Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Devil House by John Darnielle

16 reviews

poops_harding's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This gave me a lot to think about. I never quite knew what to expect

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stiltowl's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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

4.5

I've struggled to read for years. I've reread The Secret History and Darnielle's Master Of Reality at some points but apart from those, I don't think I've read a new to me novel for about 9 years?
But I read this! I couldn't put it down sometimes! It's amazing! I'm going to have to sit with it some more as there's some things that happened towards the end which changed my perspective - but this is just fantastic. Wolf In White Van is one of my favourite novels of all time and this is nearly as good.

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doctadri44's review against another edition

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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


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kthealey's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense 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

4.5


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cinnamonsweetpotatofries's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Not horror but not bad. Decent writing. 

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jo_schmo's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5


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criticalgayze's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Merriam-Webster defines stewardship as "the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially : the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care."

Sorry to start this off like an essay, but it's what a book like this deserves.

Stewardship is really what is at the heart of a book. What does it mean to take care of something? A child, a piece of land, (maybe most especially) a story? Even more specifically, a story you have not been trusted to tell but rather named yourself the teller of.

Throughout the book, Gage Chandler wrestles with this moral quandary. How do you tend to something that may or may not be considered "yours?" Is there a healthy way to do such a thing, or is there only the best way you know how? Are you allowed to do such a thing, and once you've made the choice to do it anyway, what is the best way to validate or redeem your choice?

This book is art. The book is beautiful the whole way throughout, but when Darnielle inverts the reader's understanding in the last 15 pages, it becomes elevated to the realm of the truly spectacular.

Do yourself a favor and read this book.

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loveallthis's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.0


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elsebeok's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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

3.0


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zw_books's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0


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