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A review by justinkhchen
In the House in the Dark of the Woods by Laird Hunt
4.0
4 stars
A fairy tale-structured narrative set in colonial New England, with witches; the best way to approach In the House in the Dark of the Woods is to follow along without over-analyzing it (at least through the first reading), you will likely be disoriented and unsure what's the intent of it all (as I was), but slowly and surely you'll get used to its boundless logic and the recurrence of imagery and event will gradually layer up to something much more substantial.
Comparison to Lewis Carrol's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is totally appropriate, as I would also consider this to be an entry in the literary nonsense genre. While the story is plenty enjoyable on the surface level, as an out-of-this-world fantasy adventure with a historical bent, there lies a deeper, more mature undercurrent throughout; I picked up references to mental illness, societal treatment to women at the time, and the first-settlers hardship on unfamiliar land.
This is yet again another book for which I would highly recommend the audio version, as Laird Hunt's sing-song writing style really comes alive when delivered through a narrator. Which, I should also add, is a nice echo to how fairy tales were kept relevant in the first place, through word of mouth passing down from generation to generation.
Written and structured like a traditional bedtime story, but with a darker subject matter; In the House in the Dark of the Woods is a memorizing blend of child-like fantasy and mature horror, one that I will return to in constant dosage.
A fairy tale-structured narrative set in colonial New England, with witches; the best way to approach In the House in the Dark of the Woods is to follow along without over-analyzing it (at least through the first reading), you will likely be disoriented and unsure what's the intent of it all (as I was), but slowly and surely you'll get used to its boundless logic and the recurrence of imagery and event will gradually layer up to something much more substantial.
Comparison to Lewis Carrol's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is totally appropriate, as I would also consider this to be an entry in the literary nonsense genre. While the story is plenty enjoyable on the surface level, as an out-of-this-world fantasy adventure with a historical bent, there lies a deeper, more mature undercurrent throughout; I picked up references to mental illness, societal treatment to women at the time, and the first-settlers hardship on unfamiliar land.
This is yet again another book for which I would highly recommend the audio version, as Laird Hunt's sing-song writing style really comes alive when delivered through a narrator. Which, I should also add, is a nice echo to how fairy tales were kept relevant in the first place, through word of mouth passing down from generation to generation.
Written and structured like a traditional bedtime story, but with a darker subject matter; In the House in the Dark of the Woods is a memorizing blend of child-like fantasy and mature horror, one that I will return to in constant dosage.