I have a…complicated relationship with the horror genre. For most of my life, I avoided it entirely, more afraid of the fear and uncertainty that would come as a result of the scary thing than the scary thing itself. But I loved those books and movies that existed right on the edge of horror–Frankenstein and Dracula were just creepy enough to satisfy my desire for something mildly frightening, but weren’t so scary that I found it difficult to sleep at night. Through the Woods is something different. […]
Enter at your own risk.
I struggled with this rating and review. House of Leaves is different things to different people: for many (many, many, MANY) people it is mind-blowing, complex, and a richly rewarding treat if you take the time to completely parse it. This is not a small undertaking. Entire sections are printed like this — or this — and the visual impact of coming across pages like that — intended, obviously, to draw the reader into the mindset of the characters — is daunting. There are oodles […]
Clown disquiet
I bought this monster of a book quite a while ago and finally decided to get my act together and read it on my two week holiday. I have read some of Stephen King’s books before and really enjoyed his writing style, especially Carrie. I would cautiously label his style ‘intellectual horror’. It did not disappoint. Clown disquiet aside, the idea that It could take on the shape of any of the children’s fears was fascinating. I loved the line drawn between adult and child […]
“What if Heaven is real, but only in moments?”
I don’t really even know how to begin to review this book. This was one of those books where I finished the last page and wanted to cry because it was over and I’m never going to find out what happened to these characters and the world they live in. But I’m also happy that this was the first David Mitchell book I’ve ever read and now I have a bunch more to read. But I’m also afraid for the characters and for humanity. Basically, this is […]