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hauntedreader 's review for:
Devil House
by John Darnielle
This is complicated to rate and review. I was constantly swinging from liking it ok to being bored and confused and wondering if the effort was worth it.
This, I think, is a book about ownership. About who has rights to own a space, to own a story, and to protect it. An eye turned towards victims and the outcast vs those with power; those who are protected and allowed to speak/exist, and those who are not. Autonomy, power, and who gets to tell the story.
I appreciated the topic, it made me think, even if it wasn’t what I thought this book would be about. It was just told in a very meandering way, didn’t have me in any kind of grip, and left me feeling rather disappointed.
Is John Darnielle a good writer? At first I thought yes, and I still do think he has a way with words, but he doesn’t write with impact. I was thinking about this book after I finished it, but more in the abstract, and wtf did I just read about, not because the characters stood out or because anything was that moving. Plot-wise things definitely happened, even emotionally charged things, yet I was still grasping at making sense of it and wondering why I didn’t really care.
You are reading about two main (but not only two) disjointed true crime cases told from a true crime author’s POV, interspersed with a letter from a victim’s mother and other POVs that change frequently and take some figuring out (including one from a childhood friend). It’s confusing, and although it’s easy enough to eventually figure out who’s talking, it’s also frustrating to feel lost so often and then to never really feel satisfied by the story once you’ve gotten it figured out.
I get the “castle doctrine” theme here, and I guess I appreciate the effort, but it was quite a reach—in ye olde English, a chapter written in eye-offending font about actual castles, taking a concept and your readers to a ridiculous place. Just, no on chapter 4.
I thought this was going to be about a writer’s Stephen King-esque descent into madness while living in a haunted (or at least creepy) house. I slowly felt the hope ebbing away as I read, until the last chapter when I thought there would be a big reveal that would make it all worth it. I read with anticipation. And then I almost laughed at the Big Reveal because… it wasn’t big or much of a reveal.
Not the book I thought I bought, not the book I really wanted to be reading; also not one I’m mad about, but not one I’d necessarily recommend.
This, I think, is a book about ownership. About who has rights to own a space, to own a story, and to protect it. An eye turned towards victims and the outcast vs those with power; those who are protected and allowed to speak/exist, and those who are not. Autonomy, power, and who gets to tell the story.
I appreciated the topic, it made me think, even if it wasn’t what I thought this book would be about. It was just told in a very meandering way, didn’t have me in any kind of grip, and left me feeling rather disappointed.
Is John Darnielle a good writer? At first I thought yes, and I still do think he has a way with words, but he doesn’t write with impact. I was thinking about this book after I finished it, but more in the abstract, and wtf did I just read about, not because the characters stood out or because anything was that moving. Plot-wise things definitely happened, even emotionally charged things, yet I was still grasping at making sense of it and wondering why I didn’t really care.
You are reading about two main (but not only two) disjointed true crime cases told from a true crime author’s POV, interspersed with a letter from a victim’s mother and other POVs that change frequently and take some figuring out (including one from a childhood friend). It’s confusing, and although it’s easy enough to eventually figure out who’s talking, it’s also frustrating to feel lost so often and then to never really feel satisfied by the story once you’ve gotten it figured out.
I get the “castle doctrine” theme here, and I guess I appreciate the effort, but it was quite a reach—in ye olde English, a chapter written in eye-offending font about actual castles, taking a concept and your readers to a ridiculous place. Just, no on chapter 4.
I thought this was going to be about a writer’s Stephen King-esque descent into madness while living in a haunted (or at least creepy) house. I slowly felt the hope ebbing away as I read, until the last chapter when I thought there would be a big reveal that would make it all worth it. I read with anticipation. And then I almost laughed at the Big Reveal because… it wasn’t big or much of a reveal.
Not the book I thought I bought, not the book I really wanted to be reading; also not one I’m mad about, but not one I’d necessarily recommend.