|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
my rating |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10
| 
| 1772275077
| 9781772275070
| B0C632XSB1
| 4.20
| 86
| unknown
| May 16, 2023
|
liked it
|
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on child endangerment, violence, the forced disappearance of a child, grief, the loss of a loved one, & others. When I endeavour to read a Horror story I feel immense eagerness at the prospect of fear. It is not that I believe fear to be an enjoyable emotion or even something that I strive to find rather, fear is a tenderness within the heart of each of us that is hidden, coddled, & safe. When an author has the ability to produce a work of fiction that breaches the veins & muscle matter of the protector of our fears, I am faced with a joy indescribable in common words. To find that which is hidden inside each of us is a skill uncommon in the abysmal literary world of hyper-production, sloshy vernacular, & disparaging plots. Only the masterful, the monstrous, the transcended writer knows us through the thickness of skin peeled from a tree & ink thicker than bone. Fournier’s work was brought to my attention while I perused the CBC’s yearly list of authors that I should be aware of; books that I should add to my ever-growing pile of literature, lining every corner & crevice of my home. In this story he presents two tales of lore & terror that nestle themselves in the looming evening & drenching light of a fading sun; structuring in the stories told to Inuit children to keep them safe. I will not lie to you; these stories did not affect me at all. They did not traverse the page to knock on my door as I read them in the dead of night during a bout with my ever-tender friend, insomnia. The reason for which I have written my introductory paragraph as I have is to remind readers & myself that the merit of a good book is in its devices. There are many readers who will come across these stories & regret turning off the light before they hid their toes under the blanket. The combination of illustrations within this collection brings the stories to life in a way that transcends the imaginary; suffocating the presence of real & fake; bridging a divide that we did not know kept us safe. If I had one contention with this book, it is that I am unsure who the target audience is. The folklore tells of skinwalkers, demons who lure children out of their parent’s grasp into the tundra to be consumed for their life force. The stories remind readers of the horrors that exist in conjunction with the lore that crafts these tales. To be honest, I enjoyed reading about them. However, I did not enjoy reading about them from a position of ghoulish pleasure—as stated in the introduction—but from the stance of the casual observer, sat waiting for their turn; silent until the demon’s eyes catch their own. Ultimately, these stories read as very young, very simple, & intended for burgeoning audiences. This is not meant to be interpreted as a knock against the book itself. Rather, I maintain my uncertainty with the target reader for it is certainly not me. Might I recommend this book to others? Definitely. It’s an interesting take on stories that I have been well aware of for many years of my life. Yet, I would not state that the stories form a whole that needed to be consumed. If the intention of these tales was to remind children to be watchful, respectful, light-footed, & cautious then the book might do well in the hands of a reader who was once just like me. This reader might be curious & eager to explore the stories that shape the shadows of our world. If this is the case, then I think it has hit the mark. Fournier has truly presented stories in the flesh; made them real, & given them follicles, lashes, grime, & gunk. However, for readers who are as I am today, the book presents something of a short & quaint read. The number of stories (two) leaves the book to be almost too short to leave an impact. Had there been an evenly odd three or perhaps a quartet of stories uniform in length, the book might not feel disjointed. After the first story has ended I began to feel that it should have been the last; not the introduction to the book but the one that left us gasping for thanks. The second story is very short & leaves the conclusion of the book pin-pricked with emptiness. A child is dead—disappeared—this would serve well as the tale that cautioned the reader; reminding them that they have chosen this book not because it was comforting or quirky but because they want to find what I detailed in the beginning; their own fear presented to them on the pages. Overall, I enjoyed this short jaunt through cautionary tales of those others who inhabit the land with us. The ones that bring us underground, shave off the bottom of our feet so we disappear into thin air. The others who cast themselves a skin as silky & new as the baby born into a home lined with precautious words detailing the loss of those who came before it. I will be eagerly awaiting future work from Fournier. Thank you to Edelweiss+, Inhabit Media, & Jamesie Fournier for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Dec 02, 2022
|
Dec 22, 2022
|
Kindle Edition
| |||||||||||||
8
| 
| 1525305069
| 9781525305061
| 1525305069
| 3.88
| 143
| unknown
| Jun 07, 2022
|
liked it
|
Our story begins sometime in the past, though it certainly could have been the yesterday that just passed; there is no telling when this tale took pla
Our story begins sometime in the past, though it certainly could have been the yesterday that just passed; there is no telling when this tale took place & that is part of its charm. Itzel lives near the jungle with her grandmother. During a dry spell, Itzel is made aware of the devastating consequences of drought. In a bid to try & see the return of rain & water, Itzel journeys through the jungle in search of the giant snake; said to be the carrier of the river—the being who sheds water across the lands. This story is based on a folktale & for that alone, I am glad to have read it. I appreciate how vast our literary journeys might take us; across the globe while sitting at home. However, in this story, there was something missing that I might attribute to the essence of the story itself. Itzel & the other jungle animals find their way rather simply to the origins of the river, where the giant snake is meant to be. After crying, the waters flow & everyone is gifted what they needed most. At a surface level, & should you be a guardian reading this to an audience who might not care to question the moral implications of whatever is happening within the book, this conclusion is rapid & settled. Itzel & her companions tried their best to have hope but it was dashed, regardless of their efforts. This leaves them with exactly what they were hoping to get, but, how? I think perhaps the inclusion of a bit more of the giant snake or why the snake granted them water might have been great. After all, the giant snake was allegedly never seen because no one believed in him. The group had one, maybe two, actual believers in their company. Everyone else was simply along for the ride hoping to get water. What part of that fraction might encourage the snake to feel that he was something others had returned to in their thoughts & beliefs? I am, perhaps, reading too much into this. The book is a retelling of an old folktale for a culture of which I am not a member. Therefore it is probable that some of this story might be better told & appreciated; the nuance clear & identifiable, by those to whom this story rings close to the heart. Therefore, I will leave off my review here by simply stating that this is a cute story, a cute book with cute illustrations & something that would be a nice added dimension to a personal library. Thank you to Edelweiss+, Kids Can Press, & Rachel Katstaller for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Nov 23, 2022
|
Nov 23, 2022
|
Hardcover
| |||||||||||||
9
| 
| 1474972160
| 9781474972161
| 1474972160
| 4.22
| 761
| Oct 27, 2022
| Oct 27, 2022
|
liked it
|
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on grief, unsolved crimes, the disappearance of a child, the death of an animal, self-mutilation, violence, child endangerment, & others. As indicated in the content warning at the beginning of this review, this story deals with unsolved crime, the disappearance of a loved one, graphic violence, & grief. Though this story does not necessarily deal, in a direct fashion, with some of the more gruesome factors associated with forced disappearances, it does include a child-like awareness of the consequences of losing someone you love, without rhyme or reason. I think it is important to have a content warning for this story because there are scenes that might cause a more sensitive reader great levels of distress. A man cuts his own hand off & is described as screaming loudly for all to hear while this happens. The children in this story are held captive by an elderly figure—albeit an entity of lore—while they fight for their freedom. All of this to say, should this review be found by someone looking out for the better interest of a young reader or should a certain someone come upon my words, may they be regarded as a caution to the conversations that might ensue after the reading of this story. Aveline is headed to Scarbury as her winter break begins; something she is unhappy about but, a trip that will help her mother & aunt Lilian, put a close to the unsolved disappearance of their brother Rowan after a decade of waiting. Aveline is smart, she knows this is a difficult time for the women so, with the help of her dearest friend, Harold, she sets out to try & solve the unsolvable; the vanishing of Rowan Jones. In the process, the pair meet Sammy, a young blogger & creep-enthusiast who partners with our favourite returning characters to save the day & confront the face of the evil dweller of the land. There is so much to love & appreciate in this series. When I read the first book, “The Haunting of Aveline Jones” (2020), I was instantly enamoured & eager to read a thousand books that followed the delightful main character through a thousand & one journeys. Hickes was able to craft a character so fantastic, she stands alone in the Horror & Mystery genre as a force all to her own. Aveline Jones is a formidable kid with so much going for her; wit, courage, eagerness to learn, profound emotions, & a desire to understand everything outside of her reach. I truly appreciate everything about this main character & I would have adored having these books as a young reader. With that being said, I am old enough to understand that there will always be at least one book in a series that doesn’t succeed quite as the others have. Regardless of knowing this, I was eager to read this new instalment & could not wait to get my hands on a copy. What I found inside felt very much like a story of transition; not quite a full entity on its own. There is certainly nothing wrong with this. Should Hickes endeavour to continue writing these books—I do hope he does—books like these are useful for younger readers so that they do not lose track of the progress of time within the narrative. Aveline has experienced a great deal of change, adventure, & forward movement in the two (2) previous books. What I was hoping to find within this one was more along the lines of the terrifying plot that was held in the other books. If I were to attribute my disappointment to a specific aspect of this story I might say that the first half felt like a promise that wasn’t kept. The formula of these books sees the opening chapters follow Aveline as she maneuvers a changing scene & welcomes the reader to a new setting, one that will certainly pose a struggle in the stillness of life. What we find in this book is a great deal of reflection & remembering. Again, this works well, particularly for the audience at hand however, it does set itself apart by the simple fact that the first two books were horrifying, even for Middle-Grade standards. Instead of welcoming Aveline into the legends, lore, & ambiance of dread, we see her wander the town & then be faced with the same villains of previous stories. This feels like cheating. We’ve already fought these antagonists, why are we doing it again? Why does Aveline need to be reminded that fear resides in the mind? This is something I thought she had already grasped. Perhaps, because of my age & the very long time in which I have been a voracious reader, this story felt disappointing rather than comforting. Even as a young person I devoured books like it was nobody’s business & would have found this instalment tedious because I remember what happened, I was there, I read every word, & I do not need to be told again. Yet, in that same breath, I know that not every reader is that way inclined. Some people do need to be reminded that we might be faced with the same problems more than once & the second time might even feel more difficult than the first—& that is okay. In terms of Horror, this book is very delicate in its approach, especially in contrast to the other two. Regardless, there is a lot to appreciate in this story & it is nice to watch Aveline grow as a person—one whom I am forever rooting for. All my comments can be taken with a grain of salt. Should Hickes write 20 more instalments in this series, I shall read 20 more books with Aveline Jones at the head. Even though this was not my favourite book of the series, this is a book that I am sure more tender-hearted readers might really be able to appreciate & is that not the point of writing? It is valuable & important that everyone should have the opportunity to come upon stories; even when they feel their fear is too big or the cave walls too tight, there is room for them to explore a circus of wonders in between the pages of a carefully written & precious storybook. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Nov 23, 2022
|
Aug 13, 2022
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||
11
| 
| 0385548702
| 9780385548700
| B09XM5YJHT
| 3.92
| 12,797
| Jan 10, 2023
| Jan 10, 2023
|
it was ok
|
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on substance abuse, grief, intergenerational trauma, psychological distress, body decomposition, the death of an animal, animal mutilation, violence, & others. When we stand alone we become aware of the world. Our individuality allows us the opportunity to reflect on proximity, warmth, the global experience & the alteration that we undergo deep inside when we live contrary to the collective. When the reader meets Mackenzie, she is another lost soul in the Acheron. Her personality & mannerisms read as very young yet, when we become acquainted with her we realize she is perhaps too old to be acting the way that she does. Though, I suppose it is fair to say that there is no age limit for grief. Regardless, Mackenzie maintains an ignorance bewildering in its stability within her person. How can an adult wander the world unknown to themselves to the degree at which Mackenzie does? You will wager, early on, that I did not enjoy this book. I hesitate to say that I disliked it because there were moments that truly captured my attention. I adored the initial setting of this novel & was ever the more eager to see Cree beliefs take centre stage in a novel dedicated wholeheartedly to Indigenous storytelling. I have a soft spot for stories that take place in Canada—finding the places that are home to me in the stories told by others is a wonderful experience. The beginning of a story only lasts for so long before it becomes the essence of the tale. Johns’ lost her way as she developed a plot that held no semblance of intrigue or depth to the fear she was trying to cultivate. First and foremost this is not a Horror as you might imagine. The premise of this story plays on folktales found within many Indigenous communities. Some people call them Windigo, others Skinwalkers, some cultures of people view them as shadow folks; others still as demons. In this case, wīhtikow is the named figure of the human eater who wanders the land in darkness set to feed on the weakness of our species. Depending on whom you ask, these creatures might be hard to distinguish between you & me. Their main purpose on earth is up for interpretation, but most people can agree that they are entities whose paths you do not wish to cross. I have many issues with the plot layout, but I will start by encouraging others to read this book for themselves. Just because this is not a Horror as you might imagine does not mean that it is not worth your time. I am very familiar with the genre—I love it dearly—because of this fact, none of what transpired within this book felt interesting, engaging, or spooky. I knew where the story was going from the jump & spent the entire novel waiting for Mackenzie to get a grip on reality so that we could move forward with the conclusion of events. That being said, if you are someone for whom folklore, cereal-sweet writing, casual plum-sauce gore & the fear of the unharmed are thrilling, then I would encourage you to read this book. Because the writing style of this book felt sloppy & disengaging, I meandered through the plot in circles. This is not necessarily my fault, I was following a slew of characters who seemed incapable of making different decisions than the ones they had already made thrice. Why did we need to read about Mackenzie’s dream sequences only for her to continuously be faced with the unanswered question? Why did Mackenzie start dreaming about her sister a full year after her death? I do not ask this question in vain. Certainly, the anniversary of Sabrina’s sudden passing is reason enough. However, why would the wīhtikow need to haunt Mackenzie who lived a full province away from the land in which it festered? How did the wīhtikow garner the ability to send text messages? Did Mackenzie not recognize the area code preceding the number that sent her strange messages? I cannot speak to every location on earth but, in Canada, area codes are a simple & fairly standard way of pinning down a location. We also have many websites that allow a more narrow search so, I wonder why Mackenzie never Googled the phone number that was alleging to be her dead sister. I suppose I cannot expect such things from a person who saw a zombie figure of her sister in her dream & instantly thought about touching & coddling her—couldn’t be me but, I digress. These annoyances do not necessarily break the story, many people will find it easy to look past the bizarre lack of action on behalf of many characters as simply the tang of the story. Why did Jolie become incapable of contacting anyone? If they feared that the wīhtikow was blocking their communication with Mackenzie why did they not play dumb & engage someone else in the communication? How far-reaching are the abilities of the wīhtikow? This creature is seemingly able to manipulate current-century technology, consume souls, & transport itself through geographical distance yet, it remained bound to the forest, only able to be inside the home when Mackenzie brings part of it inside. I wonder why the author held back. Why didn’t any character that we were familiar with become faced with actual danger? Why was the main character able to escape harm at every turn? There existed no crux of reality within a story that held us to the belief that the world in which we live is filled with the unknown. There were no stakes to be won here because nothing was being gambled. Mackenzie didn’t care where she was in the world & her family was too closed-off to ever tell her that they cared so, where does that leave us? These are certainly issues in & of themselves but there is no resolution to them. With the story rolling around in circles the reader is given no choice but to be faced with the lack of depth within each of the scenes. The sheer number of times we have to read about Mackenzie trying to talk or touch people while she dreams; the number of times everyone asks if Mackenzie dreamed; the number of times talk of mundane inconsequential things are brought up as though they were life-altering pieces of information, was brutal. The scenes that should have counted towards building the core of this story read as vapid exchanges between one-dimensional characters. Every character sounded & acted the same. To a certain degree, I appreciate that we were able to connect every member of Mackenzie’s family to one another. They spent so much of their formative years closely intertwined, it only makes sense for some of their mannerisms to be similar. Yet, in all of the redundant conversations about random things, I found that it didn’t matter which auntie was speaking, or if it was in fact Mackenzie’s mom who spent time with her, or whether or not Kassidy or Tracey caught her eye in the room. Nothing mattered enough for it to be upheld as an agency for the characters. The central conflict of the story is a tale as old as time. For the purpose of this review, I will not be detailing the consequences of colonialism on Indigenous folks on Turtle Island—I encourage you to do that when you have the time to dedicate to welcoming the information. However, intergenerational trauma is certainly a facet of life many people understand innately. In this case, we find ourselves faced with a slew of folk who, though filled with a certain degree of love for one another, experience life in an entirely singular way. I am not here to judge the approach that any of the characters undertook to gauge their way through trauma. What I am going to do is pose the question as to why we never see those efforts take place within this story. The narrative ensues that Mackenzie harbours a great deal of self-degradation, manifesting these beliefs in the way she interacts with the world. She often reflected on how she believed that love was conditional; we only have so much to give & once we have run dry, there is none to give to anyone else. Why does she feel that way? What part of her life led her to feel that the adults in her life could not love her & her sisters—that they needed to choose? We never explore the reality that plagues this family. Due to the lore that surrounds wīhtikow & in consequence, the approach towards trauma & grief; people are believed to have died because they harboured the consequences of traumatic events in their bodies. I am not a doctor by trade but, I am someone who has a leg to stand on in this race—I understand this to be true. Whether or not we recognize the effects of hardship, they play out on our bones like splinters through the skin. They eat away at us like wīhtikow in the pits of the forest. That being said, I wanted to understand why that was for these characters. Mackenzie was so disconnected from her family yet all we read about is their eagerness for proximity. They felt so warm towards one another that simply being in the same town was enough for them to feel strong within themselves. What aspects of their lives altered their behaviour with each other so that the younger generation felt that they were not wanted; that they were a burden? I wanted to know these characters because I felt like what they had to share was valuable. Though, I conclude my reading by wondering whether or not the author believed that to be true. The exploration of trauma does not necessitate the revelation of the inner workings of the self. In this context, simply revealing Mackenzie as a fully formed individual would have been enough. I didn’t know anything about her which made empathy a difficult emotion to employ. When all is said & done, I found this story to be exceedingly corny. I appreciated the dreams; I appreciate the state of repose as the ease of finding it escapes me in a chronic & morbid fashion. I appreciated the endeavour; revelations through the tenderness of shadows, love even in silence. Yet, the writing style was illusive, mundane & tired. We wadded through reefs & corals dulled with the shallow scrape of our footing. Where was the hero? Who saves the person who is a villain to themselves? I think, to an extent I agree; this night is ever-lasting. Yet, there is more to night than its shadows; there is the life inside the grey shading of the sky, the whisper of those with whom we share this side of the moon. Lest we forget the wallowing of water guiding us down a path lined with greenery, even if we remain in a perpetual state of monochromacy. I wanted more from the people who claimed to slither the grounds beside me; lying straight to my face under the guise of pretending to know what it is like for life to always be a night. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Jan 18, 2023
|
Jul 29, 2022
|
Kindle Edition
| |||||||||||||
6
| 
| 0735266700
| 9780735266704
| 0735266700
| 4.05
| 300
| Apr 04, 2023
| Apr 04, 2023
|
it was amazing
|
Lauren & James’ Moshom (grandfather) has taken them out to the lake on a warm, sunny, summer day. The children are excited to be near the beauty of th
Lauren & James’ Moshom (grandfather) has taken them out to the lake on a warm, sunny, summer day. The children are excited to be near the beauty of the water but, soon after arriving Moshom falls asleep for the journey was long & tiring. In the hopes of catching some fish so that they all might eat, Lauren takes the canoe & encourages James to help her catch their supper. To their great misfortune, they encounter Memekwesewak (little people) who lead James past green, blue, & yellow; through a portal hidden by water. They dance around the fire until Lauren finds them & becomes disillusioned from her quest to save her brother. The illustrations within this book could stand alone in presenting the breathtaking story of Lauren & James & the drum Moshom plays to guide them home. The reason I requested access to this book was, initially, because of the beautiful illustrations & there are not enough words in the English language for me to express how tenderly they led me through this story. Certainly, Lauren & James were brought to life so accurately as to make this tale feel like it was my own; that these were familiar faces to me & that I had grown fond of them within an instant. As this story presents, the Turtle Island belief held by many Nish folks, the Memekwesewak reside in the water & share this land with us. It is unsurprising that they might have a tender spot for the young, for whom in this life is more innocent & pure to existence than those sweetly neoteric. If you are unfamiliar with this story, with those who take part it in; the note left by the author at the end of this book will shed warm light on what is being shared within the pages. Reading this story presents an interesting opportunity for discussion, both in terms of how the imagery presents those who star in it as well as for the beliefs that tie into the practice of sharing such stories. I know that my childhood self would have devoured this book as often I would have been allowed to sit in my special spot to read it; taking care to absorb every brush stroke & every word as I gained traction in the literary world. I hope that this book finds its way into the hands of those readers who will cherish it just as much as I have at present. Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada & David A. Robertson for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Jul 20, 2022
|
Jul 20, 2022
|
Hardcover
| |||||||||||||
5
| 
| 9781777091798
| B0D98RT3HC
| 3.12
| 76
| unknown
| Jul 14, 2022
|
it was ok
|
**spoiler alert** When German documentarians, Bernhard & Julie make their way into the Kandy province of Sri Lanka with the intent to film clips of th
**spoiler alert** When German documentarians, Bernhard & Julie make their way into the Kandy province of Sri Lanka with the intent to film clips of the devastating effects of climate change on local farmlands, they come across a local folktale whispered amongst farmers. The legend of an entity that floats through the jungle with seeds for eyes & lures children with tenderness; always keeping an eye on the health & wealth of the lands, seeking to protect the nourishment that it requires to prosper. Throughout this novella, a multitude of characters, each with their own dramatic backstories, find their way to the house only to become lost in the horror that befalls the property. There is always room on my library shelf for a book that requires me to research topics. Though I enjoy stories that lead me down familiar roads, there is something to be said for those who leave me seeking to learn more. This is one such book. Riddled to the brim with folktales & lore, the Sap Mother is an entity that was sprinkled into the story just enough to leave me feeling intrigued yet, I did not feel that enough dedicated detail was given to her or any of the characters to leave me feeling fearful. I wonder if this is due to the length of the book or if it is because the story is being presented in book format, that the intensity of the lore is lost upon me. Should I find myself watching this story unfold, I should think that I would enjoy the film very much. I am not one to comment on something that I have no knowledge of. I will always do my due diligence in terms of research materials that were previously outside my realm of understanding. When it came to seeking to understand who the Sap Mother was for locals, especially those in the farmlands of Kandy, I came up empty-handed. It was incessantly difficult to find any information about a Sap Mother, an Anik Amma, or a White Lady in local lore which made the author’s note a bit confusing. There are ample texts dedicated to explaining the phenomenon of The White Lady for different nationalities of people; the concept appears to be quite common among humanity. However, I could not find anything specific outside of a couple of quick mentions of general descriptions. The White Lady is a woman who wanders around luring men to their deaths, essentially. However, after coming up short in terms of specific information regarding this entity I relied heavily on the descriptors given to us in the book. I acknowledge that the author is recounting some of the stories that he has been told & am in no way seeking to claim falsehood when stating that I could not find information about this entity. Rather, I wonder, why we are given so little. In the context of the story, the Sap Mother is said to be a protector of the land. Given the level of reliance that the local people have on a generous rain season to ensure that their crops grow, the Sap Mother wanders around taking seeds as payment for guardianship. My first moment of confusion arose when we were told that the Sap Mother gets her strength from the young, feeding on their life force to sustain her. Does this mean that she kills them or does this mean that she finds joy & sustenance for her tasks, in the presence of children? What leads me to question this is that—& perhaps this was the point—the Sap Mother is simultaneously presented as good & evil. She kept a child captive with her during the entirety of his life in the jungle after he ran away from the house that mob members were barging into. Yet, we are also meant to believe that she is simply angry at the house for rotting the land & sucking it dry from water. What is the link between the Sap Mother & the House of Drought other than they both inhabit the same place? Why were the children captive within the walls of the house? Who made it so this house held secret rooms? Are we to believe that the Englishman who built the establishment had directed it to be built as such? If not, where do the supernatural aspects of the story come into play when it comes to leading people to be imprisoned within the walls of the House of Drought? Wouldn’t the Sap Mother want to set the children free from a house that was ruining the land she sought to protect? I understand that this story relies fully on the make-believe aspect of storytelling. For example, everyone who was trapped inside the Drought House would have died within three days, especially if the house was sucking them dry of any/all moisture. I appreciate that not every aspect of an entity of local lore may be completely understood or accurately translated. However, this story would have benefited from more elaboration. Rather than hearing a villager recount some of the stories & experiences that she had, more than twice, we could have seen the characters of the documentarians do personal research. Perhaps they were in the early stages of their project but, seeing as we read about them gathering final clips of the house for the film I think not. Bernhard & Julie would have added more than a disjointed link to the history of the house had they participated in the research. Seeing them be told by third parties what happened in the house felt a bit boring & I know that’s not a great descriptor but, every flashback to the present time saw me waiting for the next section of explanation about the actual people that lived in the house. With that being said, some editing could have been done to have these pieces of the story flow with more ease. I do not think it necessary to read about every group of people’s impressions of the palace especially when each of these was the same, one from the other. The dialogue grew to feel increasingly disjointed & I cannot pinpoint if this was intended in an attempt to write the English text how someone who spoke another language would speak it—utilizing intonations, emphasis, etc.—or if the author could have benefited from another editor. As well, I had no reason to believe that the characters held the nationalities that they did. There could have been further German employed to reinforce where the characters were meant to be from. I originally thought that the employment of “ja’” in place of “yes” was due to spelling errors & it wasn’t until a German word was used that I understood why this was being done. In cases such as this, it would be positive to have the English book be written in authentic English speech & not adopt the speech patterns of another language. Words can be utilized within the text to confirm who is speaking & what language they are speaking but, to do both feels disjointed. Ambiguity is generally fine, I enjoy it in Horror but, in this case, I was waiting for something catastrophic to happen to lead me to feel enthused about the book. When Hemantha is probably killed by the Sap Mother I couldn’t help but wonder, why. This is meant to be a peaceful being & yet she murders a random person for being inside the house she hates? Is she single-minded or can she intone that these people walked through the forest in which she lives to seek shelter in the house? Did anyone find his body? This leads me to question, again, what the connection between the House of Drought & the Sap Mother is. Is the house evil or is it simply haunted? Is it haunted because of the Sap Mother or is it haunted because the Englishman gave less than 2 cents for the land & the people? When all is said & done, I enjoyed the thought & motivation behind this story more than I enjoyed the story itself. When the house captures Bernhard I didn’t care, I was eager to be done reading. Jasmit’s side quest to release the person who saved her after 20 years felt ridiculous; I’m sure it was difficult for her to return to the house but come on…this person sacrificed themselves in coming to save you, please be better. With some editing, this story would flow very smoothly & ultimately that should be the goal; to have a horror story transition effortlessly through terrors & fears, with bumps in the night & strange light, into the solitary confinement of a man without willpower. Thank you to NetGalley, Stelliform Press, & Dennis Mombauer for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Apr 09, 2022
|
Apr 09, 2022
|
ebook
| ||||||||||||||
7
| 
| B09B8NJS8C
| 3.63
| 4,389
| Apr 26, 2022
| Apr 26, 2022
|
did not like it
|
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on abuse, child endangerment, violence, psychological distress, racially motivated crime, racism, animal neglect, suicide, the death of a child, graphic descriptions of body decomposition, the consequences of war, religious extremism, & others. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines “horror”—when used as a noun—as being a “painful and intense fear, dread, or dismay” (1.a). They also present the option of employing “horror” as an adjective which, in this case, is defined as “calculated to inspire feelings of dread or horror” (2.2). I cite the dictionary in this case because the book I am reviewing does not, in my opinion, fit into the Horror genre of literature. However, based on these two possible uses of the word, dictating the reputable genre I know & love, I acknowledge that it is perhaps I, who is in the wrong. Perhaps selling this book as being a Horror first & a Historical Fiction second was appropriate. Perhaps there is a reason this was not categorized as being Science Fiction? Britannica defines the Science Fiction genre as dealing “[…]principally with the impact of actual or imagined science upon society or individuals” (B.Sterling, 2022) In my humble opinion, Katzu’s work fits chiefly into this genre. The entire subject matter that is approached in this book deals primarily with the impacts of scientific advancements studied & undergone by Wasaburo Oishi. This character’s actions impacted the entirety of a generation & those of futures yet to come in the hopes of deeper scientific understandings & data collections that might reveal accuracies about the world around him. Though it is accurate to observe that this story presents aspects of reality into the narrative, these are never the primary focus. The inclusion of Internment Camps that imprisoned Japanese people in America plays second fiddle to the banal wanderings of a White woman as she seeks to become aware of what has champlained the entire human species since the dawn of time; violence. The disservice that is performed both within this story & in the ways that the book is being presented to readers is abysmal at best & detrimental at worst. I should wonder that there was not a single individual along the line of the efforts to see this work published that thought it perhaps inappropriate to have the narrative of those suffering within Internments Camps be led by the ravings of a woman who would be denied membership to the Scooby-Doo crew’s gang. The story begins with the introduction to a multitude of characters, each of whom is granted their own chapters in which the reader explores their point of view. This is not innately a negative approach but, it is one that left this book a suffering slob of a mess wherein the characters who were indirectly involving themselves in the fantastical occurrences of the plot took precedence over those who were having to maneuver the firsthand terrors of war, racially motivated crime, blatant racism, violence, & illness. Why is that? What part of including an array of characters only to have the narrative thieved by those who brought nothing to the narrative as a whole save the ramblings of arrested mental stamina felt like a good idea? I feel particularly annoyed at the choice to have Fran develop into the unsuspecting main character of this book because that is not why I selected to read this story. I do not care to follow the lead of a person who makes shockingly irresponsible decisions, such as going into the secluded cabin in the woods of two (2) men she was warned were violent & unsafe to be around alone. I do not care to follow the ravings of a person who couldn’t deduce a clue in blue on a tapestry of yellow. There is nothing to admire or like about Fran. I am getting ahead of myself so allow me to start at the beginning. The essence of this plot is the intertwining of folktales & the development of modern science. The journal entries that begin the narrative of this plot are written by Wasaburo as he & his family enter Shikotan Island so that he might pursue his study of jet streams—a profession that everyone, including his supervisors, tells him is worthless. While on the island he is made aware of the state of the residents at the local hospital—something of an Asylum & institute for the ‘undesirables’ of society. Wasaburo is told that those who enter the hospital seldom leave—realistically they have nowhere to go as the community of people have no way of mingling with those experiencing mental unrest or physical ailments. However, here we are presented with the fantastical aspect of Japanese folklore that intermingles with the medical understandings that members of the community held at the time. The ravings of those entrusted to the medical institution & the creeping unease of the staff become something of mass lunacy that is indistinguishable. Wasaburo is told that he should leave the island because residents believe it to be cursed. The overly present waddling bodies of spiders—of a species unknown—transform the island from a place colonized for human existence to the nest of a Matriphagy. As the lore goes, Jorogumo uses the island to nest her spiders. Curiously, though the residents believe the appearance of spiders is a sign of prosperity & luck, these same Araneae are those that are poisoning the bloodstream of the human being in the hospital. Leaving all those with whom they come into contact a mass of violence, peeling skin, tremors, & insanity. At first glance, this appears to be an interesting premise & one that is interestingly tied into the reality of Internment Camps. How will the appearance of this venomous species impact the people who are kept prisoner in a country that, to this day, blames them for the turn of century altercations that the human species has been experiencing since the development of our earth-bound body? That is to say that, for lack of shock or surprise, the disease that is spread through these spiders becomes the blamed responsibility of the Japanese—those same people who are being skinned alive for being from a different part of the world. It’s incredible no one thought to wonder at the level of power one must have had to have the ability to remain in captivity all while infecting the American population at writ large. I digress, people are not very smart, that is no secret to me. Having been sent to America to marry, Wasaburo’s daughter, Meiko, makes her appearance in the story as she walks through the streets reflecting on her responsibility to keep her own daughter, Aiko, safe from the raving altercations produced at the hands of those who mirror the guards at the camps across the pond. I was eager to meet Meiko & have the story explore her experiences. This was, after all the girth of the book—the story centring on the lives of those who were kept, prisoner. However, Meiko soon became a character who was willfully ignorant; someone who boasted about all the intellect she must have had by proxy to her father, the scientist, yet she rambles about things that are blatantly obvious even for those characters that work their magic off-page. From a personal standpoint, I always find it overwhelmingly shocking how few people realize what has taken place against the Indigenous peoples of the world, let alone those of us who are in the continent of North America. Certainly, we as a species cannot be made aware of everything. There will always be something for each of us to learn; knowledge to garner, experiences to be shared. Yet, in all the stories I have read wherein people come to the Americas of the North to find easy living & fair opportunities I am left wondering how no single person was aware of the atrocities that had been taking place for hundreds of years prior to their personal arrival. I appreciate that Meiko was coming from Japan to the United States with the hopes that her forced immigration wouldn’t be a horrible experience. Yet, she sits in an Internment Camp & has the gall to express wonder that the United States would not treat everyone fairly. This must be a joke. Meiko came to America in the middle of Segregation, you cannot rightly expect me to believe that she would never have noticed the mistreatment of Black people who couldn’t even be seen walking on the same sidewalks as White people. I use this example because due to the genocide that was taking place against Indigenous peoples I almost believe that Meiko, being a person considered a non-citizen, might not have crossed paths with those of us who were being obliterated into the ether for being ‘savages’ but, she most certainly crossed the path of a Black person who was being treated like a stain on society. Therefore, how in the author’s right mind am I meant to read this book & accept the willful ignorance of every single person in this story? The repetition of politically correct narratives surrounding the humanitarian violations taking place in North America was ridiculous. The author writes in circles that there is no way that Americans would allow atrocities to happen yet no character was ever granted the illusion to lead them to think this way. Simply stating what people hope to encounter when coming to North America—over & over again—does not grant validity to the point. The point is that this continent has seen horrible things too & simply depicting characters as being cartoonishly shocked all the time is insulting & boring. The aspect of this story that stood aside from the realistic horrors of human action & inaction was the presence of Jorogumo. For those familiar with the lore surrounding the "Woman in White” the Jorogumo will strike a chord of familiarity that leads the reader to link the experiences of the masses in yet another aspect of similarity. The presence of the Demon—for that is how she is known—comes with superstition & imagery shared with children; teaching them lessons about the blindness of man. Jorogumo appears to men while holding a baby, she is crying to them for help & whilst they approach her, feeling worried for the woman & her baby, alone in the middle of the way, she transforms her baby to reveal a nest of spiders. The man is captivated by the change in appearance & doesn’t notice that the woman has shed her female form to reveal herself as the monstrous Matriphagy. She devours the men in a gulp. I would have adored seeing this aspect of the story play a larger role. The Woman in White is an aspect of lore that I have come across ample times in literature & film. It would have been fantastic to include the cultural representation of Jorogumo—something like a Japanese equivalent—in this story wherein women were entrapped & men sent to their deaths in the squalor of WWII. Instead, the spiders are blamed for a virus & then, nothing. There are no details given about the Demon again, she makes seldom appearances to victims before they are consumed by the disease & that is all. This leads me to my feelings, expressed at the beginning of this review. What aspect, save for the real terror of human action, rivets horror throughout this story? The redundancy of information stalled the flow of the plot & arrested the fears that might have manifested, rendering them ash in the spider-infested wind. Was I meant to view Archie—a Christian religious extremist—& his racist wife—who only ate cabbage & seared ground beef—as the real demons in this narrative? Was I meant to be shocked that people treated others horribly? I live in the real world, this is something of which I am acutely aware. What is presented in this story is in no way unique, shocking, or superb. This is a subpar narrative that slits the victims of the events at the knees to allow a rambling idiot to wander around until such a time as she realizes what the reader was aware of since the opening pages. I grew tired of Fran telling the reader that the police would be after her; I was tired of Archie praising Elsie for her bigoted violence only to act appalled when he found himself surrounded by just such supremacist folks. I was overwrought with boredom at the story coveting the point, chapter after chapter, whilst I sat with the information we had been given in the first half of the story. What could have been a superb introduction to the beastly treatment of a community of people, with the inclusion of their striking folktales & lore, became the abysmally boring recounting of Governing bodies in the United States in what reads like a searing propaganda piece from the time in which the story takes place. Ironically, no other aspect of the narrative reflects the timeline; nothing highlights that the world in which the characters live & breathe is that of 1940s America or 1920s Japan. The detrimental lifestyle of mixed-raced marriages was blown over to see the chapters divulge yet another idiotic inner monologue. The perils of Aiko wandering the landscape alone were tossed to give way to the importance of visiting an adulterer in hospital after he beat his wife. Ultimately, I am sure that the author felt strongly about what she had to say in this book as evidenced by her note at the end. However, gasping in the gaping hole of exclusion in this plot are the people who, once again, have been stripped of the freedom of truth. Those who play no role in the ‘big Government Agent’; those who are unseen for lack of necessity by the 'flamboyant news agent’; those for whom ‘the loving Christian pastor’ neglect for God’s love doesn’t extend that far; those who are riled with rocks, firearms, whips, chains, wood, & fire—those who suffer still. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Aug 20, 2022
|
Apr 01, 2022
|
Kindle Edition
| |||||||||||||||
4
| 
| 1631611763
| 9781631611766
| B09Q6HFT83
| 3.31
| 62
| unknown
| Feb 20, 2022
|
it was ok
|
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, theref
**spoiler alert** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on gore, animal abuse, excessive violence, kidnapping, & others. In 1903 a lawyer travels to the countryside to stand over the bed of a dying man, to update his final Testament that reflects the whispers of the man before passing on. Unfortunately, Gerard realizes that his bedroom door is being locked from the outside, day in & day out, & his only source of social interaction is the delivery of his meals by a morose servant who seems to vanish at the drop of a hat. Back in the city, Realyn awaits with desolate dread, the return of her fiancé; having pleaded with him to not traverse the countryside for no other reason than she felt in her bones that he should not go. Amongst the cast of characters that the reader encounters we see the flummoxed behaviours of people who are both miraculously courageous in the dead of night & suddenly withheld by fear in broad daylight. Every bizarre action culminates in a grand battle of brute force & will against the demons who manifest themselves into beauty & beast. Readers who are knowledgeable about the work of Bram Stoker will immediately recognize this book for what it is; an exact replica of the delivery of "Dracula" (1897). I can appreciate when an author seeks to pay homage to a classic piece of literature however, I could not piece together the premise of this plot with a thick enough thread to lead me to the conclusion that Stoker’s estate might view this as being a tribute rather than a copycat. Early on in my reading, I posed the question as to whether or not "Nosferatu"’s (1922) fate would befall this work as well or, perhaps had there been some understanding between the two parties that I am not aware of. Therefore, because I am unfamiliar with the legality behind the decision to entirely replicate the plot of "Dracula" in this modified work, I shall review the book at face value & speak no further on the similarities between the two works. I will praise Hault for what he sought to achieve with this book. I truly think that with some tweaking & changes, made to the delivery of the story, he could have great success in translating his story into a movie format. The scenes that were intended to render terror & horror would so delightfully play out in a film & I do feel hopeful that this book will find its way into the hands of someone who could recreate the gore written in this story so as to really terrify audiences of all ages. That being said, I found myself laughing more often than I thought was intended. I truly appreciated the desire for Shapeshifters & Changelings to feature in this plot. However, the writing style left something to be desired. Often, due to the intense similarities between Stoker & Hault’s delivery, I felt confused if the story was taking place in a more modern setting or in times of old. Due to this, & the inconsistent approach of vocabulary & grammar of the characters (primarily the women), I was unable to fully immerse myself in the story. By this I mean, sometimes Raelyn would speak very eloquently & as a woman in the United Kingdom of 1903 might be expected to vocalize things. Then, she would employ curse words & be saying she wanted to murder someone & run rampant in the middle of the night chasing blood trails. Had the character been developed over the course of the story I might have viewed this shift appraisingly. Unfortunately, her character & that of Jayda’s felt somewhat out of place in the time & period in which the story takes place. Perhaps I need it explained to me but, how is a woman who is weeping into her journal about the departure of her husband, the same person who is opening her door in the middle of the night when she knows there is a terror out in the streets mutilating animals? This same person is said to be a doctor but, looks upon her cousin, Nathan, who is very evidently having a psychological break, & decides to leave him to his own devices even after watching him consume an entire rat in a single gulp. The inconsistencies made it difficult to appreciate all the effort that was put forth in vanquishing the demons because everyone made such pitiful decisions throughout the story. This book would benefit from a longer lead-up to the panic that the characters experience. Gerard is in the castle for something like two (2) nights & is immediately in hysterics because the door to his room is locked. He rants on & on about being a prisoner right after arriving & there was little build-up to his feeling that way. This alongside the descriptions of babies being kidnapped in the surrounding village & the appearance of a demonic ape; I wanted to understand the actual dread that was being trailed throughout the story but, I had to laugh because we read so little of anything to allow us to feel afraid. It is difficult to write horror, I am not taking that away from the author & I am not saying that they did a horrendous job. What I am saying is that the scene in which Nathan eating an entire rat is gruesome & should be played up. Instead, Raelyn walks away thinking “ew”. The scene in which a giant-fanged primate is gripping the side of the estate as Gerard holds on to bricks for his life should have been further explored & because the story was written through journal entries, if a character was too frail to explain something, we didn’t hear about it again. The folktales surrounding Shapeshifters live in almost every culture & society of people. The stories following these horrific creatures are as common in our verbal histories as any other. It would have been to the benefit of the story to lean into that. This story had so many good opportunities to instil horror into the hearts of the reader; mothers watching their children adopt adult-like facial patterns & perform absurd physical actions only to fall into death days later is horrific — describe that further, tell me what the surrounding areas think about these happenings. Overall, had the retelling of folktales & myths been done in a different way I think I would have really loved the story. The combined efforts of Shapeshifters with Changelings were so very interesting & the addition of gruesome behaviour from otherwise psychotically sane individuals was enticing. Had we explored that further, rather than the emotional ineptitudes of all the characters, I would have felt more favourably about the book. I will hold out hope that this story becomes a movie because I truly feel as though the scenery could present a viewer with a horrific story. Thank you to NetGalley, TCK Publishing & Lucas Hault for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Feb 10, 2022
|
Feb 10, 2022
|
Kindle Edition
| |||||||||||||
3
| 
| 0983290474
| 9780983290476
| 0983290474
| 3.96
| 301
| Sep 01, 1998
| Sep 01, 2013
|
did not like it
|
When reading a book, whether it be for children or adults, I think it is important to understand that questioning the authenticity of stories is good.
When reading a book, whether it be for children or adults, I think it is important to understand that questioning the authenticity of stories is good. This is a case wherein the genuine sentiment & sincerity of the work does not carry out within the book as neither Field nor Blanc is Inuit & though their source material (Danish expedition notes) might have come from a person who worked alongside the Inuit in 1921, to transcribe some of their oral traditions, I very much doubt this to be the case. This is certainly not the first book in the history of the world which has an author at the stern, steering the plot through a culture which is not their own. I suspect it is safe to predict, it shall not be the last. The illustrations by Mike Blanc are beautiful, that is not up for debate. However, they are from the perspective of an outsider of the culture, of the reality of the Inuit, therefore they do not hold weight in terms of accurately representing what the first-person point of view would be as an Inuit describing the power of 'magic words'. As an artist, I am certain that Blanc has grown his portfolio from his keen observations & developed his skills to represent a number of perspectives. Having scrolled through his website, I can confidently assume that to be the case. I do not wish to take away from his skills as an artist as I did very much enjoy the effort he put forth in the illustrations. This did not feel like a piece of literature which could or should be credited to a 'translator', in this case, Field, the author. There are so few lines within this book that it leads to the question; who is this for? A child would most certainly fixate on the illustrations to render some sense to the 'story'. Though, I doubt very much that cherry-picking pieces of a traditional tale can count as a full story. Regardless, the words utilized within this piece do not shed much light on the girth of the belief. We are simply 'translated' that words carry importance & value. Perhaps this is a good thing to know, generally. However, that leads to the question; why not just write a story from your own cultural point of view about the importance & value of meaning what you say & being thoughtful in your speech? When reading this piece I wondered what the purpose was. As an adult, I understand that the sharing of stories, traditions & practices helps us grow as individuals to well-rounded people in the world. Should this story have sought to achieve that it would have been to its benefit to working with Inuit authors, illustrators & Elders. They should have been at the forefront. For that reason, their absence is acutely felt in this story & I am left feeling a great pang of longing for where their absence resides. Thank you to NetGalley, Vanita Books, & Edward Field for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Jan 11, 2022
|
Jan 11, 2022
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||
1
| 
| 1250769841
| 9781250769848
| 1250769841
| 3.54
| 541
| Oct 20, 2020
| Oct 20, 2020
|
really liked it
|
This is a good, quick, slightly haunting read about villagers on an Irish island who vanish. I think the aspect I appreciated the most was the clear d This is a good, quick, slightly haunting read about villagers on an Irish island who vanish. I think the aspect I appreciated the most was the clear double-entendres. It's easy to appreciate a mysterious vanishing but, what highlights Tolmie's writing abilities is the reasons she gives for the disappearances & how life is altered by the subsequent changes on the island. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Apr 11, 2021
|
Dec 31, 2020
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||
2
| 
| 0809510839
| 9780809510832
| 0809510839
| 3.86
| 122,251
| 1872
| Sep 05, 2000
|
liked it
|
This was the exact right length for this story. At about 110 pages, Le Fanu is able to lead the reader through a recounting of an experience with a Va
This was the exact right length for this story. At about 110 pages, Le Fanu is able to lead the reader through a recounting of an experience with a Vampire without having long bouts of boring dialogue or events. I cannot say that I found this novella very thrilling or even to be great. However, I do think it is worth the read for the simple fact that it shows how concise writing can leave the reader with just the right amount of story, twist & development.
...more
|
Notes are private!
|
1
|
not set
|
Jan 10, 2021
|
Jun 10, 2020
|
Paperback
|
Loading...
11 of 11 loaded
