Scan barcode
A review by erinys
Cackle by Rachel Harrison
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Just a few notes for myself about Cackle, which I recently read back-to-back with Rachel Harrison's first novel, The Return.
It's difficult to classify Harrison's work. In terms of imagery and content, it definitely has to be called horror--there's blood, pain and lots of gross body horror in this novel, as well as some truly disturbing supernatural events.
But like its predecessor, The Return, Cackle is also a love story. It just focuses on an unsual kind of romance: the love between straight adult women who form a friendship which goes deeper than sex or sisterhood, and touches the wellspring of what all women need more than anything else--acceptance, and power.
Harrison's first two books are both written entirely from the viewpoint of a woman who adores her best and dearest friend. But the way this love is depicted has an edge. Like Elise in The Return, Annie in this novel is a woman bereft of close connections. Her mother died when she was young, her father never loved or understood her, and her partner of 10 years just dumped her because he didn't love her enough to get married.
It isn't really a surprise that a woman with so little to hold onto is easily sucked into a potentially toxic relationship. Annie struggles with deep, overpowering feelings of worthlessness, and like Elise in the The Return, it makes her prone to having poor boundaries, and leads her to cling desperately and near-fatally to relationships that are unsafe or unloving.
I'm not going to talk too much about plot of this one or spoil its twists and turns. I just want to note that the themes and emotional conflicts of this book are seldom seen in horror fiction, and are rarely done this well in any genre. Further, this theme of incredibly close, incredibly deep and intimate friendship between women seems to be one that Harrison may keep working on. This kind of dynamic is explored in a different context, in her first novel as well.
I give this book extra points for a lot of good qualities that are hard to achieve in a novel: brevity, simplicity, quick pace, flawless structure. I admire her ability to make a solid point and walk away with a book that feels truly complete.
I also think that this book will always be on my list of top 10 books about witches. I don't think many books are so honest about the wellsprings and consequences of female power, or so willing to say that whatever sacrifices have to be made are worth it.
It's difficult to classify Harrison's work. In terms of imagery and content, it definitely has to be called horror--there's blood, pain and lots of gross body horror in this novel, as well as some truly disturbing supernatural events.
But like its predecessor, The Return, Cackle is also a love story. It just focuses on an unsual kind of romance: the love between straight adult women who form a friendship which goes deeper than sex or sisterhood, and touches the wellspring of what all women need more than anything else--acceptance, and power.
Harrison's first two books are both written entirely from the viewpoint of a woman who adores her best and dearest friend. But the way this love is depicted has an edge. Like Elise in The Return, Annie in this novel is a woman bereft of close connections. Her mother died when she was young, her father never loved or understood her, and her partner of 10 years just dumped her because he didn't love her enough to get married.
It isn't really a surprise that a woman with so little to hold onto is easily sucked into a potentially toxic relationship. Annie struggles with deep, overpowering feelings of worthlessness, and like Elise in the The Return, it makes her prone to having poor boundaries, and leads her to cling desperately and near-fatally to relationships that are unsafe or unloving.
I'm not going to talk too much about plot of this one or spoil its twists and turns. I just want to note that the themes and emotional conflicts of this book are seldom seen in horror fiction, and are rarely done this well in any genre. Further, this theme of incredibly close, incredibly deep and intimate friendship between women seems to be one that Harrison may keep working on. This kind of dynamic is explored in a different context, in her first novel as well.
I give this book extra points for a lot of good qualities that are hard to achieve in a novel: brevity, simplicity, quick pace, flawless structure. I admire her ability to make a solid point and walk away with a book that feels truly complete.
I also think that this book will always be on my list of top 10 books about witches. I don't think many books are so honest about the wellsprings and consequences of female power, or so willing to say that whatever sacrifices have to be made are worth it.