Synopsis:
Fearful of her husband’s sexual advances, a young mother falls into a spectacular case of hysteria–that might not be all in her head.
Review:
Angelica is yet another neo-Gothic tale, set in a Victorian England conjured more from literature than from history. It has all of the elements you’d want: repressed sexuality, midnight visions, hysteria and a spiritualist, all rendered in gorgeous, sumptuous prose from four different points of view. Continue reading
Synopsis:
Having grown up with a controlling, secret-keeping mother, a young man yearns to know his family’s history and meet his letter-writing lover in person, but his journey takes him face to face with madness and murder.
Review:
Thank you, thank you, thank you to Eva for recommending this book!
The Ghost Writer is a straight up Gothic tale, no revisionism here, thank you very much. It’s a tangled labyrinth of memories, letters, and unfinished stories that builds to a creepy, frightening climax that draws upon the best tropes of the genre without losing sight of the story being told. Continue reading
Synopsis:
A shy 14-year-old Latin scholar finds a passage into Manhattan’s underworld, where, guided by an unhappy ghost named Euri, he hopes to find out how his mother died once and for all.
Review:
Greek mythology concerning the after life deftly mixes with New York City’s colorful history in The Night Tourist, a marvelous adventure tale that’s as fresh as they come.
Suitable for young readers emotionally mature enough to handle themes of death and grief, The Night Tourist is rich enough to satisfy teen readers and adults with all of its allusions to classical literature and historical New York Personages.
Consider this a solid rave for a book that comes out on September 18th.
Synopsis:
A new house in a suburban Atlanta neighborhood spells disaster for all its inhabitants.
Review:
It’s awfully hard to be frightened when you’re sitting on a rooftop deck in West Hollywood, letting the setting sun dry your bathing suit after discovering that you can float like a cork in the saltwater pool. Continue reading
Synopsis:
Young Leilani has a deformed hand and a brace on her leg–and she’s just told her alcoholic ex-con neighbor that her differences are why her deranged doctor stepfather and whacked-out druggie mother are going to kill her unless she’s abducted by aliens when she turns 10.
Review:
I read this book because it was recommended by Wesley Smith, a leading voice against utilitarianism bioethics, which is the concept that death is the optimal choice for anyone living a less-than-perfect existence, physically speaking. Rather than “first do no harm,” doctors are succumbing to a growing trend in believing that many lives are simply not worth living, regardless of the will to live of the patient or patient’s family. These philosophers differentiate themselves from Nazi eugenicists by arguing that their standards for determining who lives and who does not are better–but the end result is the same. Death to the physically and mentally disabled, and to the terminally ill. Continue reading
