues that allude to anything about the ceremony. When they first came upon the courtyard with all the bones I thought there was some secret curse on the house. The master and the maid would die under mysterious circumstances and their bodies would be dumped in the courtyard. That would make more sense.
Because this is a prelude to Wuthering Heights I was fully expecting there to be more references and foreshadowing to the aforementioned story. Instead, it was all wrapped up and explained in the last chapter of the book. Tabby ends up being the real-life housekeeper to the Bronte family and she tells the children her creepy stories. Great, that makes sense and it's a cool way to tie the two books together. But then it's also explained that Himself is picked up by a man who names him Heathcliff (due to something he misheard) and taken to a place called Wuthering Heights. So Himself is both an inspiration for Heathcliff and the real Heathcliff himself? I wish the author had chosen one or the other because it just makes the ending messy. It's more like a well written but bad fanfiction, if you know what I mean. The author's writing style is compelling and even though it's not exactly the same it fits in with Wuthering Heights. The storyline is just so disjointed and underdeveloped.