This book really messed me up (complimentary). Zumas' previous novel was the excellent dystopia RED CLOCKS but now she turns in the opposite directionThis book really messed me up (complimentary). Zumas' previous novel was the excellent dystopia RED CLOCKS but now she turns in the opposite direction, to the ways we try in the present to make a better world for ourselves and each other. I can't imagine a more topical work of fiction given how much we are talking about mutual aid and community building, which are the central building blocks of WOLF BELLS.
The House is a kind of commune. In it, there are elderly and disabled residents, who would normally be living in a residential care facility. They receive care from the other residents, who get a lower cost of living because of their communal contributions. Caz has created this house when she ended up caring for her elderly mother, who owns the property. Caz is a former punk rocker, someone who's been through drug addiction and rehab, someone who still has many of the ideals of her youth but understands too well the realities of the world. Or at least, she thinks she does.
This is not a perfect space, and this is clear immediately. The residents annoy each other. Constantly. And from short chapter to short chapter we move between their points of view. (At first I was having trouble keeping them straight, eventually I stopped worrying about it and this is when the book really started working for me. If you need to know exactly who a character is, you will.) They are not all thrilled about where they are and the rules around food and the use of the television. But generally they seem to have a functional ecosystem. It may not be utopia, but it is a model that feels like maybe it should be more in use everywhere.
But Zumas is not going to leave us in this cozy view of things. Into the story enters two children who throw this system into disarray. They challenge Caz to imagine the full capacity of what The House and its community are capable of. And they also challenge everyone to wonder if any of this is actually possible.
Idealism and realism are constantly a struggle in this novel. Any moment spent in The House shows you this tension so clearly and Zumas brings it back from everyone's different points of view. I often complain in reviews about undeveloped characters, and even if I cannot remember all these characters names, as soon as you are in one of their heads they are fully realized.
The struggle of all this is that it is both beautiful and really unpleasant. Again, that tension. Every time I started this book I was happy to be in it. But in the minutes before I started I would think, "Oh right, I'm reading Wolf Bells. Do I want to keep reading?" Because it didn't give me joy, it was challenging to my own ideals and my own visions of what is possible. And I have to admit that this is probably why I am not putting this book on my Best of the Year list, even though it would be there if that list was based on merit. But that list is based on my personal enjoyment, and this book is not enjoyable. It is powerful and challenging and heartbreaking, but it is not enjoyable. It's hard to do something like recommend it because I think the power of it is why you should read it.
And yet, Zumas is such a good writer that this is not like eating your vegetables, reading something because you know you should. It is the discomfort that is the point. It is what she is going for. And grappling with your ideals and your discomfort is something few novels can truly provide....more
Rachel Harrison has a consistent brand and I respect that. But about half the time I don't find her books interesting enough to keep going. Sure the vRachel Harrison has a consistent brand and I respect that. But about half the time I don't find her books interesting enough to keep going. Sure the vibe is there but the plot meanders or the characters don't grab me. This is one of her better books, leaning in hard to the Amityville Horror vibes (original book version!) with a family dysfunction plot that really works.
Clio is more anti-hero than hero, but she's a successfully drawn influencer character. So often this becomes caricature and simply a cardboard character who is overly vain and obsessed with fame. Clio takes her life for granted, she is not always about the grind and she is mostly content to let her whims guide her to a party or a club or to bring a boy home or to kick him out of the cab before they get there. Clio's family is functional on the surface but with a lot of difficult history underneath. With a very messy divorce during their childhood and three sisters keeping secrets, there are all kinds of tensions to discover. Harrison uses this really well, giving Clio plenty of reasons to rebel against her family's preferences that she simply play by the rules.
The haunted house here works so well not just because it is creepy but because it is a symbol of Clio's lost and estranged mother. Every time her family belittles her or doesn't take her seriously she has yet another reason to go back to this place that you really know she shouldn't go back to. This can be a big obstacle in this kind of horror novel, often the motivation to return to the clearly bad thing is flimsy but here it is really earned.
Structurally this is really smartly done. It's still rushed and reads more like an airplane book. I would love for Harrison to publish less often and push herself more because with some effort this could have been scarier and more rooted in character and something less frivolous. But I can't be mad because so much frivolous horror is poorly executed and this is quite good. Literally my only real complaint is that it is frivolous and fluffy. But it did give me the creeps a few times, which is a high bar for horror....more
If you wanted to make a list of everything this book has in common with The Secret History it would be practically a novel itself. As others have saidIf you wanted to make a list of everything this book has in common with The Secret History it would be practically a novel itself. As others have said, it feels like such a blatant ripoff that it's frustrating. I would also like to note that if you removed all the actual Shakespeare quotes this book would be at least 50 pages shorter. There is WAY too much of this. It is exhausting....more
It's fine. The way it's pieced together, it's quite obvious what is going to happen and at least why the mystery exists. The ending is hurried, doesn'It's fine. The way it's pieced together, it's quite obvious what is going to happen and at least why the mystery exists. The ending is hurried, doesn't hit with a gut punch (not enough character development to care that much) but doesn't offer resolution to most of its storyline either (but not in a way that is mysterious and vibes-y). It's fine.
Should deduct a star for not putting the translator's name on the cover!...more
I enjoyed FEVER HOUSE a lot and happily, Rosson brings out a lot of the same vibes here. There's a gritty grounded vibe here that I liked a lot. The dI enjoyed FEVER HOUSE a lot and happily, Rosson brings out a lot of the same vibes here. There's a gritty grounded vibe here that I liked a lot. The downside is it's a vampire story which I basically always find pretty boring. And a revenge story, also boring. And it includes a child character who basically never behaves like a child, one of my big pet peeves. Still read the whole book and had a good time, appreciated the twists and turns. Rosson is mostly quite good at pacing and plotting, though vibes are his strong suit.
I'll definitely keep reading Rosson, I think it's just a matter of time for when he finds a story that absolutely works for me....more
One of the best horror novels of the year. With his second book of Irish folk horror, Sharpson has established himself as a horror writer to pay attenOne of the best horror novels of the year. With his second book of Irish folk horror, Sharpson has established himself as a horror writer to pay attention to. This is a very strong novel, more cohesive than KNOCK KNOCK, OPEN WIDE, though not as creepy. But that's a plus, that Sharpson can do a very different vibe here and still pull it off so well means I only want him to do more and expand.
The vibe here is less scary and more WTF is happening, which is a vibe I really enjoy. The book feels very ominous and often confusing at first, and much of the middle is slowly gathering information and trying to piece it together. It doesn't all suddenly make sense, and there's no point where you think "well obviously." It's a nice slow burn. And then somehow--miracle of miracles--it doesn't collapse into something disappointing. Instead it feels like we get a climax that wraps everything up and leaves us satisfied. This is so incredibly rare in horror that it's worth making a special note of it. Sharpson never paints himself into a corner, and he smartly saves a few last jabs as we get close to the end. The perspective shifting is mostly done quite well, keeping you moving and giving you information at carefully decided times.
Since this book is so strong I will make a few minor notes: Sharpson could flesh out his characters a bit more. Mara is a cipher by design, and I think she's pretty well done, you feel tied to her even though perspective switches so often. Declan and Cian and others tend to fall a little too solidly into the Good Guy/Bad Guy camp, there was only a little bit where it wasn't totally clear to me whether they were trustworthy.
This would make a nice pairing with LUTE by Jennifer Marie Thorne, which also has a small island locked in a folk horror conspiracy. ...more
I was skeptical about this from the jump. What does a psychopath test have to do with a dating app? Why are these people all agreeing to meet up when I was skeptical about this from the jump. What does a psychopath test have to do with a dating app? Why are these people all agreeing to meet up when they haven't seen each other in 20+ years and arguably wouldn't want to be there? But it didn't seem to be pulling too many silly thriller tricks, things moved along, and I thought maybe it will make it work.
It did not. Instead the piles of things that didn't make sense just continued to get larger and more numerous. And for me, that is the fastest way to get me not to care at all about your thriller. But at least Edwards' style of moving you along is better than you get from some of the bigger thriller writers. If he had a stronger plot I would have been on board. ...more
Had never read before, did on audio. This is extremely "and then this happened," basically nothing more than a play by play. Certainly gets down into Had never read before, did on audio. This is extremely "and then this happened," basically nothing more than a play by play. Certainly gets down into the details, though. ...more
The existential novel about a discontented working woman is becoming its own subgenre. (See also There's No Such Thing As An Easy Job by Kikuko TsumurThe existential novel about a discontented working woman is becoming its own subgenre. (See also There's No Such Thing As An Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura) Many of them are about the difficulties of workplace harassment or the ways tech jobs wring you dry, but Serrano is more concerned with the larger issue, of working at all, especially in a moment where so many office jobs no longer feel like they do anything close to tangible.
Marisa has a job but does not do it. She mostly watches YouTube videos. When she has to turn something in, she farms it out as a hypothetical to university students she only occasionally supervises. It was interesting to read this because my initial instinct was to be very annoyed and frustrated with Marisa. Just do your job, I thought, it's not such a big deal! What's fulfilling about watching YouTube videos all day? But then again, what's so fulfilling about creating brand campaigns all day? After a while I went along with it, looked to see where Marisa took me, thought about all the people I've worked with who didn't seem to know how to do their job or care about doing it well and how easily Marisa is able to blend in.
The next thing that bothered me about Marisa is that she doesn't seem to want anything. Ok if she wasn't going to do her job, then what was it that she would do instead? But again, I shifted on this over time. How can anyone want anything when the whole system is so soulless and bland, so repetitive? How can you enjoy getting away when you always know you have to come back?
That corporate ennui permeates the book, leaking into every sentence. The novel itself does move, building into more absurdity in the final act. It really got in my head, surprising me with how much I ended up enjoying it after I had such strong negative reactions to Marisa. A smart novel for sure, I'm excited to see what is next from Serrano....more
This book gets a strong A grade for the way it holds you in a place of eerie confusion for much of its length. That kept me reading, because for a gooThis book gets a strong A grade for the way it holds you in a place of eerie confusion for much of its length. That kept me reading, because for a good 70% or so of the book you gain only a few pieces of the puzzle, not enough to really put it all together. The double timelines do excellent work with pacing and giving you real story to grab on to in the historical story to make up for the small breadcrumbs of the modern story.
Sadly, as many horror/gothic novels do, it crumbles in the final third. The explanations are too complex and there's an inevitable letdown when a book sets up this much of a mood of mystery. As we go, the historical characters in particular become less interesting and more caricatures. Only noble or only evil, not much room for anything in between. Somehow the end is both too fast and too long.
But the Venuses are certainly compelling, worth a strange and twisty story for sure. Though it's a bit odd for a story that hinges so much on murder, this book has so little of it. (For the prudish, there is also virtually no sex even though it's a book about sex workers.)...more
Wanted to like this but as soon as the robots entered the story it went way downhill. Sci-fi doesn't need to be hard SFF for me to like it, but I do hWanted to like this but as soon as the robots entered the story it went way downhill. Sci-fi doesn't need to be hard SFF for me to like it, but I do have to feel like I'm in a world where there is some logic, some way for me to understand this place and time. But it's unclear how this mission to Mars was supposed to work, why it was the way it was, and what any of it was for. Without some kind of incentive or motive, then it's just a story of 3 people running away. It can be that metaphorically, but we still need some kind of tension or conflict there.
The robots are a similar problem. I never understood how these robots were supposed to work. They are, we are told, not working as designed. Which begs the question, what is that? What is the way they're supposed to work? How is this different? The robots sound and act like humans in almost every respect, except for their actual physical bodies. It's unclear why or how they could lie or have feelings. Without a base to work from, the robots being abnormal for us is just normal.
I know this is short, but I don't think you need more pages to make this world work. I never felt like the author had the answers to these questions, that they just liked this particular setup and wanted to run with it without taking a lot of time to worry about the broader questions. And while that may work for some readers, it didn't work for me....more
As I started I kept trying to figure out what this book was. "What are you doing, Dan Chaon?" I thought to myself. And even though I've finished it anAs I started I kept trying to figure out what this book was. "What are you doing, Dan Chaon?" I thought to myself. And even though I've finished it and had some days to consider, I still don't have a good answer to this question. I hesitate to call it Horror or Surrealism, I hesitate to give it any genre classification at all. I don't think Chaon is working within the boundaries of genre even if he freely veers into it. It doesn't have a straightforward linear narrative, but it doesn't subvert narrative structure. It has stakes, and on paper the stakes are quite high, and yet much of the plot of being pursued can feel irrelevant much of the time.
I've been reading Dan Chaon for so long I can't remember when I started. When I read his 2017 novel ILL WILL everything changed. Did I miss it in his earlier books? Was this sinister darkness lurking there all along and I missed it? I'm still not sure. But I know that ever since then I have approached Chaon expecting, well, anything. His last novel, SLEEPWALK, delivered in that respect. It was one of the most bizarre and spectacular books I've ever encountered. With ONE OF US, he now embraces the bizarre at full tilt, bringing us into the world of a carnival freak show of the early 20th century.
This novel takes many of its influences so deeply that you will probably not have a single surprise as you read the author's note at the end. The most obvious ones are both films: Night of the Hunter and Freaks. Smash those two together and you have a good chunk of this book.
The book meanders, concerned above all with the question of who are the twins Eleanor and Bolt. Who are they to each other? Who are they to the rest of society? And once they have their new lives in this carnival, how do these two seemingly-normal teenagers fit in a group defined by its abnormality? The book is at its best once we get about halfway through, when Eleanor and Bolt take some space from each other for the first time. Separate, now we get to see them as individuals trying to define themselves. Bolt, who attempts to fit in, and Eleanor, who is determined not to. I loved prickly, mean Eleanor constantly reading the deeply saccharine Pollyanna, one of the best touches of contradiction.
Just like it isn't really horror, I don't think it's really a novel of found family or one of belonging. These themes surface for a while but then they sink back down into the depths of the novel's unpredictable ocean, along with many others. Eventually I stopped waiting for answers to questions, for any kind of resolution. Eventually I just sat back and surrendered and said, "Okay, Dan Chaon, hit me." Which is truly the best way to read it....more
When I read a novella, I want it to hit me hard with a particular flavor or feeling. A mood, as they say. This novella absolutely does that and the feWhen I read a novella, I want it to hit me hard with a particular flavor or feeling. A mood, as they say. This novella absolutely does that and the feeling is Delightful.
That isn't to say that bad things don't happen, that there isn't a big plot with big stakes, but that there is always something jaunty, something hopeful, the idea that you are never too far from a potential appearance from the perfectly depicted fox of the cover.
I do not read a lot of Fantasy, it can feel like work to me to have to learn an entire world from the ground up. Cahill makes a world that is both simple and elaborate, where necessary explanations are given but much of it just exists in the background. All you really need to get is the basic gist of how gods function in this world, and you effectively get that in just the first few pages. We don't need Nesi's entire backstory, we just need enough to throw us headfirst into the fray and that is what we get.
I have a couple minor notes. I wanted to have a bit of a better idea of who Nesi was, I could never quite get a feel for her beyond Protagonist. And I could have used like more Fox in the very early parts of the book, before we have to go without them for a while. The book is best when I'm anticipating them, wondering what they will do. Once we have the fully formed Fox, we always want more and happily we get plenty.
One of my friends wrote this book. And I fully admit that that is why I read it. But I also would like to note for the record that it is TERRIBLE when one of your friends writes a book because then what if you do not like it??? You can give your friend a vague positive reaction, but you cannot then come to your book reviewing site and lie. It is a huge risk, and happily this time it was a huge relief that I had such a nice time with it....more
This never became a cohesive whole for me, but I enjoyed myself enough that I didn't mind. Mostly I wished it was 100 pages longer, especially so we cThis never became a cohesive whole for me, but I enjoyed myself enough that I didn't mind. Mostly I wished it was 100 pages longer, especially so we could get more about Monique and January. It's a little bit two novels smushed together--Danielle and Desiree's sister relationship deserves a novel all its own, separate from the one here that's more about friendship--and sometimes I found the movement back and forth through time more distracting than enriching. But it's worth getting past these quibbles to enjoy the richness of the novel.
The world these women inhabit feels lived in and relatable, there's a lot about class that is really rich and interesting. There's so much about expectations--the ones your family has for you, the ones you have for yourself, the ones your friends have--and deciding to accept them or subvert them.
It isn't as political as you'd expect given the time period, though I liked the chapter about Nakia's salons for political discussion a lot.
Again, the structure holds you back a little from really connecting here as much as I would like. It's a tapestry of a novel. Or rather, it's a patchwork quilt, all these separate pieces spun together, with repeating patterns and themes. That can work well and it can feel disjointed and this is both, I think. It's not what I was expecting to come next from Flournoy, but I read it very quickly and she is still the kind of writer where no matter what you think about the book, you can feel that you are in good hands the whole time you read it....more
2.5 stars. On paper had a lot to like, but in execution didn't do anything for me. Sometimes I like PI novels more than traditional procedurals, but t2.5 stars. On paper had a lot to like, but in execution didn't do anything for me. Sometimes I like PI novels more than traditional procedurals, but this time it was very much a case of walk around and talk to people, conversation after conversation, all leading up to an ending that was not at all believable. I was bored a third of the way through, my own fault for not ditching it then....more
Just want to note that audio is NOT the way to go on this. (Although it's the reason I know that Slough rhymes with House instead of Slow.) There's a Just want to note that audio is NOT the way to go on this. (Although it's the reason I know that Slough rhymes with House instead of Slow.) There's a whole lot of characters and constantly switching perspectives but the audiobook doesn't make this easy to follow at all. Made it hard to get absorbed into it as well. ...more
3.5 stars. I can already tell this is going to be one of those reviews where I enjoyed the book but everything I say is a criticism. Apologies to this3.5 stars. I can already tell this is going to be one of those reviews where I enjoyed the book but everything I say is a criticism. Apologies to this book.
Its greatest strength is also a weakness. There is a playfulness to the perspective and structure that makes it a real page turner in the first section where you're not exactly sure who our narrator is and why they care about this story. That continues through much of the book as you wonder how does this person know these things? How much of this is invented and how much certain? But it all crumples in the last section where the mind games go mostly off the page. If this were a more traditional novel, the ending would be perfection. But this version loses much of its luster at the end, when our narrator throws omniscience out the window. This is true to the characters and it makes a lot of sense for the device. But the key to playing with form and structure this way is to find ways to pull the rug out while not pulling the wheels off and it didn't get there for me.
Honestly, the thing that kept bugging me even while I tore through this book was that I found Simone and Ethan both really annoying. Their marriage baffled me. (This makes sense within the gimmick but again it doesn't work so well for the reader.) I can understand why everyone finds Simone so enthralling. But why is she so devoted to Ethan? Why does anyone like this man? And the more Simone was devoted to Ethan the less I liked Simone. (What kind of person writes a novel about something that happened to his wife? And what kind of wife tells him he can write about her like that? And all of this AFTER the wife has already written a successful book about the same thing from her own point of view? Weird.) I admit I am a pessimist. I believe most marriages are not all that happy after the first few years. I absolutely did not believe that Simone and Ethan were still hot for each other nearly 20 years in. I simply could not suspend my own disbelief. And yes, this may be a me problem, but I'm not convinced it's only a me problem.
Structurally there is a lot to like. Once you have the birds eye view of the whole story it has a nice symmetry to it. And the device has a lot to recommend it. But I think it could have gone back to the drawing board, found some way to make it tighter, found a way to make the ending really hit the way it should.
And that, really, is it. That while I enjoyed this book, there is the potential here for a really, really great book and I'm a little sad that we didn't get that one. ...more
A time loop story for fans of Japanese puzzle mysteries. This one takes some time to get going, you have to be ready for a lot of up front info dumpinA time loop story for fans of Japanese puzzle mysteries. This one takes some time to get going, you have to be ready for a lot of up front info dumping. But the device of the time loop itself is different than usual and Nishizawa is doing some fun things with it. (Including a clever twist that I totally did not see coming.) This is not exactly a cozy mystery, I would say it's more of a farce. Lots of characters moving in and out of scenes, doing things they are or are not supposed to do, props that should be in one place but end up in another. Certainly on the lighter side.
Once you know who everyone is and are settled this is more fun but it does take its time getting there. And, as is often the case, there is some weirdness for American readers about Japanese culture. (It's a little hard for me to tell what is garden variety misogyny in a book that is nearly 30 years old and what is cultural norms, but there are age gaps and relationships between cousins that are treated as normal.)...more