Scan barcode
A review by ericderoulet
A Voice Calling by Christopher Barzak
4.0
Nota bene: Psychopomp (the publisher) sent me an ARC of this novella; thus, I'm reviewing it.
In my experience, it's generally difficult to find haunted house stories that break any new ground as far as haunted house stories go. While I wouldn't say A Voice Calling is a revolutionary piece within the haunted house subgenre, the novella is a good read overall. The narrative voice is strongly rooted in the author's Midwestern background, the setting in World War II helps ground the story, and the history of multiple families living in and being haunted by Button House over time makes A Voice Calling more layered than its counterparts. I also found the reading experience as a whole to be pretty smooth; I was turning pages fairly quickly, not turning back to prior pages to review info very often, and I only found myself slowing down during especially tense moments.
Perhaps most importantly, as the story's events are viewed from the perspective of outsiders (several residents of the rural town), the narrative nicely reflects on how people in such settings feel (or fail to feel) communal responsibility and look out for each other. Other reviewers seem divided on the narrative voice, with some objecting that it's not clear who exactly is telling the story or that there's too much distance between the narrator(s) and the events. Personally, I found the narrative voice added substance to the story, and the question of who is speaking is hinted at well enough and then resolved cleanly in the final act.
I imagine some readers might also object to the length of the story (lots of readers seem to prefer novels to shorter fiction!) and having to keep track of all these different family histories bundled into one house. On the first point, I feel the story is roughly the length it needs to be; backstory is supplied where needed, and not too many pages are spent on past Button House families who don't figure prominently into the plot. The histories of those who've lived in and visited the haunted house sometimes gave me a lot of names and info to keep track of, but I thought Barzak presented all of this info well; the story put my brain to work but didn't give me information overload. I dare say a certain amount of complexity in literature is a good thing!
I do have a few criticisms, though the issues I identified in the story didn't ruin the reading experience for me, far from it.
Odd as it seems to say this, the setup for the fate of made me think her story would end in a really ghastly, shocking event, but her actual demise feels like and falls flat somewhat.
The button motif is interesting given the story's characterization and historical context, but I was unsatisfied with how this was worked into the ending.
Again, some relatively minor objections aside, I liked A Voice Calling better than the average haunted house story. I imagine enthusiasts for the subgenre will be pleased with the overall arch of the story while finding some refreshing elements in it.
In my experience, it's generally difficult to find haunted house stories that break any new ground as far as haunted house stories go. While I wouldn't say A Voice Calling is a revolutionary piece within the haunted house subgenre, the novella is a good read overall. The narrative voice is strongly rooted in the author's Midwestern background, the setting in World War II helps ground the story, and the history of multiple families living in and being haunted by Button House over time makes A Voice Calling more layered than its counterparts. I also found the reading experience as a whole to be pretty smooth; I was turning pages fairly quickly, not turning back to prior pages to review info very often, and I only found myself slowing down during especially tense moments.
Perhaps most importantly, as the story's events are viewed from the perspective of outsiders (several residents of the rural town), the narrative nicely reflects on how people in such settings feel (or fail to feel) communal responsibility and look out for each other. Other reviewers seem divided on the narrative voice, with some objecting that it's not clear who exactly is telling the story or that there's too much distance between the narrator(s) and the events. Personally, I found the narrative voice added substance to the story, and the question of who is speaking is hinted at well enough and then resolved cleanly in the final act.
I imagine some readers might also object to the length of the story (lots of readers seem to prefer novels to shorter fiction!) and having to keep track of all these different family histories bundled into one house. On the first point, I feel the story is roughly the length it needs to be; backstory is supplied where needed, and not too many pages are spent on past Button House families who don't figure prominently into the plot. The histories of those who've lived in and visited the haunted house sometimes gave me a lot of names and info to keep track of, but I thought Barzak presented all of this info well; the story put my brain to work but didn't give me information overload. I dare say a certain amount of complexity in literature is a good thing!
I do have a few criticisms, though the issues I identified in the story didn't ruin the reading experience for me, far from it.
Odd as it seems to say this, the setup for the fate of
Spoiler
BernadetteSpoiler
a fairly standard tragedyThe button motif is interesting given the story's characterization and historical context, but I was unsatisfied with how this was worked into the ending.
Spoiler
Once the ghost of Bernadette (who worked at a button factory) has done what she set out to do, and the evil/haunted orchard and house are burned down, the fact that perfectly intact buttons continue to be found in the ashes of the house is somewhat bizarre. The buttons seem to be a manifestation of Bernadette haunting the house, yet the house is burned down and Bernadette accomplished what she needed to. If there's one cross-cultural consistency in the lore surrounding ghosts, it's that their spirits stick around only because of something unfinished or unresolved in their former life.Again, some relatively minor objections aside, I liked A Voice Calling better than the average haunted house story. I imagine enthusiasts for the subgenre will be pleased with the overall arch of the story while finding some refreshing elements in it.