A review by amypalmer
A Good House for Children by Kate Collins

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This is a slow paced book with horror elements. Though it is a ghost story of sorts, it is left to the interpretation of the reader what is really going on. At its core I think this is a book about grief. A house that is in itself a character and a monster of sorts. 

Very poetically written and atmospheric.

Eg: "the large flagstones in the porch, so beautifully smooth, wore their treachery as a slick cloakand Orla fell more than once on her way out to the bins or the village." 

The writing style is very methophorical and gets more so as the book goes on. 

There are moments where I am still a little stumped and the ending is left very open. If you want a book that explains it all then this is jot for you. 

Adding a few spoilers below of somethings I am pondering or didn't feel were wrapped up

Both stories are connected, ovjects travel through time, you get the impression that both "time zones" are connected, or that because the house is a "thin place" they are seeing moments of eachothers stories and are maybe being haunted by eachother. This is lightly focused on when Orla is loosing touch with reality and talking about holes through time. I felt this wasn't quite explained enough as well as who the other presences were. 
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