- Edition
- ISBN 9780374212230
Reviews
A book called the ‘Devil House’ and it’s not a horror novel.
I am kinda mad because I work at the library and I checked this book out to a patron and said, “Oh, I am reading this book too!” and he said, “How are you liking it?” I replied, “I am about half way through and I am enjoying it thus far!” Now the patron is going to come back and try to talk to me about it and I will have to say, “I didn’t get it.” I don’t like that.
This is the kind of book you read and you don’t think it’s scary until you have to get up in the middle of the night and then all of a sudden you absolutely cannot stand being in the dark. A slower paced read about the true crime genre that really made me think about my participation in horror and crime culture generally.
i went into it not knowing that to expect and it still wasn't anything i could've expected. it gets a bit convoluted at times, like trying to keep hold of a thread that goes everywhere, but it was a new reading experience i enjoyed; really made me think about the things you can do with The Craft, the experiments and risks you can take.
This is not a Horror book…at all!
What a strange and wonderful book. Highly recommend starting with the author's Wolf in White Van to get a feel of how he writes. And highly recommend listening to the audiobook read by the author himself.
I'll probably come back to this review to expand thoughts but -
I found Devil House to be surprising. I'm not one for true crime and I think a lot of this book helps me describe why. Also a refreshing use of the physical format.
Anyway, it's the only book I've ever finished that made me go "wait, what?" and immediately start it again.
Devil House hit emotional peaks for me at a few different points that left me uncertain about when the next turn would be.
In the end the story was surprisingly caring, thoroughly human, and only mildly stomach-turning.
I don’t fuck with the Mountain Goats and this novel proves why
DNF at 56% I saw the other reviews and tried my best to keep at it but this is where I end my journey with this book. This is a complex tale of of a true crime writer who after writing a few books, comes upon the less known story of "The Devil House', which I'm sorry to say isn't as spine-tingling as it sounds. Rather, this book is about the narrator trying to do justice to the story of what really happened at Devil House by writing the truth in as much as truth can be written about something that happened a long time ago. It's meta, it's a great idea but unfortunately I didn't resonate with the story at all. There were times where I was lost because there is no set format to the book. It tells multiple stories, including one about "The White Witch" which is about the narrator's first book. This is actually an interesting story. But the main story about Devil House is long and boring. I'm sure there are others who will find it interesting and will love it but it just wasn't me. To me, the entire book was lost in clunky writing and shifting formats. Thanks to Netgalley and Scribe UK for the e-arc.
Highlights
It was a dark miracle of forgetfulness, a gift of near-erasure. There are few such gifts in a world like ours.
My mother is a prophet of ruin.
For every iconic pair of murderer's eyes staring blankly into a police photographer's lens, there are unremembered dead in small towns across the country going back centuries.
I think of the candle maker who wants to be king. I try to let him at least hold the keys to the castle in his hand, even if he never gains entry.