Syndrie
An interesting premise, but unfortunately the execution didn’t quite work out for me with this one.
I was expecting a lot of the story to be about Marguerite and following her descent into madness as she remains locked away in the attic with no other people for company. And while we did get some of that, there was a lot more exposition about Marguerite’s mother Cécile as well as Cécile’s backstory. Obviously the mother’s story is important for us to understand how Marguerite ended up in her predicament, but for me it did feel like the story was a bit too heavily focused on mom. This might be more on me for misunderstanding what I was walking into however, so readers who are prepared to learn a lot about the jailor and less about the prisoner might have a better experience going into this than I did.
That said, the chapters that focus on Cécile’s story are nice in that they help give a break from the horrors that are going on in Marguerite’s sections — readers need to be prepared for body horror both gory and gross when it comes to Marguerite. More than just some bloody bits, there’s quite a bit of detail about bodily functions and excretions as well. This is definitely one of few books so far that’s made me physically grimace in disgust while reading it. But even with the gross factor highly present, I still felt intrigued by Marguerite’s descent into madness and wanted to keep reading to find out just how her story would end off. And although I did find the prose a tad dense for my personal taste, I’d say it definitely does a great job of setting the grim atmosphere and portraying a sense of anxiety. I think the majority of readers will end up feeling something while reading this novel, even if the main feeling is disgust!
So although this isn’t quite the story I was personally hoping to get, I do acknowledge that it’s still well written and really nails the creepy and disturbing atmosphere. If you’re a reader who is more inclined to slow burn literary writing with a lot of character study and don’t mind a dark and disturbing story, then this one may work for you. I’d definitely recommend anybody on the fence to take a look at some of the higher rated reviews, because there definitely is an audience out here that’s enjoying this novel!
(I received an advance review copy of this book from the publisher, Pushkin Press, via NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.)
An interesting premise, but unfortunately the execution didn’t quite work out for me with this one.
I was expecting a lot of the story to be about Marguerite and following her descent into madness as she remains locked away in the attic with no other people for company. And while we did get some of that, there was a lot more exposition about Marguerite’s mother Cécile as well as Cécile’s backstory. Obviously the mother’s story is important for us to understand how Marguerite ended up in her predicament, but for me it did feel like the story was a bit too heavily focused on mom. This might be more on me for misunderstanding what I was walking into however, so readers who are prepared to learn a lot about the jailor and less about the prisoner might have a better experience going into this than I did.
That said, the chapters that focus on Cécile’s story are nice in that they help give a break from the horrors that are going on in Marguerite’s sections — readers need to be prepared for body horror both gory and gross when it comes to Marguerite. More than just some bloody bits, there’s quite a bit of detail about bodily functions and excretions as well. This is definitely one of few books so far that’s made me physically grimace in disgust while reading it. But even with the gross factor highly present, I still felt intrigued by Marguerite’s descent into madness and wanted to keep reading to find out just how her story would end off. And although I did find the prose a tad dense for my personal taste, I’d say it definitely does a great job of setting the grim atmosphere and portraying a sense of anxiety. I think the majority of readers will end up feeling something while reading this novel, even if the main feeling is disgust!
So although this isn’t quite the story I was personally hoping to get, I do acknowledge that it’s still well written and really nails the creepy and disturbing atmosphere. If you’re a reader who is more inclined to slow burn literary writing with a lot of character study and don’t mind a dark and disturbing story, then this one may work for you. I’d definitely recommend anybody on the fence to take a look at some of the higher rated reviews, because there definitely is an audience out here that’s enjoying this novel!
(I received an advance review copy of this book from the publisher, Pushkin Press, via NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.)