Hi all, I recently wrote a review for this lovely book (which I will link below, full disclosure & all that, if anyone wants to read it) but I’d love to discuss it on here as well and get everyones opinions!
I was absolutely blown away by how subtly heart wrenching this book is. The writing is nothing short of brilliant and both Miri and Leah felt like substantial, fully fleshed out characters. The plot is original and enticing and it’s one of my favorite books this year.
I know some people thought the pace was too slow, but I thought the slow pace worked well for the story; the insights into both their minds & thoughts make you feel like silent observers, just watching it all play out. Did you feel the pace took away from the horror or added to it? Would a faster pace have taken away from that connection to the characters? (I’d argue it would have, and taken away from the horror of it)
I wouldn’t classify it as horror per say, and I know people went into it expecting deep sea horror (as did I) but I was pleasantly surprised with it, even if it wasn’t what I was expecting. What did you think, did you love it? Hate it? Why? And what did you think of the ending? Too vague or just right? (While there were some ideas that could have been expanded on more, I do believe that some novels aren’t meant to be looked at too closely, and that’s what makes them so brilliant)
If you had to pick a song that you feel is the musical counterpart of the book, which one would it be? I wrote about the song Morning Pages by The Japanese House & how it relates to the novel, but which one would you choose? Why?
Here’s my review if you’d like to check it out: https://hauntingthestaircase.substack.com/p/a-novel-and-a-song-iii?utm_medium=reader2
by Available-Proposal81
2 Comments
I didn’t have a problem with the pace necessarily. However it was incredibly repetitive and there were missed opportunities to expand on some of the eerier parts of the story.
The pace was excruciating for me. It felt like it would have been a good short story but was padded out to novel length with not enough plot to justify that.
I think another thing that alienated me was the character who has no ambitions and no apparent source of income who just kind of drifts through life watching TV and going to cafes and remembering things. Put me into too much of a mind that this was an authorial self insert of someone who doesn’t need to do anything resembling real work for a living.