Reviews

Your House Is on Fire, Your Children All Gone: A Novel by Stefan Kiesbye

audreychamaine's review against another edition

3.0

Your House is on Fire, Your Children All Gone is a strange little book. There is something very off about the town of Hemmersmoor, Germany. The community is small, insular. Neighboring towns avoid mixing with the Hemmersmoor folk, whispering that they are inbred and strange. Each chapter of this book tells a grim story from Hemmersmoor, told from the points-of-view of four children as they come of age.

There’s something really unsettling about the very dry way Kiesbye narrates each story. You are lured into thinking that the events are mundane, until something shocking happens. However, horrific events are told with the same quiet, flat tone as the rest of the tale, which I think can be a difficult skill to pull off in horror, but can also be very effective. We are shown a woman who is killed by a crowd of people, there is suggestion of cannibalism and inbreeding, and also infanticide. If you’re sensitive to that stuff, this won’t be the book for you. However, this is a great book for those who want a Teutonic read that gets under your skin and leaves you asking why. Very appropriate for this Halloween season.

cemills's review against another edition

3.0

I've heard this is really good and that the author is dubbed "the father of the German Gothic horror"... and I feel so bad for not really liking it! I just was not expecting that the novel was made up of individual stories. It was more a short story collection than a novel. I also think this is YET ANOTHER instance of me not understanding a novel completely. Is the end where the author talks about the abandoned village near Hemmersmoor an allusion to WWII? That being said, all of the stories were interesting and creepy and sick. Just not really my thing

lyrareadsbooks's review against another edition

5.0

This was a 4.5 and I may revise to a full 5 stars. There is a lot to love in this book. The author's use of language is heartbreakingly beautiful.

carrieannthelibrarian's review against another edition

2.0

What happened? We start off with a chapter about cannibalism and people's tongue's turning black and then we go off into chapter upon chapter of people being horrible to each other because I guess there's just nothing better to do.
I would give it 3 stars, but knocked one off for false advertising.

autumnnraynnn's review against another edition

4.0

Very good, but not 5 stars I wanted a little more creepiness

lmclar12's review against another edition

3.0

3 stars. This book was definitely weird and dark. It would make for a good atmospheric read during the fall/winter.

amycrea's review against another edition

4.0

4.5, actually. This one's not for the faint of heart, but if you're looking for an uber-creepy pre-Halloween read, this one's got chills in spade. Some supernatural--but many not, which only makes it creepier. And look long and hard at the cover if you have the book in your hands. There's something on it you can't see in a photo.

saralouise6125's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

everythingisfine24's review against another edition

4.0

This was a creepy little book. It's more a series of connected vignettes than a story, about this town in Germany with some nasty children (and adults) living in it. It takes a minute to get into, but definitely worth it.

peekaboostitches's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75