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The Good House
by Tananarive Due
4.5 Stars
I’ve been wanting to read one of Tananarive Due’s books ever since I saw her in the wonderful documentary “Horror Noire,” where among a sea of talking heads she stood out as the smartest person in the room. Before I dive into “The Reformatory,” the 2023 book I’m most excited about reading, I decided to start with this earlier work.
This book is stunning, in both senses of the word. It’s richly detailed, character-driven horror that draws on vodou spiritual practices without being gimmicky or appropriative. I loved how the story moved between timelines to draw intergenerational lines of light and darkness, lending it the quality of a fever dream. Due is a skilled writer, and I plowed through this book eager to see where she would take it. While I wouldn’t call it scary, per se, it does stare straight into the abyss…finding hope on the other side.
(It must be said: I know Washington Square Press was a small publisher and this is quite a long novel, but the typeface in this book is the smallest I’ve ever seen.)
I’ve been wanting to read one of Tananarive Due’s books ever since I saw her in the wonderful documentary “Horror Noire,” where among a sea of talking heads she stood out as the smartest person in the room. Before I dive into “The Reformatory,” the 2023 book I’m most excited about reading, I decided to start with this earlier work.
This book is stunning, in both senses of the word. It’s richly detailed, character-driven horror that draws on vodou spiritual practices without being gimmicky or appropriative. I loved how the story moved between timelines to draw intergenerational lines of light and darkness, lending it the quality of a fever dream. Due is a skilled writer, and I plowed through this book eager to see where she would take it. While I wouldn’t call it scary, per se, it does stare straight into the abyss…finding hope on the other side.
(It must be said: I know Washington Square Press was a small publisher and this is quite a long novel, but the typeface in this book is the smallest I’ve ever seen.)