zenzi2read's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Sexual assault
sjj169's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars.
Pepper has entered the mental institute. No real reason why. He is not insane. Well not much. He was taking up for his sometime girlfriend against her ex-husband and assaulted 3 plainclothes cops. He is supposed to be confined for 72 hours. Yeah right.
These characters are so fully described that I felt like I was right there with them. Shut up. I know it's the nut house. Dorry! I have a thing for old broads and this one was spectacular!
I kinda think she might be me in a few years. Back off me dudes.
Pepper realizes there is much more going on in the nut house after he is almost killed one night by the resident devil. People go missing in this place and its always deemed a suicide. The devil is there.
In the mist dark figures move and twist," Pepper said to her. "Was all this for real or some kind of hell?"
Ms Chris put one hand on her hip. "That from the Bible?"
"That's Iron Maiden," Pepper said.
This is horror but not in your face scariness. It terrified me how easy it is to be inhaled into the system and no one knows where you are.
The book does have a time period where the story does get draggy but I enjoyed the heck out of it. I probably laughed at times I should not have. But well it's me we are talking about.
If you haven't caused a scene in a psych unit, it's just because you haven't been inside long enough. Rock on Ms. Dorry.
Pepper has entered the mental institute. No real reason why. He is not insane. Well not much. He was taking up for his sometime girlfriend against her ex-husband and assaulted 3 plainclothes cops. He is supposed to be confined for 72 hours. Yeah right.
These characters are so fully described that I felt like I was right there with them. Shut up. I know it's the nut house. Dorry! I have a thing for old broads and this one was spectacular!
I kinda think she might be me in a few years. Back off me dudes.
Pepper realizes there is much more going on in the nut house after he is almost killed one night by the resident devil. People go missing in this place and its always deemed a suicide. The devil is there.
In the mist dark figures move and twist," Pepper said to her. "Was all this for real or some kind of hell?"
Ms Chris put one hand on her hip. "That from the Bible?"
"That's Iron Maiden," Pepper said.
This is horror but not in your face scariness. It terrified me how easy it is to be inhaled into the system and no one knows where you are.
The book does have a time period where the story does get draggy but I enjoyed the heck out of it. I probably laughed at times I should not have. But well it's me we are talking about.
If you haven't caused a scene in a psych unit, it's just because you haven't been inside long enough. Rock on Ms. Dorry.
some_okie_dude27's review
The best advice that I've gotten as a journalist is that good journalism, at its peak, should piss you off. As I've mulled over this advice in my head, I've realized that good literature should also have the same effect. Or, as someone else has told me, good literature should make you feel something. I think it would be safe to say that The Devil in Silver is not just a great horror-fantasy-whatever the hell it's supposed to be novel, it qualifies as good literature.
As someone who's already made a point of railing against the way we treat incarcerated individuals along with how we treat people with mental illness, this book gave me a lot of catharsis. Yet at the same time, I was left utterly enraged at the fact that people are treated like this in our actual society and that LaValle was using a fictional lens to explore the topic. I was expecting a book where the mentally ill were treated badly, and we do get a lot of that. But what I wasn't expecting was the negligence, banal cruelty, and utter indifference that is shown in this book.
LaValle doesn't hold back, and the theme of institutionalization runs strong throughout this novel. It is often sad, and the characters are often left to their own devices by people who either don't care about them, or try to help them but are unable to because of the godawful funding that their hospital gets. But surprisingly, The Devil in Silver has a lot of heart and is tender and funny with an eye for the absurd. There's one moment that's etched into my brain where our main character Pepper gets into a fight with one of the other patients over the shitty payphone in their hospital wing. It's moments like those that makes The Devil in Silver truly special.
LaValle's prose is smooth and erudite. I was reminded of Stephen King when reading this, as while LaValle lacks King's tendency to go on tangents he shares King's talent for creating vivid characters and allowing them to drive the story rather than the other way around. All of the characters who LaValle introduces are all memorable, with their own quirks and deficiencies that make them human and make us sympathize with their plight. LaValle wisely never preaches his message, he knows the characters' plight is enough to get what he wants to say across.
The Devil in Silver is a novel that defies genre. It's a supernatural horror-fantasy-social satire-protest novel. But once again, what kept me invested in the story was the character drama and the story's investment in developing these characters as they deal with this unusual and often surreal situation. It was often the case that the character drama superseded the supernatural elements, and it would have worked just as well if it were a purely realist novel. But the supernatural elements are light, and gives a new sense of mystique to the novel at hand.
Ultimately, the story is a slight retelling of the Theseus and the Minotaur story, with the mental hospital becoming the labyrinth to the mental patients who are trapped within its walls, with no way out. But alongside such works like The Shawshank Redemption, the humanity within the people who find themselves in this situation gives the story much needed levity and hope, and I wouldn't have any other way.
Along with The Ballad of Black Tom, Victor LaValle has quickly climbed his way into becoming one of horror fiction's most promising talents, and I intend to keep an eye on him as long as he continues to churn out such wonderful content like this.
bobbyclark's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-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
3.25
wearyreader's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
4.0
testosteronipizza's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
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
4.25
real_life_reading's review against another edition
1.0
Life is too short and this book was going nowhere.
alchamp's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
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
4.75
karawhipple's review against another edition
I genuinely have no idea if I liked this
litwrite's review against another edition
3.0
Despite being billed as 'literary horror' not really sure this fits into the horror genre. Still thinking about it. Will write more when the dust settles.
A week later and I'm still not sure what to think about this novel. It was intriguing and interesting, but I'm not altogether sure that I really enjoyed it all that much. LaValle is obviously a very talented writer and I will for sure be checking out some of his other works, but I think perhaps I entered into this novel with the wrong mindset. I was waiting for the horror to come through but really this wasn't so much a straight up 'supernatural' horror that takes place in an asylum (Such as the 2nd season of American Horror Story) and more an indictment of the medical institutions that exist to care for mental illness a la the very excellent Titicut Follies.
I liked the unreliability of the narrators and the 'are they or are they not really insane?' aspect of the novel and its protagonists and felt LaValle handled it really well and it made the novel all the more intriguing but then I do feel he also goes on to undermine himself somewhat with some deus ex machina moments which just throw it back towards the supernatural and left me going 'huh?'
A bit jumbled for me so not a whole hearted endorsement, but definitely caught my attention enough that I would read other books by the author.
A week later and I'm still not sure what to think about this novel. It was intriguing and interesting, but I'm not altogether sure that I really enjoyed it all that much. LaValle is obviously a very talented writer and I will for sure be checking out some of his other works, but I think perhaps I entered into this novel with the wrong mindset. I was waiting for the horror to come through but really this wasn't so much a straight up 'supernatural' horror that takes place in an asylum (Such as the 2nd season of American Horror Story) and more an indictment of the medical institutions that exist to care for mental illness a la the very excellent Titicut Follies.
I liked the unreliability of the narrators and the 'are they or are they not really insane?' aspect of the novel and its protagonists and felt LaValle handled it really well and it made the novel all the more intriguing but then I do feel he also goes on to undermine himself somewhat with some deus ex machina moments which just throw it back towards the supernatural and left me going 'huh?'
A bit jumbled for me so not a whole hearted endorsement, but definitely caught my attention enough that I would read other books by the author.