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A review by gwalt118
Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer
4.0
"Never judge a book by its cover" is a fine motto, until you do and it turns out to be a great decision. I happened upon Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer in the library last week because of its wonderfully gothic and sinister-looking cover. I was in the mood for dark, eccentric, and immersive fiction, and this novel did not disappoint.
Ashton Hall is a fictional place, but Belfer makes it feel real. Like Hannah, the narrator, I was quickly engrossed in the history of this historic home turned part museum and part apartment building in the English countryside. Hannah's son, Nicky, discovers a skeleton and the mystery of this skeleton becomes the central focus of the novel. Around the periphery, Hannah also has to make some decisions about herself, her marriage, and Nicky. We learn early on that Nicky is neurodiverse, and I commend Belfer for her writing of such a nuanced character who - in more ways than one - turns out to be the hero of this novel.
Hannah, an academic whose career has been sidelined by motherhood, spends the novel researching the life of the discovered skeleton while also contemplating her own life. As she unravels the truth about the skeleton, she also comes to terms with the truth about herself. The parallelism was striking, and I really enjoyed that aspect of the novel. The truth about the skeleton focuses on the Catholic vs. Protestant aspects of Tudor England, a history that I have always found intriguing. I loved learning even more that I didn't know through that element of this novel.
There are certain elements of Gothic literature - my favorite genre! - that are essential. Belfer does a great job of marrying the contemporary with the historical throughout this novel. Admittedly, some aspects worked better for me than others, but I think it's an incredibly challenging feat to assume and to accomplish well. I won't go into too much detail because I don't want to spoil anything -- but, if you read this one, let's chat.
Belfer captured the American and British tensions accurately and - at times - hilariously in her writing. She has some intriguing caricatures of British culture and immensely witty one-liners. My favorite occurs on pg. 179: "On Saturday afternoon, July 25, I threw a stick to Duncan and contemplated adultery." What a wonderful way to start a chapter. Truly.
Ashton Hall is a fictional place, but Belfer makes it feel real. Like Hannah, the narrator, I was quickly engrossed in the history of this historic home turned part museum and part apartment building in the English countryside. Hannah's son, Nicky, discovers a skeleton and the mystery of this skeleton becomes the central focus of the novel. Around the periphery, Hannah also has to make some decisions about herself, her marriage, and Nicky. We learn early on that Nicky is neurodiverse, and I commend Belfer for her writing of such a nuanced character who - in more ways than one - turns out to be the hero of this novel.
Hannah, an academic whose career has been sidelined by motherhood, spends the novel researching the life of the discovered skeleton while also contemplating her own life. As she unravels the truth about the skeleton, she also comes to terms with the truth about herself. The parallelism was striking, and I really enjoyed that aspect of the novel. The truth about the skeleton focuses on the Catholic vs. Protestant aspects of Tudor England, a history that I have always found intriguing. I loved learning even more that I didn't know through that element of this novel.
There are certain elements of Gothic literature - my favorite genre! - that are essential. Belfer does a great job of marrying the contemporary with the historical throughout this novel. Admittedly, some aspects worked better for me than others, but I think it's an incredibly challenging feat to assume and to accomplish well. I won't go into too much detail because I don't want to spoil anything -- but, if you read this one, let's chat.
Belfer captured the American and British tensions accurately and - at times - hilariously in her writing. She has some intriguing caricatures of British culture and immensely witty one-liners. My favorite occurs on pg. 179: "On Saturday afternoon, July 25, I threw a stick to Duncan and contemplated adultery." What a wonderful way to start a chapter. Truly.