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A review by justinkhchen
Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman
tense
4.25
Relentlessly atmospheric, experimental with obvious flaws, Incidents Around the House is unapologetically written for the devoted horror fans; immediate point of reference comes to mind is the 2022 horror film Skinamarink, which utilizes a similar overarching tropes: intentionally obscure narrative through a child's POV. While the novel successfully delivers on scares, tension, and a sense of dread, I can also see it being criticized for being overly vague, lacking a traditional narrative arc, and an inconclusive ending — some of which I actually consider to be the story's strength, while others might be areas where the novel should've gone through a few more rounds of refinement.
One of my favorite Josh Malerman stories is A House at the Bottom of a Lake, and this feels like a continuation of that writing style — where the horror element can be interpreted both literally and metaphorically. With the concept of innocence and parenthood being repeatedly brought up, it is easy to make correlation between these subject matters and the supernatural presence (the writing even encourages it at times). But then there will be outlier scenes where they can only be read as one way rather than open for analysis... The lack of consistency is where I bump into some frustrations with Incidents Around the House's narrative — I wish the author's intent is made a little more clear.
Still, I commend Josh Malerman for pushing the boundary and writing outside the box, as Incidents Around the House contains some of the more original, grotesque imagery, and genuinely chilling sequences (people you are talking to is not who you think they are never cease to scare me). Yes, while this novel (at least my experience with it) has trouble deciding whether to be metaphorical or literal, and would potentially work better as a novella, it is already one of the more memorable reads of this year!
**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**
One of my favorite Josh Malerman stories is A House at the Bottom of a Lake, and this feels like a continuation of that writing style — where the horror element can be interpreted both literally and metaphorically. With the concept of innocence and parenthood being repeatedly brought up, it is easy to make correlation between these subject matters and the supernatural presence (the writing even encourages it at times). But then there will be outlier scenes where they can only be read as one way rather than open for analysis... The lack of consistency is where I bump into some frustrations with Incidents Around the House's narrative — I wish the author's intent is made a little more clear.
Still, I commend Josh Malerman for pushing the boundary and writing outside the box, as Incidents Around the House contains some of the more original, grotesque imagery, and genuinely chilling sequences (people you are talking to is not who you think they are never cease to scare me). Yes, while this novel (at least my experience with it) has trouble deciding whether to be metaphorical or literal, and would potentially work better as a novella, it is already one of the more memorable reads of this year!
**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**