By David Mitchell
Synopsis
Every nine years, someone is lured to Slade House, and death is sure to follow. You, the reader, are helpless to watch as each character you grow attached to fails to escape the clever trap laid specifically for their demise. What is causing this? How are these people chosen? Is humanity about how many experiences you can acquire? Or is humanity about empathy and the transcendence of love through time? Perhaps both. Maybe neither.
~But legends and stories are as full of dirty tricks as life is~
Slade house, david mitchell
Do I Recommend This Book?
Tentatively, yes. It was an interesting read and definitely gothic horror.
~I’m trembling with anger. I know anger when I feel it. Anger’s an easy one, it’s like being a boiling kettle~
slade house, david mitchell
Review
To begin, I have been incredibly busy with school and haven’t had much time for reading, but I’ve finally finished this book. It was a bit of gothic horror with an emphasis on the scientific nature of the supernatural? I didn’t quite understand the reasoning that the author gives for this novel to take place. Nor was I able to follow the ending, as everything seemed to rely on the idea that the reader has previous innate knowledge of the workings of this magic system. The story also felt repetitive, and while I understand that is the nature of the story, it doesn’t detract from the constant dissatisfaction I felt at the end of every chapter. The themes of this story are difficult for me to figure out, but this could be due to the long breaks between readings. The biggest theme appears to be the idea that some are willing to allow others to suffer to benefit themselves. The twins manipulated and tormented the people that they killed with little remorse. In fact, it appears they found pleasure in taunting their victims before they took their lives. Another theme was the innate desire for human connection. Each individual ended up at Slade House because they were lacking some sort of emotional connection. The first little boy felt that no one could understand or relate to him. The police officer felt bitter loneliness from his divorce. The first sister felt abandoned by her family with no friends to account for. And finally, the second sister followed the trail of her dead sister, hoping against hope that she would be able to find her. To change the subject a little, I felt that the last chapter took a left turn and started pushing the idea of veganism on to the reader. The twins continually maintaining that they couldn’t have been monsters due to the fact that they ate to provide sustenance for survival felt a bit on the nose for me. I may be the only reader to find this an issue, but the parallels are quite clear. I won’t end this review on a bad note, because honestly, the book was alright. I found the two sisters’ parallel storylines hauntingly beautiful, with the power of love transcending time.
I hope you enjoyed this review, and have a wonderful day. Find the sunshine.
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