Scan barcode
A review by tcgarback
Your House Is on Fire, Your Children All Gone by Stefan Kiesbye
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Critical Score: B+
Personal Score: B
This is more of a novel in stories. I think it would have benefited from being marketed as such, and with unique chapter titles instead of just the respective POV character’s name.
Other reviewers have complained that the characters aren’t likeable and that the novel basically reads as repetitive acts of senseless violence without much resolution or meaning.
While I do feel I missed a few implied conclusions, and the episodic nature of the book left me feeling slightly unfulfilled, I do largely disagree with those complaints, or else think that they’re invalid points for this meshing of genre.
This is well written dark literary fiction. The setting is splendid. The plotting is complex. The first few stories are especially rich and surprising. Once you catch onto the rhythm of violence, though, the stories may lack bite, yet they (ironically, maybe) maintain their soul. My only concern with the themes at play here is that the novel does perpetuate the stereotype that isolated villages are full of depravity, more so than in cities. Like…people are people everywhere, so people can be nasty anywhere.
I personally wish this didn’t go over into fantasy in the few parts that it does, and that instead the magical elements were red herrings explained by plot twists. But maybe there is no real fantasy in here and I missed something? On a similar note, I found it tricky to keep track of all the characters. But that’s more of a personal issue than a critical one.
In summary, this was quite different from what I was expecting, a slower and more thoughtful read than I was in the mood for. It’s not super F’d up, but it’s F’d up enough.
Evocative, mature, and engaging.
Critical Score: B+
Personal Score: B
This is more of a novel in stories. I think it would have benefited from being marketed as such, and with unique chapter titles instead of just the respective POV character’s name.
Other reviewers have complained that the characters aren’t likeable and that the novel basically reads as repetitive acts of senseless violence without much resolution or meaning.
While I do feel I missed a few implied conclusions, and the episodic nature of the book left me feeling slightly unfulfilled, I do largely disagree with those complaints, or else think that they’re invalid points for this meshing of genre.
This is well written dark literary fiction. The setting is splendid. The plotting is complex. The first few stories are especially rich and surprising. Once you catch onto the rhythm of violence, though, the stories may lack bite, yet they (ironically, maybe) maintain their soul. My only concern with the themes at play here is that the novel does perpetuate the stereotype that isolated villages are full of depravity, more so than in cities. Like…people are people everywhere, so people can be nasty anywhere.
I personally wish this didn’t go over into fantasy in the few parts that it does, and that instead the magical elements were red herrings explained by plot twists. But maybe there is no real fantasy in here and I missed something? On a similar note, I found it tricky to keep track of all the characters. But that’s more of a personal issue than a critical one.
In summary, this was quite different from what I was expecting, a slower and more thoughtful read than I was in the mood for. It’s not super F’d up, but it’s F’d up enough.
Evocative, mature, and engaging.