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teresatumminello's review against another edition
5.0
I’d been thinking of reading Oyeyemi for a while now, though I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get around to her. I’m glad I did. Her writing ticks off certain boxes for me, or maybe just one specific box: great prose with storytelling that combines fairytale tropes with an almost-[a:Shirley Jackson|13388|Shirley Jackson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1550251468p2/13388.jpg] feel.
The Silver family’s matriarchal house in Dover is one of the first-person narrators. I didn’t think of it while reading, but its relationship to Miranda is reminiscent of the antagonistic, destiny-laden relationship of the evil patriarchal house to Eleanor in [b:The Haunting of Hill House|89717|The Haunting of Hill House|Shirley Jackson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327871336l/89717._SY75_.jpg|3627]: Both houses are spaces of oppression. While reading, I did think of the host-hostage theory from the essay by Rebecca Million in [b:Shirley Jackson|57886522|Shirley Jackson|Woofter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1619644621l/57886522._SY75_.jpg|90685102], though here it’s not of the mother-role, but concerning Luc, the father of Miranda and her twin brother Eliot. The Cambridge section of the novel should’ve reminded me of [b:Hangsaman|131177|Hangsaman|Shirley Jackson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1302734503l/131177._SY75_.jpg|1825944], but only did after the fact. Instead, while reading it, I thought of [a:Penelope Fitzgerald|3222|Penelope Fitzgerald|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1425224738p2/3222.jpg]’s [b:The Gate of Angels|838196|The Gate of Angels|Penelope Fitzgerald|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348834549l/838196._SY75_.jpg|851626].
Eliot is another first-person narrator, and his reliability and the house’s are both called into question at least once when one of them has to be lying. Luc—not a Silver (and French)—operates a bed-and-breakfast in the ancestral house his wife Lily inherited. The house doesn’t seem to want Luc there. It certainly doesn’t want the guests and employees who are not English and not white to stay there.
As for the fairytales, there’s no specific story I was reminded of, though Hansel and Gretel are mentioned once in reference to the twins. They’re finished with the local school and it’s time for them to leave the family home—or not. There are all-season apples (shades of Snow White). There’s an entity Miranda calls the goodlady; her friend Ore, of Nigerian descent, sees it as a soucouyant.
I have theories about the questions I was left with, especially regarding Lily and the power the house had over her, despite her being different from her mother and grandmother. Lily is not a focus of the book, but is a focus of the twins, especially Miranda, who has inherited her mother’s eating disorder: What else has Miranda inherited that she has no power over?
The Silver family’s matriarchal house in Dover is one of the first-person narrators. I didn’t think of it while reading, but its relationship to Miranda is reminiscent of the antagonistic, destiny-laden relationship of the evil patriarchal house to Eleanor in [b:The Haunting of Hill House|89717|The Haunting of Hill House|Shirley Jackson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327871336l/89717._SY75_.jpg|3627]: Both houses are spaces of oppression. While reading, I did think of the host-hostage theory from the essay by Rebecca Million in [b:Shirley Jackson|57886522|Shirley Jackson|Woofter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1619644621l/57886522._SY75_.jpg|90685102], though here it’s not of the mother-role, but concerning Luc, the father of Miranda and her twin brother Eliot. The Cambridge section of the novel should’ve reminded me of [b:Hangsaman|131177|Hangsaman|Shirley Jackson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1302734503l/131177._SY75_.jpg|1825944], but only did after the fact. Instead, while reading it, I thought of [a:Penelope Fitzgerald|3222|Penelope Fitzgerald|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1425224738p2/3222.jpg]’s [b:The Gate of Angels|838196|The Gate of Angels|Penelope Fitzgerald|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348834549l/838196._SY75_.jpg|851626].
Eliot is another first-person narrator, and his reliability and the house’s are both called into question at least once when one of them has to be lying. Luc—not a Silver (and French)—operates a bed-and-breakfast in the ancestral house his wife Lily inherited. The house doesn’t seem to want Luc there. It certainly doesn’t want the guests and employees who are not English and not white to stay there.
As for the fairytales, there’s no specific story I was reminded of, though Hansel and Gretel are mentioned once in reference to the twins. They’re finished with the local school and it’s time for them to leave the family home—or not. There are all-season apples (shades of Snow White). There’s an entity Miranda calls the goodlady; her friend Ore, of Nigerian descent, sees it as a soucouyant.
I have theories about the questions I was left with, especially regarding Lily and the power the house had over her, despite her being different from her mother and grandmother. Lily is not a focus of the book, but is a focus of the twins, especially Miranda, who has inherited her mother’s eating disorder: What else has Miranda inherited that she has no power over?
lanternheart's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
msmagoo502's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
dietsmarrissjohnson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
vaguely_pink's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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
3.75
Normally I’m a big proponent of going into books blind, especially horror. But this is one I think would benefit from a little pre-reading to fully appreciate the themes.
And although it did add to the fever dream experience that is White is for Witching, I would recommend not reading the majority of it in the several days immediately following a major surgery. Like I did.
But damn, do I love a sentient house.
(Also, heeeeavy trigger warning for ED on this one.)
And although it did add to the fever dream experience that is White is for Witching, I would recommend not reading the majority of it in the several days immediately following a major surgery. Like I did.
But damn, do I love a sentient house.
(Also, heeeeavy trigger warning for ED on this one.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
franceschs's review against another edition
some passages fucking owned, others left some to be desired. i think it should've been a novella.
russejenn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
2.0
I think I just didn’t get it. I felt confused most of the time I was reading this, and not in a good way. The second I put this book down, I’d completely forget what I had read. Something about it just would not stick in my brain. And I’m not really sure what the point of it all was. Sure, the house is racist. But what does the rest of it mean?
gabagoolgari's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
amaliachimera's review against another edition
3.0
I forgot that I somehow got an uncorrected proof of this years ago, before it was released and before I was even on goodreads, and I honestly cannot figure out how that happened???