I’ll start this off by saying that this is the first novel of Straub’s that I’ve read, so I wasn’t sure what to expected going into it. After the shocking and tragic death of her daughter Kate, Julia decides to leave her husband and purchases a beautiful house to start her next chapter. Julia almost instantly sees a girl that bears a startling resemblance to Kate. Things seem to be out of sorts in Julia’s new home, heaters turning themselves back on, lamps breaking, etc. Is Julia losing her mind, is her vengeful ex-husband causing trouble for her, or is it something supernatural?
Julia reads as a sort of stereotypical haunted house novel. Julia experiences things, but she doubts herself and others are skeptical. The pacing was pretty slow and honestly it became a bit of a slog to power through this one and get to the finish. I want to give Straub a second chance, so if you a novel of his to recommend please let me know. At the end of the day, this one just didn’t do for me.

Julia is my second Peter Straub's book. I'd previously read Shadowland which I loved but this one was a bit disappointing. The beginning was promising, the first half of the book quite interesting but then it started to get more and more boring and confusing.

Finally I was happy to finish the book.

Maybe because it’s early Straub’s novel and not every writer does his or her best from the beginning. Anyway I look forward to read other Straub’s books.

If you like atmospheric, character driven tales such as films like Repulsion then you will like Julia. This books is all about character and atmosphere and it delivers managing to be subtle but creepily effective. This is not a book where anything big or climactic happens but there is a heavy sense of foreboding that pulls you along. Definitely a great read.

A little dense in places, but good stuff. Neat slow-burn, investigative gothic horror. Didn’t see the twist coming (though it was obvious in retrospect, which is my favorite kind), and a good “descent into madness” thread throughout

The first half is so scary that I couldn't stand to read it on the subway by myself; the second half went off in a less satisfying direction that left me feeling a little unfulfilled.

Klimatyczne "ghost story" z nad wyraz pobudzającą wyobraźnie narracją, ale dość sztampową fabułą i niezwykle rozczarowującym finałem. Poza tytułową "Julią", masa bohaterów wydaje mi się niesamowicie irytująca, nosząca w sobie jakieś nieuzasadnione pretensje do głównej bohaterki, tudzież snująca się bez celu po kartach tej powieści. Niektóre wątki znajdują tu dość dziwaczne zakończenie, przy czym większości z nich nie spina satysfakcjonująca puenta.

Jednak, mimo wszystko jest to dobry horror, z kilkoma naprawdę przyprawiającymi o ciarki momentami. Nic odkrywczego, nic szczególnie zaskakującego. Po prostu, klasyczna, choć chwilami niepokojąca, opowieść o duchach.