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A review by mspilesofpaper
A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A House With Good Bones is one of T. Kingfisher's horror novels and I still feel conflicted about it. A+ narrator though!
The following review will likely contain spoilers.
Sam is an archeo-entomologist (someone who examines bugs at archaeological sites) who returns to her childhood home in North Carolina after her brother's worried mentions that "mom is acting weirdly". Well, and after the planned dig was paused due to human remains from Native Americans that required proper handling. Slowly we learn about the family, their dynamics and their past. Bit by bit Sam notices what's odd with the house, the neighbourhood and with her mother. There's the change of wallpaper colours from bright and unusual ones to ecru and all kinds of off-white/eggshell white. The return of the racist painting that Sam's grandmother had above the fireplace (despite mentions of grandma saying several times that she isn't racist, of course). Her mother's change in behaviour from being carefree to nervous and taking up habits that Sam associates with her grandmother (saying Grace, ...). Well, and vultures circling the house in increasing numbers.
The horror aspect unfolds very slowly and it is the psychological, gothic-like horror that is common with Southern settings. It cumulates into the last part of the book (~9 chapters before the end) where it gets really freaky, bizarre and utterly creepy. I tend to listen to audiobooks while doing daily errands and at work when the work is the monotone kind and throughout the book, I had several Wtf? moments but the last part ... damn. Partly, I stared at my Excel spreadsheets while being absorbed in the story (and freaked out, tbh). Aside from the psychological aspect, the horror plays a lot with unexplained phenomena and magic, but also with insect horror.
Sam is a great character; she's in her early 30s (which is common for Kingfisher's characters), has a plus-size figure, has likely ADHD and is utterly sarcastic but also very scholarly. She tries to find a logical, science-like explanation for what is happening despite also realising that science won't help her.
TWs & CWs
insect horrors, sleep paralysis, violence against insects, racism (mentions of the KKK), fatphobia, alcohol consumption, soft gore/mentions of cannibalism (in the last chapters)
The following review will likely contain spoilers.
Sam is an archeo-entomologist (someone who examines bugs at archaeological sites) who returns to her childhood home in North Carolina after her brother's worried mentions that "mom is acting weirdly". Well, and after the planned dig was paused due to human remains from Native Americans that required proper handling. Slowly we learn about the family, their dynamics and their past. Bit by bit Sam notices what's odd with the house, the neighbourhood and with her mother. There's the change of wallpaper colours from bright and unusual ones to ecru and all kinds of off-white/eggshell white. The return of the racist painting that Sam's grandmother had above the fireplace (despite mentions of grandma saying several times that she isn't racist, of course). Her mother's change in behaviour from being carefree to nervous and taking up habits that Sam associates with her grandmother (saying Grace, ...). Well, and vultures circling the house in increasing numbers.
The horror aspect unfolds very slowly and it is the psychological, gothic-like horror that is common with Southern settings. It cumulates into the last part of the book (~9 chapters before the end) where it gets really freaky, bizarre and utterly creepy. I tend to listen to audiobooks while doing daily errands and at work when the work is the monotone kind and throughout the book, I had several Wtf? moments but the last part ... damn. Partly, I stared at my Excel spreadsheets while being absorbed in the story (and freaked out, tbh). Aside from the psychological aspect, the horror plays a lot with unexplained phenomena and magic, but also with insect horror.
Sam is a great character; she's in her early 30s (which is common for Kingfisher's characters), has a plus-size figure, has likely ADHD and is utterly sarcastic but also very scholarly. She tries to find a logical, science-like explanation for what is happening despite also realising that science won't help her.
TWs & CWs
insect horrors, sleep paralysis, violence against insects, racism (mentions of the KKK), fatphobia, alcohol consumption, soft gore/mentions of cannibalism (in the last chapters)