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A review by samuelachillese
Devil House by John Darnielle
4.0
This is an interesting meta narrative about true crime, truth, and media spectacle. Interesting commentary about whose lives are grievable societally and what makes a compelling true crime story, and how "true" that compelling story has to be. John Darnielle is a deeply talented writer which is clear in both his songwriting and novel writing, and that shines through in the rich description, as well as the heartbreaking letter in the latter half of the book.
One critique of Devil House I have is that it's a very male-centric book that's very concerned with male friendship and the many forms it takes. Not bad necessarily, but outside of a few key moments, the book does seem to take place in a world largely without women. The women who appear aren't poorly written or written in a misogynistic way, but I wish there was more of them.
I didn't find the twist at the end fully satisfying for a variety of reasons, but I'm still going to be chewing on this for a while and it's a worthwhile read.
One critique of Devil House I have is that it's a very male-centric book that's very concerned with male friendship and the many forms it takes. Not bad necessarily, but outside of a few key moments, the book does seem to take place in a world largely without women. The women who appear aren't poorly written or written in a misogynistic way, but I wish there was more of them.
I didn't find the twist at the end fully satisfying for a variety of reasons, but I'm still going to be chewing on this for a while and it's a worthwhile read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Murder