Reviews

Devil House by John Darnielle

aemowers's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

doctadri44's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

smithmick14's review against another edition

the best thing that i can say about this book and indeed the best thing i can say about Darnielle's music as/with The Mountain Goats (i won't go into that obsession tangent here) is that, more than most creators he truly /gets/ what it is to be a teenager. he writes about the interstitial places that we haunt before we are fully formed personalities. this book was really an exploration of that theme as well as the ability to form fear-mongering narratives around situations that are ultimately more deserving of a human empathy than anything else.

i definitely went into this book with an impression that it would be more horror-based but in true tMG fashion Darnielle is able to take a theme that immediately invokes some quick satanic panic and flip it on its head so that you realize kids spray painting on an overpass or breaking bottles in an alley are ultimately looking for self expression and trying to become realized and self-perceived more than they are going out of their way to scare middle Americans.

this was a really beautiful piece on letting people really be people and understanding that sometimes that means having some papier-mache rough edges meant to scare the squares.

cwalsh's review against another edition

2.0

But can we talk about that medieval interlude for a sec...

dangerdog's review against another edition

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

4.0

spooky347's review against another edition

Boring, full of itself, & doesn’t make much sense. I was a fan of one section which in my opinion is well written but the rest of it… is a drag…

lifepluspreston's review against another edition

2.0

Devil House by John Darnielle--Grounded fictional true crime is the best descriptor I've got for this book. The story follows a successful true crime writer who is on the hunt for his next story. In some parts, the book is stream of consciousness, in others it's a hard-hitting depiction (and critique) of true crime journalism. In those respects, it's a tough read. But the book is also so interested in creating the appearance of a "real book" that I think Darnielle loses the forest in favor of some distinct trees. Frustratingly, though there's a lot of potential here, I didn't enjoy the experience, and am glad to have something else to do on this beautiful Saturday. Thumbs down.

mcleary's review against another edition

3.0

The parts are better than the whole. Ultimately somewhat unsatisfying as a novel.

rahn's review against another edition

5.0

This book is really about trying to understand and process trauma. I think this book will miss the mark for those who don't have that kind of background. Even for those that do it still takes a while to build into the really good insights. But this too is like the trauma journey. Long and stuck on early details before anything starts to emerge.

rensparks's review against another edition

2.0

I felt the exact same vibes reading this as i did reading Universal Harvester. which should’ve made this a five star read except for the fact that it made me so confused that i’m giving it a 2. which seems harsh, but the structure is so odd i could hardly follow what was happening and there are so many (seemingly pointless??) side tangents i was not a fan of.

maybe one day once i regenerate my brain cells, i would consider re-reading PARTS this for the vibes.