This is a tale of a family in every sense: dissection of a family's secret, the family's dynamic, reputation and most importantly, their legacy. This is essentially an insane deep dive into what makes a family bond and I'm here for it.
I read this as part of a bookclub during Autumn and there literally could not have been a better season to read this book. 'House of Hollow' absolutely oozes with autumnal-winter aesthetic -- it's gothic, it's dark and it's morbid in a delightful sense. Right off the bat, there's a clear intention communicated by the author's words to the reader that this book will have a tone and that it's nearly impossible to read the book any other way. That's also a slight problem I have with the book.
In pursuit of this vibe, there are descriptors (like rot imagery for example) that are just beaten over the head so many times. Of course, I love me some callbacks and parallels, and I don't mind when an author recycles some phrases, especially if they're good; however, it just happens so often in here. Like, sooo often. Even though the book truly is written so well and the plot literally falls off the bone (in a positive way), there were so many times when I, and my fellow bookclub members, were taken out of the immersive experience because we were thinking, "that's the x-teenth time that exact prhase was used."
Overall though, it's a great story with writing that sounds like it should be read with a quill in hand and a thunderstorm in the background, plus a plot that keeps you wanting more!
I read this as part of a bookclub during Autumn and there literally could not have been a better season to read this book. 'House of Hollow' absolutely oozes with autumnal-winter aesthetic -- it's gothic, it's dark and it's morbid in a delightful sense. Right off the bat, there's a clear intention communicated by the author's words to the reader that this book will have a tone and that it's nearly impossible to read the book any other way. That's also a slight problem I have with the book.
In pursuit of this vibe, there are descriptors (like rot imagery for example) that are just beaten over the head so many times. Of course, I love me some callbacks and parallels, and I don't mind when an author recycles some phrases, especially if they're good; however, it just happens so often in here. Like, sooo often. Even though the book truly is written so well and the plot literally falls off the bone (in a positive way), there were so many times when I, and my fellow bookclub members, were taken out of the immersive experience because we were thinking, "that's the x-teenth time that exact prhase was used."
Overall though, it's a great story with writing that sounds like it should be read with a quill in hand and a thunderstorm in the background, plus a plot that keeps you wanting more!