I blame Charles Dickens for the death of my father. Thus begins a story written in somewhat Dickensian prose, which is part tribute, part parody, and part modern take on the gothic governess & haunted house tropes. The problem is that it tries to be too many things at once.

I do believe this is supposed to be a parody of the governess story. Eliza, with her focus on her own plain appearance, her tendency to moon over any kind and somewhat attractive man, and her obstinate refusal to yield to warning signs, is an obvious play on Jane Eyre and her ilk. Still, it's all too subtle for my taste. I prefer the more obvious style of [b:My Plain Jane|36301023|My Plain Jane (The Lady Janies, #2)|Cynthia Hand|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1507936746l/36301023._SY75_.jpg|51943406].

Eliza's take on the events around her is decidedly modern -- agnostic and almost bordering on feminist -- but without full commitment. For instance, when the headmistress at her former place of employment suggests that a mathematically talented student might become a bank manager's secretary, Eliza wonders why the girl couldn't actually be the bank manager, but then pretends that the comment was a joke when the headmistress accuses her of being "a modern."

The best part, for me, is the actual ghost story. Strange events begin to occur as soon as Eliza arrives at Gaudlin Hall and, despite the reticence of the local townsfolk, she finds out that she's the sixth governess in a year. This House is indeed Haunted, but Eliza must figure out by whom and why and attempt to save her young charges and herself, all while the adultier adults (she's a very young 21) around her claim that events are perfectly explainable OR in Eliza's imagination.

Overall, it's a fun Spooktober read, but not outstanding, and definitely not as good at the other two (much diffferent) John Boyne novels I've read ([b:The Heart's Invisible Furies|33253215|The Heart's Invisible Furies|John Boyne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490803456l/33253215._SY75_.jpg|51438471] and [b:A Ladder to the Sky|40400269|A Ladder to the Sky|John Boyne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532629758l/40400269._SY75_.jpg|61272155]).

Who is this book for??
The rambling, unwieldy prose is juvenile; it lacks any sense of confidence in its PoV. The dialogue is completely dry and inauthentic; it never feels like someone is speaking, more like a writer is trying to convey information. The characters are flat cardboard cutouts imitating life, traits and personality that feel pointless and tacked on. It doesn't feel like a book for adults, and yet it tries to handle adult subjects. It feels like watching someone fumble uselessly with tools they don't understand how to use. Everything in it is stale.

I received this book for free for the purpose of reviewing it.

This book was astoundingly... okay. At points better, at a lot of points worse. It's unfortunate, as I had been looking forward to this book and hoping for a nice, good ghost story, but that isn't really what we got.

The best part of the book was that, for the most part, Boyne did a fairly good job with the time period. The language, for the most part, did a pretty good job at keeping with the period, and some of the mannerisms as well. There were a few smaller details that didn't sit right, but for the most part it seemed fairly well researched. However, he definitely spent a bit too much time emphasizing the political climate of the period. I am well aware that women were much less respected in 1867 than were their male counterparts: you do not need to have your protagonist re-emphasize this as often as she did. To an extent it played a role in the novel, but often an unnecessary one.

That was just thing that was repeated far too often.

The most irritating thing that was recurring in the novel was everyone else's surprise about the protagonist's ignorance of events. It was constant that she would express confusion or ask a question only to be met with, 'what do you mean you don't know?' The fact that this essentially boiled down to saying, 'why don't you know this fact about a year-and-a-half old scandal, that everyone refuses to talk about, from a town you've never even been to before?' The amount of times people just expected her to know things (and often refusing themselves to tell her anything) was greatly annoying. Also, I found some of the people's responses to her, the house, and the story a little ridiculous. Those closest to the events of that night were one thing, but people suddenly refusing to be friendly with her and ignoring her? There was no reason for it.

Then again, there were a fair few moments of flawed logic in the cast-- or just in the writing.

The children, I admit, were interesting, but they were also weirdly de-emphasized in the story. I feel like the novel could have fulfilled its potential more fully had the author actually used the children to his advantage.

And occasionally the horror stepped away from 'creepy' and into 'ridiculous.' There were some genuinely good moments, some genuinely good atmosphere, but there were also times where I felt like the scene belonged in... I don't know, a YA fantasy novel at best, not a horror novel. For instance,

Spoiler

when she is thrown out of the window, then back in again. Then out of it again and then in again

. It wasn't scary, it just sounded stupid. The same went for a large part of the ending-- it didn't feel like a horror story at all.

That said, I did like one element of the ending and the writing, as I said, did have some good qualities to it. I didn't like this book, not really, but it wasn't terrible either.

Mostly, it felt like Boyne was totally out of his element.

This House is Haunted is set in 1867, when Eliza Caine takes the post of governess at Gaudlin Hall. She should have suspected something was not quite right when she learned that the advert for the job was placed by the previous governess, not the master of the house. And that the other woman is so keen to hightail it out of there, she literally passes Eliza on the train platform on her way back to London.

In the tradition of all the best ghost stories, as soon as Eliza tells anyone where she works they look shifty and quickly change the subject. The house is huge, gothic, and very creepy. It appears to run without any servants and there is no sign of any other adult - just two very strange young children. What happened to the five other governesses before her? And why does she get the impression that someone really, really doesn't want her there?

I absolutely loved this book. It's brilliantly written, in the style of a traditional Victorian ghost story, but ever-so-slightly tongue-in-cheek. I adored Eliza, particularly her dry sense of humour and her ability to stand up to all those (male) authority figures who try to tell her she's imagining things when she tells them, 'This house is haunted'.

If you've read a lot ghost stories it won't be too hard to work out how it all ends, but it didn't spoil my enjoyment. Recommended, particularly to fans of Susan Hill and stories such as The Woman in Black. One of my favourite books this year!

A good old fashioned Gothic ghost story. The plot points are familiar...a young governess, creepy children, a great old house in the English countryside, mysterious deaths..all make for a page turning fun read.

This House is Haunted is not my usual kind of read. I tend to like my books a little more.. gruesome.
The year is 1837, and 21 year old Eliza Caine takes on a job as a governess after the sudden death of her father. However, upon arriving at Gaudlin Hall, she notices a distinct lack of adults. The children, Isabella and Eustace, are strange children and their parents are nowhere to be seen. Add to that the malevolent spirit that seems to despise Eliza, and you have a chilling tale, perfect for a winter night (unfortunately I read it in Spring - but the night WAS a little chilly!).
I found this book to be very atmospheric, in the same vein as Jamaica Inn. I admire Boyne as an author due to his wide range of characters and time periods - I certainly look forward to reading more of his work.

I like John Boyne's writing but you would think by now I would know that horror doesn't float my boat.

Después de haber disfrutado y admirado The Heart's Invisible Furies, este libro fue una decepción. En alguna parte ví que debe ser leído como una parodia a las novelas góticas. Quizás eso explique su exterioridad y frialdad. Pero a pesar de las obvias alusiones literarias, sobre todo a Jane Eyre y a Una vuelta de tuerca, esta novelita más bien parece referirse al cine berreta de horror, incluyendo ciertas descripciones grotescas y el final, que es típico de una película. Si quiso que se lo filmaran, Boyne se equivocó, pues en el 2013, cuando publicó esta novela, se estrenaba una película bastante buena con una premisa parecida. En el género de terror busco sobre todo comentarios morales y sociales; esta novela es ccompletamente hueca y desprovista de sentimientos pero tiene muy buen ritmo.

Boyne's This House is Haunted delivers on the premise of a "Dickensian ghost story," leaning heavily on predecessors like Henry James's [b:The Turn of the Screw|12948|The Turn of the Screw|Henry James|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567172392l/12948._SY75_.jpg|990886] and the use of straightforward metaphors. Those familiar with the genre, setting, and character tropes will find this novel predictable. I found myself guessing what was happening well before the protagonist, almost to a detrimental degree, with me waiting for the story to get on with it, and the underutilization of characters in certain places made the story more predictable.

From a technical standpoint, the book is well-written, and I still enjoyed it. Will I recommend it to friends, or remember it later in life? Probably not--but it kept me busy during a particularly stressful work day, and I have to thank it for that.

I'm not going to lie, though--the opening line made me wish for some strange murder mystery with a ghost dashed in. Charles Dickens as a potential murderer and the impending investigation is something someone should capitalize on.