readingwithhippos's review against another edition
4.0
It’s October—time to scare the pants off ourselves!
I have been planning my creepy fall reading list for several weeks now. As soon as the daytime temperatures start flirting with the 60s (even if they boing back up like they’re attached to a bungee cord a few days later), it’s like an alarm goes off in my head. For some people, that alarm signals pumpkin spice time, but for me it means I start inhaling all the scary shit I can get my hands on.
First up: The Devil in Silver. I have wanted to read Victor LaValle for a long time now, but as someone who is A) squeamish about gore and violence, and B) liable to spiral into depression if the subject matter gets TOO dark, I couldn’t quite get up the nerve to dip my toe in the water. His most recent novel, [b:The Changeling|31147267|The Changeling|Victor LaValle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1492886432s/31147267.jpg|51777682], made a huge splash when it came out in June, but after reading the synopsis and trigger warning-laden reviews, I knew I couldn’t hang. But I refused to be denied entry into the Victor LaValle fan club, so I delved into his back catalog to see if there was something for a reader like me. As soon as I saw the comparisons to [b:One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest|332613|One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest|Ken Kesey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1173825614s/332613.jpg|2100252], I knew The Devil in Silver was the one.
The comparisons make sense, even though LaValle’s characters themselves talk about the Kesey novel and disdain it (I’ll let you read the book to find out why). LaValle’s novel takes place in a psychiatric wing of a hospital and centers around a new admit who doesn’t fit in and stirs things up among the other patients. Pepper, in many ways the quintessential blue-collar man’s man, is brought to the hospital by cops who know he isn’t in need of mental health services, but due to some bureaucratic nonsense, it’s easier for them to drop him off there and end their long shifts rather than take him to booking. The assumption is that Pepper will be evaluated, found to be cognitively normal, and released after 72 hours, but LaValle shows that being on the ward is enough to make even a sane person crazy, whether he started that way or not.
It doesn’t bode well for Pepper’s odds of getting released that a monster stalks the ward at night. He’s seen it, and even though he doesn’t want to get too close to anyone inside—after all, he’s not one of them—he’s pretty sure some of the other patients know what the thing is. The staff, when questioned, pretend they don’t know what he’s talking about, and an entire hallway with a reinforced door at the end is off-limits to patients. Whatever’s down that hall, it isn’t friendly.
This story starts out pretty creepy with all the talk of monsters and the not-knowing what’s on the loose at night, but midway it takes a turn and becomes scary in an entirely different, more existential way. Turns out, exhausted and disillusioned medical professionals are actually a whole lot scarier than things that go bump in the night.
I’m glad I can now legitimately count myself one of LaValle’s fans.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
I have been planning my creepy fall reading list for several weeks now. As soon as the daytime temperatures start flirting with the 60s (even if they boing back up like they’re attached to a bungee cord a few days later), it’s like an alarm goes off in my head. For some people, that alarm signals pumpkin spice time, but for me it means I start inhaling all the scary shit I can get my hands on.
First up: The Devil in Silver. I have wanted to read Victor LaValle for a long time now, but as someone who is A) squeamish about gore and violence, and B) liable to spiral into depression if the subject matter gets TOO dark, I couldn’t quite get up the nerve to dip my toe in the water. His most recent novel, [b:The Changeling|31147267|The Changeling|Victor LaValle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1492886432s/31147267.jpg|51777682], made a huge splash when it came out in June, but after reading the synopsis and trigger warning-laden reviews, I knew I couldn’t hang. But I refused to be denied entry into the Victor LaValle fan club, so I delved into his back catalog to see if there was something for a reader like me. As soon as I saw the comparisons to [b:One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest|332613|One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest|Ken Kesey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1173825614s/332613.jpg|2100252], I knew The Devil in Silver was the one.
The comparisons make sense, even though LaValle’s characters themselves talk about the Kesey novel and disdain it (I’ll let you read the book to find out why). LaValle’s novel takes place in a psychiatric wing of a hospital and centers around a new admit who doesn’t fit in and stirs things up among the other patients. Pepper, in many ways the quintessential blue-collar man’s man, is brought to the hospital by cops who know he isn’t in need of mental health services, but due to some bureaucratic nonsense, it’s easier for them to drop him off there and end their long shifts rather than take him to booking. The assumption is that Pepper will be evaluated, found to be cognitively normal, and released after 72 hours, but LaValle shows that being on the ward is enough to make even a sane person crazy, whether he started that way or not.
It doesn’t bode well for Pepper’s odds of getting released that a monster stalks the ward at night. He’s seen it, and even though he doesn’t want to get too close to anyone inside—after all, he’s not one of them—he’s pretty sure some of the other patients know what the thing is. The staff, when questioned, pretend they don’t know what he’s talking about, and an entire hallway with a reinforced door at the end is off-limits to patients. Whatever’s down that hall, it isn’t friendly.
This story starts out pretty creepy with all the talk of monsters and the not-knowing what’s on the loose at night, but midway it takes a turn and becomes scary in an entirely different, more existential way. Turns out, exhausted and disillusioned medical professionals are actually a whole lot scarier than things that go bump in the night.
I’m glad I can now legitimately count myself one of LaValle’s fans.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
dsloboda's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mafaichney's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
torgiepie's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I really enjoyed this up until the last like third of the book. After that it dragged on and went on so many side tangents it was almost not worth finishing it.
bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
2.0
In an afterword, the author explains that he wrote the book while working fulltime as a teacher and caring for a baby at home. He used two hour sessions at a coffee shop to finish it, which explains a lot. There may be a good book in there, but it's hidden in a mess of jumbled plot lines, heavy-handed and simplistic criticism of the mental health care system, a strange narrative voice, and uneven pacing.
The story takes place at a psychiatric hospital with the worst staff and patients ever. Now, ever since I saw One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as a kid (why was I allowed to see that?) I've disliked mental institutions as settings in novels. The staff is always evil, the patients are mistreated and it's boring as hell. LaValle paints the same picture. The daily routine is what you'd expect in a psych unit - incredibly dull. The protagonist is heavily medicated most of the time. To have a monster roam the corridors doesn't really add any suspense, as you're hoping it will devour the patients just to break the monotony.
The story takes place at a psychiatric hospital with the worst staff and patients ever. Now, ever since I saw One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as a kid (why was I allowed to see that?) I've disliked mental institutions as settings in novels. The staff is always evil, the patients are mistreated and it's boring as hell. LaValle paints the same picture. The daily routine is what you'd expect in a psych unit - incredibly dull. The protagonist is heavily medicated most of the time. To have a monster roam the corridors doesn't really add any suspense, as you're hoping it will devour the patients just to break the monotony.
jomama78's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-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
jazatlast's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A good one. Not what you think about when you think of horror but very good. The characters came alive and I felt like I knew them. The only reason I didn’t give this a 5 is because of some the storylines were wrapped to nicely. But there’s a lot of other mess to muck it up. Read this one if you liked One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest.
ghill22's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75