...the Soul of Wit - Short Reviews

Enjoy the new shorties!

 

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

For years it has been a secretly lurking inferiority complex of mine to haven't had read this legendary horror classic and I beat that challenge this October, thanks to the Horror Aficianados monthly reading group, yes!

My impression was unfortunately a little underwhelming...

Ceci n'est pas un livre.
It is more of a mishmash of pastiche academic research papers, collections of poems and polaroid pictures, pages and pages of layout experiments, lists of long lost exhibits, lists of architects and photographs and an infinity of footnotes telling parallel stories. House of Leaves is the epitome of postmodern lecture and with more than 700 pages it is definitely the epitome of pain in the neck, if you're reading the physical copy.

Although I appreciate all the thought and work that has been put into this book and it has some seriously eerie moments, I can't say I enjoyed reading it.

Crota by Owl Goingback

Going through a long list of the Stoker and Shirley Jackson Awards winners, there is one name that certainly attracts attention to say the least; Owl Goingback! No, it is not a nom de plume; Goingback is half Cherokee and half Choctaw and that reflects on his horror writing which leans heavily on Native American philosophies, legends, customs and myths. Crota is one of these novels and it must be the quintessential magical Native American story. I know how problematic it is to attribute supernatural capabilities and superpowers to a certain group of people, but please don't judge me too harshly when I say that I loved this book especially because of that.

A mysterious monster reminiscent of, but not quite Big Foot, a sunken city, lots of gory murders and only one man, the Shaman Little Hawk, who knows what to do about it...
Starting as a very bloody crime story, it only ever becomes genuinely interesting after Little Hawk enters the scene and his different approach to danger, fear, life in general is what makes this book awesome. And the end was so emotional, I love that! I'll definitely be reading more books by the author.

Such A Quiet Place by Megan Miranda

"I’m always amazed at what women will do because they’re afraid of being rude."

What a talk show host said in a mock interview in the first episode of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt kept on popping up in my mind while reading especially the first half of Megan Miranda’s Such a Quiet Place.

Just suppose you’re at home, cooking some dinner and chilling, when all of the sudden your ex roommate comes in, who was in jail for the last year and more for having murdered your neighbors. Someone you haven’t visited in all that time and haven’t talked to and she just comes in grabbing your laptop, sitting in your living room and eating your food and in general acting like nothing ever happened.

That’s what happens to main character Harper with her former roommate Ruby, but she never has the courage to say the obvious “Oh no, sorry, you can’t stay here”. And when all the neighborhood starts pressuring Harper into throwing Ruby out, she never says “Screw you, go do it yourselves”. Harper just never shows any backbone and that’s just one characteristic of a plethora of unlikeable characters that make up the story of this book, which also has lots of plot holes (like nobody ever going to work??). But it had a nice flow and keeps you reading.  

The Carrow Haunt by Darcy Coates

So, apparently Darcy Coates is the unabashed queen of haunted houses and I discover her only now!!! I couldn't let that sit on me and immediately got the next available Coates on my hands, which turned out to be The Carrow Haunt - seven people spending two weeks in the notoriously haunted Carrow House in order to research the supernatural phenomena. It starts harmless but the intensity of the "sightings" increase as more and more is unveiled about the history of Carrow.

Sleepwalking mediums, creepy ghost kids, a chilling history; The Carrow House has everything your haunted house heart desires and it was super nice to read, it just flows. This kind of story, an old fashioned ghost story, makes me feel good - an old house, a group of random people and ghosts - a little predictable, a little bit twisty, really well written!

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

And again - Apparently Alice Feeney is the unabashed queen of the killer twist and I'm hearing it only now... Having now read Rock Paper Scissors, all I can say is; the title is well deserved!

Adam and Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland and hope that it's the chance to save their marriage. They are not alone though, and especially for Adam, a screenwriter who has lived with face blindness his whole life, this trip will turn into a serious mind trip.  

I thought this was GREAT!

I hate books written in the form of letters addressed to the second person singular - you were so blablabla and you did blablabla-, because it just tires me to read. And it only adds to my frustration when it is a woman writing letters to her husband or boyfriend, because it almost always turns out to be a "she is so clingy while he doesn't care" cliche.

What I hate just as much are thrillers that solely revolve around relationship drama as if there's no interesting motive left in this whole wide world.

Miraculously, Rock Paper Scissors takes these elements that I abhor and combines them in a way that makes sense and that is clever. Even though by the end of the book I had had one twist too many, I didn't see much of it coming and I really enjoyed listening to it. 

Cackle by Rachel Harrison

Can I just please say that I LOVE Rachel Harrison? I was smitten by her debut The Return last year and I enjoyed her latest, Cackle, just as much.

Annie is going through a rough patch - she has no job and is dumped by her longterm boyfriend whom she was dreaming of marrying. To find a fresh start she accepts a teaching position in a small, picturesque village upstate. The town is pretty, the people are great and then there is Sophie; gorgeous, unapologetic, eccentric and everything Annie has ever needed in a friend. There are things that don't really add up though, and when Annie discovers her true nature, even more things will be turned upside down in her life...

Just like in her previous novel, Harrison explores the darker corners of friendship and self emancipation - this time a little more light-hearted, a little less scary, but always a delight to read.

Team Sophie all the way!