Review: The Haunting of Hill House

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I'm a total horror pussy. Generally, I have awful nightmares whenever I read horror fiction or watch scary movies. The Haunting of Hill House, while an excellent read, did not freak me out. It's just not that frightening. Mostly, it reminded me of old black-and-white horror movies with beautiful sets and photography, but limited special effects and old-fashioned acting. Which was kind of sweet, actually. Overall, it has the not-so-terrifying power of a Victorian seance, where the scariest thing is unexplained knocking under the table.

The real draw here is the descriptions, which are lovely and evocative, and the dialogue, which is sharp, imaginative, and surprising. There is palpable atmosphere throughout the book, and the off-kilter Hill House itself is the creepiest character. The dialogue sings with scathing modern charm, and helps build the wonderfully realized personalities of the characters.

Yes, the main arc, a descent into madness, is exceedingly well-done, but beyond some basic spooky noises and possibly-imagined bloody bits in the book's midsection, the promise of true terror goes unfulfilled. I was left wishing for a vastly more entertaining finale.

Jackson is a fantastic, fabulous writer, and I admired many of her turns of phrase and techniques of revelation throughout, as well as her excellent character development and humor. But I never got more frightened than mere nervousness in the middle, and that tense anticipation fizzled by the end. Really, it's more of an achingly sad story about loneliness than a tale of terror, and that's terrific, but not what I was led to expect.



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Review: Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama

Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama by Alison Bechdel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I'm a huge fan of Bechdel's previous graphic memoir, FUN HOME, which centers around her closeted father and the ornate family house where Bechdel grew up. I've read it several times, always moved and impressed by its narrative and visual power, and always finding new angles of interest with each reread. Her new graphic memoir, ARE YOU MY MOTHER?, obviously centers around her mother this go-around. And while it's brilliantly drawn and certainly an impressive psychological and intellectual achievement, I wasn't as engaged with its narrative.

First of all, ARE YOU MY MOTHER? is much more meta (even with characters referring to it as a meta-book within the pages) and it may have suffered for that. It's analyzed and distanced, with overlaying therapy, commentary, criticism, and self-consciousness that mostly reads as rather intrusive voice-over. It's more of a psychological exploration mystery than a storytelling narrative, and sometimes reads as a self-help guide rather than narrative non-fiction. Oddly for a graphic memoir, it actually takes the old adage of "show don't tell" and turns it around so completely that it takes "telling" to new heights, despite the presence of wonderfully evocative illustrations. I began to resent the intellectual overlays that seemed to interrupt the narrative, and even though all the psychological exploration and analysis was interesting and smart, I kept feeling that it should have been submerged more into the story itself rather than layered on top of the narrative like meta-commentary.

Still, it's an enlightening book, with some deep-rooted personal and universal issues being tackled. Perhaps if I was more interested in nakedly-presented psychoanalysis, I would have been more engaged and affected, but I prefer my narrative to stay in story as much as possible, and I ultimately found the meta-commentary intrusive and even off-putting. Rather than reading a story, it felt more like I was listening to someone's therapy sessions and dreams, and those are conversation killers. Don't tell me your problems -- tell me your STORY.

The illustrations are gorgeous and touching throughout, with many poignant moments evoked through simple expressions and silent poses. I just wish everything had been subsumed within the narrative and not been quite so analyzed and deconstructed.

However, it WILL make you consider your own mother in fascinating and unsettling ways, so prepare for that!



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Review: Seven Princes

Seven Princes by John R. Fultz

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I'm not exactly sure what happened with this book -- despite some decently engaging magical scenes, overall this was a tedious read. The characters were fine; a bit stereotypical, but well-formed enough for basic fantasy. And the backstory of the fantasy world was adequately drawn. It should have been more fun to read than it was. A big problem was the descriptions. While the language was vivid and often elegant, there was also just too much of it, sometimes without a strong point-of-view, so that I just got bored by the pure narrative evocation of place and history. Mainly, though, I think the problem was in the pacing, especially the construction of the chapters. There were definitely great chapter endings, with cool and interesting scenes coming nicely to an exciting head -- but then the beginning of the next chapter seemed to always start with a chunk of flat narrative description, and I was kept feeling put off from starting it up again. Sometimes it's better to avoid ending a chapter with climax and instead trail off into some denouement while seeding interest in the upcoming scene. Or end with cliffhangers instead of resolved scenes. That's my stab at explaining why reading this book was such a slog. It shouldn't have been. Good stuff was going on . . . but not consistently.



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