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A review by erinys
The Return by Rachel Harrison
dark
emotional
fast-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
5.0
It's difficult to place Harrison's work. In terms of imagery and content, it definitely has to be called horror--there's quite a bit of blood and death in her novels, and some truly disturbing supernatural events. But the two books I've read so far are also love stories, and they focus on a fairly specific kind of love: the love between straight adult women who form a friendship which goes deeper than most of the relationships they are capable of forming with men, despite being Platonic.
Harrison's first two books are written entirely from the viewpoint of a woman who adores her best and dearest friend. But the way this love is depicted has a toxic edge--the women she writes about are usually bereft of close family connections and have been unable to form close bonds romantically. Her protagonists struggle with deep, overpowering insecurities and feelings of insecurity, which often leads them to cling desperately and near-fatally to relationships that have turned rancid.
In this case, the viewpoint protagonist is Elise, who was devastated when her best friend Julie disappeared while hiking in the National Forest. Unable to let go, unable even to accept that her friend is probably dead, Elise insists for two years that Julie will come back when she's ready--which is all well and good until she DOES come back.
No one is ready for the ways that Julie has changed, now that she's back. But when Elise drives up to a hidden resort to share a weekend reunion with Julie and the other two members of their college Four Musketeers friend group, she has to accept the fact that the Julie she loved so deeply may never have had made it home.
I'm not going to talk too much about plot or spoil the ending of this one. 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 is not one that Harrison dropped after her first book. This kind of dynamic is explored even more deeply, but in a different context, in her second novel as well.
I give this book points for a lot of good qualities that I seldom talk about: brevity, pace, structure. I admire her ability to make a solid point and walk away with a book that feels truly complete.
Harrison's first two books are written entirely from the viewpoint of a woman who adores her best and dearest friend. But the way this love is depicted has a toxic edge--the women she writes about are usually bereft of close family connections and have been unable to form close bonds romantically. Her protagonists struggle with deep, overpowering insecurities and feelings of insecurity, which often leads them to cling desperately and near-fatally to relationships that have turned rancid.
In this case, the viewpoint protagonist is Elise, who was devastated when her best friend Julie disappeared while hiking in the National Forest. Unable to let go, unable even to accept that her friend is probably dead, Elise insists for two years that Julie will come back when she's ready--which is all well and good until she DOES come back.
No one is ready for the ways that Julie has changed, now that she's back. But when Elise drives up to a hidden resort to share a weekend reunion with Julie and the other two members of their college Four Musketeers friend group, she has to accept the fact that the Julie she loved so deeply may never have had made it home.
I'm not going to talk too much about plot or spoil the ending of this one. 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 is not one that Harrison dropped after her first book. This kind of dynamic is explored even more deeply, but in a different context, in her second novel as well.
I give this book points for a lot of good qualities that I seldom talk about: brevity, pace, structure. I admire her ability to make a solid point and walk away with a book that feels truly complete.