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Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell's Reviews > The Hungry Deep
The Hungry Deep (Gothic Folk Book 1)
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THE HUNGRY DEEP was such a pleasant surprise. It has the same vibes as a retro work of gothic horror, like something by Ira Levin, but the themes are more similar to the classic canon of gothic novel: rigid societal structures that breed harmful traditions, toxic masculinity, a bleak and accepting terror of the unknown, and female rage.
Told in multiple POVS, THE HUNGRY DEEP starts out like any other Rebecca or Jane Eyre retelling: a woman comes to a worn-down estate deep in the country with her new husband, only to find out that all of the people in town are wary of him and-- surprise-- he's been married before.The folksy twist is that the husband seems to think some kind of eldritch horrors lurk in the wood... and the townsfolk are either enabling him out of fear, in on it out of necessity, or something else far more horrifying. What really lurks in those chattering woods?
Obviously I liked this book a lot. I like atmospheric horror more than I like blood and guts, and it's really hard for me to read books that linger on suffering. THE HUNGRY DEEP has its share of gore, but I felt like it was tastefully done, and the other definitely spent more time building up her lore and the personalities of the narrators than she did trying to shock the reader.
On that note, I am very impressed about how each POV was so distinct. Tom, Eleanor, Rachel, Gus, etc. all felt very different. They had different motives and thought about what was going on in different ways. Rachel and Eleanor were particularly good characters because both of them are flawed but likable and neither of them are what they initially appear. I LOVE that-- especially in horror, which has a tendency to fridge women who are too unlikable or too sexual. This is a very feminist work, and could be taught in a comparative lit class alongside authors like Angela Carter and Shirley Jackson.
Thanks to Corvina for BR-ing this with me!
4.5 stars
by
Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell's review
bookshelves: doth-the-goth, horror, kindle-clean-out-club
Jan 19, 2024
bookshelves: doth-the-goth, horror, kindle-clean-out-club
Instagram || Threads || Facebook || Amazon || TikTok
THE HUNGRY DEEP was such a pleasant surprise. It has the same vibes as a retro work of gothic horror, like something by Ira Levin, but the themes are more similar to the classic canon of gothic novel: rigid societal structures that breed harmful traditions, toxic masculinity, a bleak and accepting terror of the unknown, and female rage.
Told in multiple POVS, THE HUNGRY DEEP starts out like any other Rebecca or Jane Eyre retelling: a woman comes to a worn-down estate deep in the country with her new husband, only to find out that all of the people in town are wary of him and-- surprise-- he's been married before.The folksy twist is that the husband seems to think some kind of eldritch horrors lurk in the wood... and the townsfolk are either enabling him out of fear, in on it out of necessity, or something else far more horrifying. What really lurks in those chattering woods?
Obviously I liked this book a lot. I like atmospheric horror more than I like blood and guts, and it's really hard for me to read books that linger on suffering. THE HUNGRY DEEP has its share of gore, but I felt like it was tastefully done, and the other definitely spent more time building up her lore and the personalities of the narrators than she did trying to shock the reader.
On that note, I am very impressed about how each POV was so distinct. Tom, Eleanor, Rachel, Gus, etc. all felt very different. They had different motives and thought about what was going on in different ways. Rachel and Eleanor were particularly good characters because both of them are flawed but likable and neither of them are what they initially appear. I LOVE that-- especially in horror, which has a tendency to fridge women who are too unlikable or too sexual. This is a very feminist work, and could be taught in a comparative lit class alongside authors like Angela Carter and Shirley Jackson.
Thanks to Corvina for BR-ing this with me!
4.5 stars
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Reading Progress
January 19, 2024
–
Started Reading
January 19, 2024
– Shelved
January 19, 2024
– Shelved as:
doth-the-goth
January 19, 2024
– Shelved as:
horror
January 19, 2024
–
5.0%
"Tom is giving evil mega Chad vibes and if he doesn't have a dead wife in his attic (or maybe even three) I will be SHOCKED"
January 19, 2024
–
13.0%
"The trees crowd even around Corrigan House, and make her giddy when she looks into them, the dark shadows too solid, the evergreens like blackened razors cutting into the now darkening sky.
THE ATMOSPHERE"
THE ATMOSPHERE"
January 19, 2024
–
24.0%
""But they don’t call rich men mad, do they? Their wives, however, are a different story.”"
January 19, 2024
–
32.0%
"She thought it would be like her novels, where the dark-eyed rogue takes the heroine to bed and falls in love with her."
January 19, 2024
–
39.0%
""Take the car to the city, go to church, do as you will. But whatever you do, Mrs. Corrigan, do not go into the forest.”"
January 20, 2024
– Shelved as:
kindle-clean-out-club
January 20, 2024
–
Finished Reading
