Stepheny's Reviews > The Willows

This book was my first adventure with what is classified as Weird Fiction. This is said to be the book that influenced the great H.P. Lovecraft as well... Given that I have not yet read any Lovecraft, I thought I would start with the book that influenced him.

And boy am I glad that I did! This book was awesome! Now, I know what you are thinking..."It's so awesome, yet you only rated this a 3?!" Yes... This is why there should be .5 ratings offered. It isn't quite a 4 but is better than a 3 so, once again, I am wasting valuable time explaining that this is a 3.5....

The Willows was incredibly creepy...and yes, weird. This is a great late-night book that will send chills down your spine and make you glad that you are in the comfort of your nice cozy bed, smothered in blankets with a kitty in your lap.... It definitely made me look at willows in a whole new light...*shudders*

The thing that brings this rating down is the fact that it left a little too much to the imagination.. I think a couple things could have been explained in more detail... The way the story is told gives the reader only one person's assumptions/conclusions of what is actually happening... I guess it is meant to be that way so that the reader is just as perplexed as the main character... but I think that a further explanation would have really bumped this rating up for me...

I still recommend this book to readers...fans of Weird Fiction/Horror/Fantasy or any combination thereof... It is an awesome LATE NIGHT READ .... I strongly recommend reading this by firelight at camp for the truly brave...