Samantha Hunt

A contemporary gothic from an author in the company of Kelly Link and Aimee Bender, "Mr. Splitfoot"tracks two women Ruth (a scam-artist foster kid), and, decades later, Cora (her pregnant niece) as they march, each in her own time, toward a mysterious reckoning."

Mr. Splitfoot

Daryl Houston

The start was a little slow on this one for me, but it turned into such a disturbing and evocative book that I didn't want to put it down once I got well into it. Hunt writes pretty poetically, but not distractingly so -- it's just right for what she's doing here. I read this one pretty quickly on the heels of reading another of hers, and gosh will I ever keep reading more.

Leafling

4.5

Mr. Splitfoot was an incredible read that kept delivering beautifully thought out strangeness. This is a perfect book for #weirdathon in March, if you're looking for potential reads. If you dig cults or Carl Sagan at all, read this. I continue to think about this wildly original story, and I'm now kind of obsessed with Samantha Hunt.

Some highlights from my video chat/review with Shaina Reads:

Shaina: There’s a cult. There’s some weird magical realism. And it’s a love story.
Julianne: Sort of.
Shaina: Sort of. And there’s like weird sci-fi elements.

Julianne: I don’t even know how to begin explaining why this book is good. Like it seems impossible to put into words.
Shaina: I mean it’s impossible to put into words partially I think because a lot of the words we use would be very big spoilers.
Julianne: Yeah.
Shaina: But it just draws you in and you’re really - I mean you don’t know what’s going on but you’re kind of happy to not know what’s going on. You’re happy to like go along for the ride.
Julianne: You know that it will be revealed. You know you’re not going to be let down, because there’s too much random weird shit going on. You’re like ok this is going to connect in some way and I really want to see what she’s going to do with it. Ya gotta have faith. 


Full review with video: Outlandish Lit

Alianor Chapman

Stark Koenig

Meghan Todd

Chiara Malaspina di Orezzoli

Nat and Ruth are young orphans, living in a crowded foster home run by an eccentric religious fanatic. When a traveling con-man comes knocking, they see their chance to escape and join him on the road, proclaiming they can channel the dead - for a price, of course Decades later, in a different time and place, Cora is too clever for her office job, too scared of her abysmal lover to cope with her unplanned pregnancy, and she too is looking for a way out. So when her mute Aunt Ruth pays her an unexpected visit, apparently on a mysterious mission, she decides to join her. Together the two women set out on foot, on a strange and unforgettable odyssey across the state of New York. Where is Ruth taking them? Where has she been? And who - or what - has she hidden in the woods at the end of the road? Ingenious, infectious, subversive and strange, Mr Splitfoot will take you on a journey you will not regret - and will never forget.

Mr. Splitfoot

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