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A review by obsidian_blue
The Doll's House by Lisa Unger
5.0
A wonderful new short story by Lisa Unger. I thought it was really well done and very very creepy. Perfect for reading during Halloween. Full review to come.
Full review: So I swear, Unger does well with her short stories, I find her long-form stuff hit or miss though. This was a definite hit for me though. "The Doll's House" follows Jules and her teen daughter, Scout (that name....sigh). Jules is a widow and struggled for years after the early death of her husband, who was a successful novelist. When Jules meets Kirin (seriously, these names) she gets swept off her feet and feels taken care of, for the first time in her life. However, something dark seems to be going on in Kirin's home and Scout does not trust him.
I liked the slow reveals that Unger does with both Jules and Scout. Both mother and daughter are hiding a fair bit and it helps with the ever feeling of dread that builds throughout the short story. Kirin feels very blank to me at times, but I think that was by design. The other characters we get, the driver, Kirin's assistant, the kids at Scout's school, were very well developed. This whole story gave me a dark Halloween ABC Special that I would have watched as a pre-teen.
The flow was great and the setting of the home and grounds was too. We get some technology bursts here and there that feel very Black Mirror at times I thought.
The ending was great. I guessed already at some of the things, but there was one twist I didn't see coming.
Full review: So I swear, Unger does well with her short stories, I find her long-form stuff hit or miss though. This was a definite hit for me though. "The Doll's House" follows Jules and her teen daughter, Scout (that name....sigh). Jules is a widow and struggled for years after the early death of her husband, who was a successful novelist. When Jules meets Kirin (seriously, these names) she gets swept off her feet and feels taken care of, for the first time in her life. However, something dark seems to be going on in Kirin's home and Scout does not trust him.
I liked the slow reveals that Unger does with both Jules and Scout. Both mother and daughter are hiding a fair bit and it helps with the ever feeling of dread that builds throughout the short story. Kirin feels very blank to me at times, but I think that was by design. The other characters we get, the driver, Kirin's assistant, the kids at Scout's school, were very well developed. This whole story gave me a dark Halloween ABC Special that I would have watched as a pre-teen.
The flow was great and the setting of the home and grounds was too. We get some technology bursts here and there that feel very Black Mirror at times I thought.
The ending was great. I guessed already at some of the things, but there was one twist I didn't see coming.