Haunted: a novel of stories

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stars because it definitely accomplishes what it set out to do. And that is to make the reader EXTREMELY F&@?!@G uncomfortable. I read this as part of his "Haunted" anthology and its the first time I recall reading something and feeling like I really wanted to stop because I was so disturbed by the relentlessly horrific imagery. The format is an overarching story about the downward spiral of the retreat and peppered with the short stories of the attendees. The end short story is the best, if you can make it that far. A woman with chronic sinus problems. She claims to carry an incurable airborne disease, and was contained on an island quarantine facility by the government. Required to wear an insulated suit and oxygen mask when outdoors, she used the airtight suit to escape the island by swimming underwater to the nearest coast. This novel looks so innocent and harmless, sitting there with it's ghostly lavender and white cover and "Fight Club" was great, I'll give it a read.

In short there is a lot going on and I will admit that were several times when i had to stop and re-read something for my brain to add in the dotting line and light bulb finally is able to go on. They are part of over all narrative giving both colour and depth to the authors in the group along with filling in some of the blanks the first part of the story has. Don't be fooled, I may have chosen 5 stars for this novel, but not because I loved it. This book is dynamic. A housewife turned failed amateur porn actress. Her teenage daughter Cassandra suddenly disappeared, only to be found three months later suffering from severe physical and mental trauma. Learning Cassandra was at Whittier's retreat and that her wounds were self-inflicted, Tess becomes curious as to what her daughter experienced. Upset Cassandra would never return to normal, Tess later euthanized her daughter by overdose, only to be discovered by the police. Now a fugitive, Tess became Whittier's assistant to escape the police and learn what her daughter experienced.This book is incredibly uneven, that's its downfall. There are some really good moments, some really bad moments, and one or two truly brillant ones. Looking at it as what it essentially is; a collection of short stories, it's really no better or worse than any other short story collection, and actually should get extra points for its brazen audacity. The unifying material that links all of the stories together is terribly weak, and is what ultimately sinks the book. But, instead, I got a good laugh out of it! I believe you won’t, though, so please just discard my previous statement since it’s related to my very-subjective and inexplicably horrendous sense of dark humour. (It wasn’t funny-FUNNY, you know. It was more like funny-Wow-Could-That-Really-Happen? And, surely it wouldn’t be funny if it were to happen to me or anyone I know.) Yes he may be worthy of the praise and his works are joys to hold and read but it also sets the bar so high that disappointment is an almost accepted conclusion. Already on the bus are three people who seem to know what's going on: a prematurely elderly disabled teenager in a wheelchair, a buxom Mrs Clark, and the driver, Saint Gut-Free. It turns out they know as little as anyone else about what is to happen, but they have at least been entrusted with a few practical arrangements. The bus deposits everyone at an empty building, an abandoned theatre. The doors close, the building is dark and unwelcoming, the retreat begins. I'm always floored when an author serves up something genuinely different. In a book market where so many offerings are so goddamn painfully similar (right down to the titles... can we get another book with the word "Girl" or "Dark" in the title please?) it's a real treat when you read something that stands out and rises above the rest for not being like the others. It's even more rewarding when such a different drummer has the chops to blow your mind.

Sometimes in the humor section of the bookstore you can find a spoof of a popular book or writer. That's not what Haunted is, but it's the first thing that comes to mind. If you can make it through that tale, you’ll be able make it through the rest of the book – but not without asking yourself the question I was compelled to keep reading by equal parts morbid curiosity and nagging mystery. What I didn't expect, as I continued further, is a stunningly deep social commentary and the clever ways in which horror is created from the banal and everyday of life.

Customer reviews

There is no "Love-hate" icon for this story. This book is horrifying in the experience; not unlike an STD it stays with you and you have to learn to live with the experience you had with it.