Those Across the River by Christopher Buelman
On certain rare occasions I feel the need to read a horror novel. I'm not entirely sure where that comes from, but I do enjoy old creepy horror movies a whole lot. However, when one shifts from “something went bump in the night and all the cats are hiding under the covers with me so WHAT WAS THAT?” to “um EWWWW” I find my slightly snobbish streak coming to bear with something of a groan and a desire to smack whosoever perpetrated the affront to my slightly purist and delicate sensibilities.
Those Across the River is the story of a slightly shell shocked World War One veteran, Frank, inheriting a lovely mansion below the Mason Dixon line with his fiancée Eudora. during the Great Depression. He plans to write a book about an unpleasant ancestor who used to live in the area. She plans to teach. Cue the creepy stuff in a small, mostly rural southern town.
I found that it took a long time to getting into this story. There isn't a whole lot to give one the willies until the creepy kid appears. Yes, the whole running of the pigs thing seems a little off but it wasn't what I would call creepy, just odd. Even then the creepy factor stays pretty subdued until quite a bit later. Actually, there's only a brief spate of creepy before the big reveal (which is more in the middle of the book than towards the end) and then it transitions to something I would call more in keeping with gross-out horror. In any case, my reaction strayed into the “EW EW EW” and “Ow” range instead of “omgomgomgomg EEEEEEK!!!” Also, after the reveal I got to thinking that the tried and true method of “kill it with fire” might have been slightly more effective although I have to admit that t was a creative solution for dealing with the trouble, if incompletely executed. Then again it might be my respect for peasants with torches and pitchforks showing. I was not pleased with the handling of the narrative atmosphere.
It wouldn't have been nearly so bad or so bland during that first part of the story if the narrating character had a bit more instability to him or if every other scene between him and Eudora wasn't spent in bedroom doubles gymnastics. She was about as flat as could be. Frank wasn't the worst character, but so much time is spent with him as Mr. Normal and it takes so long for him to start reacting to the strangenesses that I must confess that having the story narrated by him put me to sleep. I was much more interested in Martin who had a clue and some interesting hurdles to deal with.
There was one thing I liked a lot. At the risk of spoiling the reveal entirely, as soon as I figured out the “look-a-roo” hominym, I started snickering and couldn't really stop. I do appreciate a bit of wordplay.
I wanted a more jumpy narrative, one that would sneak up behind me and shout “BOO” periodically. Even if I did get a letdown from the reveal, a stronger sense of urgency and uncertainty among the characters would have gone a long way towards mending that disappointment.
Mirrored here
Those Across the River is the story of a slightly shell shocked World War One veteran, Frank, inheriting a lovely mansion below the Mason Dixon line with his fiancée Eudora. during the Great Depression. He plans to write a book about an unpleasant ancestor who used to live in the area. She plans to teach. Cue the creepy stuff in a small, mostly rural southern town.
I found that it took a long time to getting into this story. There isn't a whole lot to give one the willies until the creepy kid appears. Yes, the whole running of the pigs thing seems a little off but it wasn't what I would call creepy, just odd. Even then the creepy factor stays pretty subdued until quite a bit later. Actually, there's only a brief spate of creepy before the big reveal (which is more in the middle of the book than towards the end) and then it transitions to something I would call more in keeping with gross-out horror. In any case, my reaction strayed into the “EW EW EW” and “Ow” range instead of “omgomgomgomg EEEEEEK!!!” Also, after the reveal I got to thinking that the tried and true method of “kill it with fire” might have been slightly more effective although I have to admit that t was a creative solution for dealing with the trouble, if incompletely executed. Then again it might be my respect for peasants with torches and pitchforks showing. I was not pleased with the handling of the narrative atmosphere.
It wouldn't have been nearly so bad or so bland during that first part of the story if the narrating character had a bit more instability to him or if every other scene between him and Eudora wasn't spent in bedroom doubles gymnastics. She was about as flat as could be. Frank wasn't the worst character, but so much time is spent with him as Mr. Normal and it takes so long for him to start reacting to the strangenesses that I must confess that having the story narrated by him put me to sleep. I was much more interested in Martin who had a clue and some interesting hurdles to deal with.
There was one thing I liked a lot. At the risk of spoiling the reveal entirely, as soon as I figured out the “look-a-roo” hominym, I started snickering and couldn't really stop. I do appreciate a bit of wordplay.
I wanted a more jumpy narrative, one that would sneak up behind me and shout “BOO” periodically. Even if I did get a letdown from the reveal, a stronger sense of urgency and uncertainty among the characters would have gone a long way towards mending that disappointment.
Mirrored here