Showing posts with label Starling House. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Starling House. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Title: Starling House
Series: n/a
Author: Alix E. Harrow
Source/Format: Purchased; Hardcover (Barnes & Noble special edition)
More Details: Fantasy; Gothic; Horror
Publisher/Publication Date: Tor Books; October 3, 2023

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble

Synopsis from Goodreads...
A grim and gothic new tale from author Alix E. Harrow about a small town haunted by secrets that can't stay buried and the sinister house that sits at the crossroads of it all.

Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland--and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot. Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home. As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire choice to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares. If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.

The story begins with the line: “I dream sometimes about a house I’ve never seen.” pg.1 That was the only hook I needed to get interested in Starling House, Alix E. Harrow’s latest novel, released on October third. I rarely preorder books, but I walked away from the excerpt on Tor.com (Read Here) knowing that—like my experience with a snippet of Suzanna Clarke’s Piranesi—it was a book I needed to read. This gothic house story is pretty aligned to what I’ve been reading this year; think A Study in Drowning. And like Melissa Albert’s The Hazel Wood, the creepy, dark fairy tale at the center of this story (The Underland) is only one hint toward the mysteries—misfortunes, and magic—that seemly only befalls the small town of Eden, Kentucky.

I took my time with reading Starling House, because it was the kind of story that I like to linger with and make sure I’ve caught all of the subtext. And, oh boy, did this novel have so much detail to sink my teeth into.

This isn’t a dual timeline, but there was a story from the past that was just as relevant—if not the whole beginning—of…well everything. The juxtapositions were frequent, and it was something that was done quite well. One aspect that’s stressed throughout Opal story is how easy it is for people to fall through the cracks, and for others to look away from uncomfortable situations. For instance, you see that throughout the book how the truth was buried within the different tellings of the same story.

Retribution and revenge; right and wrong; duty and choice—the lines were easily blurred. No character was simple: they had serious depth when it came to their respective versions of moral complexity. Take Opal, the primary perspective. The synopsis on the dust jacket describes her as “orphan, high school dropout, full-time cynic, and part-time cashier.” It’s a pretty good list to sum up the core aspects of her character. And deceit was a kind of armor for her. The story digs into into that by putting her in increasingly difficult—and strange—situations. It peels back these outward layers and forces her to be honest with herself, with others, and about working on her communication with even her younger brother, Jasper. Opal was a fascinating character to follow. Among my other favorites were Arthur, Bev, Jasper, the cat, and the titular Starling House.

As I’ve said before on Our Thoughts Precisely, I love a good house story, and Starling House is one of my favorites. The magical aspects can feel very slight, almost vague, with how tightly they’re woven around the everyday issues that plague Eden. But Starling House—the actual house—was slowly revealed as its own character. It was a dark, dreary place; a labyrinth of locked doors and decay. And I loved every scene spent in its hallways and rooms.

At the end of the day, Starling House is one of my favorite reads of 2023.
  

Friday, December 8, 2023

The Friday 56 (243) & Book Beginnings: Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE **Note: Freda @ Freda's Voice is taking a break from The Friday 56; Anne @Head is Full of Books is hosting for now.**

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...
A grim and gothic new tale from author Alix E. Harrow about a small town haunted by secrets that can't stay buried and the sinister house that sits at the crossroads of it all.

Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland--and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot. Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home. As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire choice to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares. If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.

Beginning: "I dream sometimes about a house I've never seen. I mean, pretty much nobody has."

56: "The only reliable measurement of time is the state of the place."


Comments: I wanted to do one last Friday 56 & Book Beginnings before the year was over, and it's for Starling House. This is the first book I've read by Alix E. Harrow, and I loved it. What are you reading this week?
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