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bumble_abi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
'The void is all there is. You gleam for a moment as you fall. You wink out in the black.'
Raised by her father in a strange, crooked house, Iris grows up believing her family is afflicted by a terrible disease, Horror Autoxicus, brought on by strong feelings. Cautioned to live carefully, Iris struggles to keep her hands off Tom the stable boy, and off her father's medical texts, and hurtles through her childhood to eventually discover she's been lied to all her life. There is no hereditary disease - but she soon learns that this does not mean there is no inheritance.
Ward's debut sits a little apart from her other works - this novel is dense, sprawling and gothic in the most traditional sense. The quality of her prose really shines here - the imagery is vivid and at times unexpected but always appropriate and evocative. Hopping between chronologies and first-person perspectives, each voice is distinct, telling us something about the speaker in the diction and sentence construction even before the narrative is accounted for.
This is doubtless the most difficult of Ward's novels - it feels old-school, trusts the reader with a lot, and I immensely enjoyed unravelling the yarn. That said, it isn't perfect, sometimes indulging in too much backstory, I think for the sake of tension, but at the expense of relevance. It leaves me wondering exactly what its thesis was, but this is more because it requires a little critical reflection, rather than because it lacks a thesis at all. It's certainly interested in the scientific ego and in medical abuse, but I think at its centre it's about the intertwining of love and cruelty, and what this says of love. It's about choosing how to get hurt, Orpheus turning, the narrow line between embrace and straitjacket.
I thought I was left wanting more of an explanation at the end, but as I write this I'm cognisant of all the thoughts this provoked, so maybe I didn't actually want that after all. Hard recommend for fans of really good ghost stories, steer clear if you're after a quick thrill.
Raised by her father in a strange, crooked house, Iris grows up believing her family is afflicted by a terrible disease, Horror Autoxicus, brought on by strong feelings. Cautioned to live carefully, Iris struggles to keep her hands off Tom the stable boy, and off her father's medical texts, and hurtles through her childhood to eventually discover she's been lied to all her life. There is no hereditary disease - but she soon learns that this does not mean there is no inheritance.
Ward's debut sits a little apart from her other works - this novel is dense, sprawling and gothic in the most traditional sense. The quality of her prose really shines here - the imagery is vivid and at times unexpected but always appropriate and evocative. Hopping between chronologies and first-person perspectives, each voice is distinct, telling us something about the speaker in the diction and sentence construction even before the narrative is accounted for.
This is doubtless the most difficult of Ward's novels - it feels old-school, trusts the reader with a lot, and I immensely enjoyed unravelling the yarn. That said, it isn't perfect, sometimes indulging in too much backstory, I think for the sake of tension, but at the expense of relevance. It leaves me wondering exactly what its thesis was, but this is more because it requires a little critical reflection, rather than because it lacks a thesis at all. It's certainly interested in the scientific ego and in medical abuse, but I think at its centre it's about the intertwining of love and cruelty, and what this says of love. It's about choosing how to get hurt, Orpheus turning, the narrow line between embrace and straitjacket.
I thought I was left wanting more of an explanation at the end, but as I write this I'm cognisant of all the thoughts this provoked, so maybe I didn't actually want that after all. Hard recommend for fans of really good ghost stories, steer clear if you're after a quick thrill.
katiebeth80's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
madsthemads's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
garbgini's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
thecozyintrovert's review against another edition
Literally, what was even happening in this book? I made it to page 120 and was sick of having to google every freaking chapter to piece together what was happening. I loved the last house on needless street, so I thought I would love this one. Alas....
squamp's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sandygx260's review against another edition
1.0
What a boring, pretentious, tedious slog of a novel. The gothic horror aspect comes from the lovingly-detailed violence committed against a young woman.
Yep, this is one of those books where people give it five stars because they think gooblygook translates into literature. Anyone who compares this to the light-years superior The Turn of the Screw has a screw lose in their head... or has never read said book.
Yep, this is one of those books where people give it five stars because they think gooblygook translates into literature. Anyone who compares this to the light-years superior The Turn of the Screw has a screw lose in their head... or has never read said book.