... the Soul of Wit

In this column I will briefly introduce random four or five books I have recently read and I don't want to review extensively for one reason or another. In this first episode you can find some books I have read during lockdown.

Enjoy!

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

Elisabeth Thomas' debut is a thriller/mystery that combines elements of gothic literature, coming of age story and literary suspense.

Young Ines is admitted to Catherine House, a sort of college of a peculiar sort; a very experimental curriculum, an inexplicable admission policy and delicious food... If you succeed in finishing school in three years without having any contact to the outside world you are sure to make it big since Catherine was alma mater to the world’s best: prize-winning authors, artists, inventors, even presidents. But the school also has a creepy secret - which awaits to be discovered by Ines.

There are, very unfortunately, huge discrepencies between the cover description and the actual story of this book. Let's get over with the worst first - the story quickly loses pace and becomes sluggish quite early, leaving the potential of the premise not fully exhausted. On the other hand Thomas really has a knack for long, flowery descriptions that I really enjoyed reading and I often turned back to re-read an exceptionally well written passage. Nevertheless, Catherine House was for me a somewhat unsatisfying experience - despite the author's obvious talent and the striking cover. Still, I will keep an eye on her and see what she will publish next.

Kin by Kealan Patrick Burke

Evil has many faces: an insanely sadistic redneck pack, a war that breaks you to the core, a brutal husband or an abusive family. Kin is the story of a handfull of people, each tackling a different face of evil and their extremely severe traumata. "Extreme-ly" is the keyword for this novel; some scenes were exceedingly uncomfortable to read for me and I especially disliked the torture scenes (which depress you on a whole different level if you are self-isolating alone at home in corona times). But I reckon that in order to fully understand the devastating consequences of physical abuse and the magnitude of the impact suffering has on us, it is important to take a close look at that pain. I personally don't want to look as closely as Kin does, though.

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

After the death of her mother Carly goes through a rough patch in her life. She leaves her home and school in order to start working at the The Sun Down Motel where her aunt Viv, her mother's sister, worked and disappeared in the 80s. Her story is interrupted by flashbacks of Viv's story, leading to the fateful night where Carly starts figuring out the big mystery behind this creepy motel and what has really happened to Viv.

Although it is a lot more "crime" than "horror", I really really enjoyed reading this book! Beside its immensely engaging plot, the portrayal of the various likeable and relatable women/girls in this story is truly estimable, there are seriously creepy moments and again, the cover is strikingly beautiful!

The Boatman's Daughter by Andy Davidson

One of my favorite booktubers, the author known as Edward Lorn, described this book as a "beautifully written nightmare" and that description is spot on! This is the story of a young girl looking for family, comfort, a life of her own with many nausiating and terrifying things on her way there to make it in parts pretty uncomfortable to read - don't worry though, the wonderful ending makes up for all of the above. In The Boatman's Daughter, Davidson creates a unique mash-up from elements of slavic dark fantasy, southern horror and crime. As to the prose, yes it is wonderful, but to the point that it was in parts too wonderful for me... is that confusing? Still definitely worth a read by all means!

I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

I was perplexed to hear that of all the great horror novels that are available, THIS one will be filmed! Don't get me wrong, I'm convinced that Iain Reid does an exceptionally good job in I'm Thinking of Ending Things: it is well written, very meticulously structured, thoroughly creepy and will chill you to the bone. But talking about stories that are sheer impossible to film, this one is the first one that comes to mind. So I am super curious and excited about how this movie will turn out to be! I won't give any clues as to what happens in this book at all, because this is one of those cases where the better it is, the less you know when starting to read. If you plan on watching the movie (from September on on Netflix US, I don't know when we can watch it in Germany) I would still recommend to read the book first...