zoemaja's review against another edition
4.0
Creepy and interesting and beautifully written. It is hard to put down because the chapters are short and the story makes you so curious to see what comes next that I keep reading just one more chapter. It got even weirder by the end but I really liked it.
storyonlystory's review against another edition
4.0
A fantastical world, an undetermined time in history, and a lot of strange characters and happenings. There is really nothing at all in this story that isn't strange and that's what I ended up loving about it. The people in it are not only of a scary, magical world, they are also of a different culture - a place where there seems to be no norms, only the things people feel and want to do or feel compelled to do and so everyone is swept along by eachother until they find themselves in a crescendo of cathartic actions.
This little novel is planted solidly in magical realism territory. As such, I was fully prepared for an unresolved ending but things were tied up nicely (if you payed attention!) and the ending was prompt and meaningful. I can't stand long goodbyes and the author didn't make me endure one.
I'll certainly be picking up more books from this author in the future.
This little novel is planted solidly in magical realism territory. As such, I was fully prepared for an unresolved ending but things were tied up nicely (if you payed attention!) and the ending was prompt and meaningful. I can't stand long goodbyes and the author didn't make me endure one.
I'll certainly be picking up more books from this author in the future.
jenc5309's review against another edition
3.0
Very odd book. I wish I had read this in a more sustained style; I kept putting it down & picking it up much later. It was somewhat dreamy and it would have been more affecting to me to read it in one or two days.
snoakes7001's review against another edition
5.0
Undoubtedly the most peculiar book I've read in a while.
It's probably an allegory for something - how most of us are distanced from all the suffering in the world, powerless to help and our best intentions frequently make it worse. It's a fairy tale, and like the best fairy tales it has some dark corners. Recommended if you like something a bit "other".
It's probably an allegory for something - how most of us are distanced from all the suffering in the world, powerless to help and our best intentions frequently make it worse. It's a fairy tale, and like the best fairy tales it has some dark corners. Recommended if you like something a bit "other".
booksandbabble's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-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
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Body horror
dsullivan's review against another edition
2.0
This was definitely a gripping book. I picked it up around 9pm last night and didn't put it down until I finished it a little after midnight. It was creepy, morbid, and mysterious. I was waiting for the mystery to be resolved, but it never really was. The story felt like a huge allegory that was too obscure to grasp. The writing was vivid and flowed in the right measure, but the lack of a payoff in the end killed my enjoyment.
lovehina154's review against another edition
1.0
A very eerie weird book. The beginning made a lite sense but as the story progresses it just became confusing
Morgan is a disfigured recluse and kids start coming by and then the state comes and tried taking the children. Then Morgan starts to learn about what his foamy business is.
Morgan is a disfigured recluse and kids start coming by and then the state comes and tried taking the children. Then Morgan starts to learn about what his foamy business is.
fictionfan's review against another edition
5.0
Suffer the little children...
Morgan was a beautiful young man but a terrible incident has left him so horribly disfigured he can no longer face the world. So he stays holed up in the house his grandfather built while his sister runs the family business that keeps them both wealthy. The only person Morgan lets see him is his housekeeper, Engel. But one day Engel finds a baby left outside the house. The two of them agree not to tell the authorities and so the child becomes part of the household. Shortly after, another child arrives, then another, until before long there are seven of them... and more keep coming. No-one knows where they're coming from and the children never say, but Morgan is becoming convinced that these children have the power to appear and disappear at will. And soon it seems as if they've come for a purpose...
This book is brilliantly written. Mostly it's in the third person and past tense, though there is a first person section when Morgan tells the story of his past. It reads like a kind of corrupted fairytale, perhaps Beauty and the Beast, and reminded me strongly of Shirley Jackson's similar corruption of the old witch stories in We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Not because of any similarity in story, but because of the unsettling tone of horror lurking beneath a seemingly bright surface.
The children are unnaturally well-behaved, even the babies, and unlike adults can accept Morgan's disfigurement without being repulsed or pitying him. When one of the children becomes ill, the local doctor pays a visit and befriends Morgan, telling him a little of the world outside Morgan's walls. It's through this that the reader gets an indication that something terrible has happened to the world – something hugely destructive that has left people in fear and caused the rich to retreat behind heavily guarded walls.
I'm not going to say any more about the story since the not knowing is most of what creates the tension and rising apprehension. There are parts that are truly shocking and the writing is of such quality as to create some images that stay long after the last page has been turned. There are strong shades of John Wyndham here – I was reminded not only of the Midwich Cuckoos, but also of Chocky and The Chrysalids to a degree. Again, that's not to imply any lack of originality – Lambert takes similar themes as Wyndham but treats them quite differently. It's unclear whether these children's purpose is to do good or evil in the world – there is a driven amorality about them. They are here to do what they must do and that's all. Should they be loved? Or feared? Is it sci-fi? Horror? Fantasy? Lit-fic? Yes, to all of the above. It's the first book for a long time that has had me gasping aloud in shock...
Lambert does not tie it all up neatly in the end – he leaves it beautifully vague allowing the reader's imagination to fill in the blanks. As a result, I expect it will be a different story for each reader – I was very aware that I was 'writing' my own interpretation of events under the author's subtle guidance. After the horrors, is there any kind of redemption? Perhaps, perhaps not – it's one that left me pondering and I still haven't completely decided. Don't let the horrors or the sci-fi elements put you off. This is a great read that packs a lot into its relatively short length of 224 pages – one of the most imaginative and original books I've read in a while. Highly recommended – I shall be looking out for more from this author. 4½ stars for me, so rounded up.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Scribner.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Morgan was a beautiful young man but a terrible incident has left him so horribly disfigured he can no longer face the world. So he stays holed up in the house his grandfather built while his sister runs the family business that keeps them both wealthy. The only person Morgan lets see him is his housekeeper, Engel. But one day Engel finds a baby left outside the house. The two of them agree not to tell the authorities and so the child becomes part of the household. Shortly after, another child arrives, then another, until before long there are seven of them... and more keep coming. No-one knows where they're coming from and the children never say, but Morgan is becoming convinced that these children have the power to appear and disappear at will. And soon it seems as if they've come for a purpose...
This book is brilliantly written. Mostly it's in the third person and past tense, though there is a first person section when Morgan tells the story of his past. It reads like a kind of corrupted fairytale, perhaps Beauty and the Beast, and reminded me strongly of Shirley Jackson's similar corruption of the old witch stories in We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Not because of any similarity in story, but because of the unsettling tone of horror lurking beneath a seemingly bright surface.
The children are unnaturally well-behaved, even the babies, and unlike adults can accept Morgan's disfigurement without being repulsed or pitying him. When one of the children becomes ill, the local doctor pays a visit and befriends Morgan, telling him a little of the world outside Morgan's walls. It's through this that the reader gets an indication that something terrible has happened to the world – something hugely destructive that has left people in fear and caused the rich to retreat behind heavily guarded walls.
I'm not going to say any more about the story since the not knowing is most of what creates the tension and rising apprehension. There are parts that are truly shocking and the writing is of such quality as to create some images that stay long after the last page has been turned. There are strong shades of John Wyndham here – I was reminded not only of the Midwich Cuckoos, but also of Chocky and The Chrysalids to a degree. Again, that's not to imply any lack of originality – Lambert takes similar themes as Wyndham but treats them quite differently. It's unclear whether these children's purpose is to do good or evil in the world – there is a driven amorality about them. They are here to do what they must do and that's all. Should they be loved? Or feared? Is it sci-fi? Horror? Fantasy? Lit-fic? Yes, to all of the above. It's the first book for a long time that has had me gasping aloud in shock...
Lambert does not tie it all up neatly in the end – he leaves it beautifully vague allowing the reader's imagination to fill in the blanks. As a result, I expect it will be a different story for each reader – I was very aware that I was 'writing' my own interpretation of events under the author's subtle guidance. After the horrors, is there any kind of redemption? Perhaps, perhaps not – it's one that left me pondering and I still haven't completely decided. Don't let the horrors or the sci-fi elements put you off. This is a great read that packs a lot into its relatively short length of 224 pages – one of the most imaginative and original books I've read in a while. Highly recommended – I shall be looking out for more from this author. 4½ stars for me, so rounded up.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Scribner.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com