Welcome to the end of August Fanciful Friends! It has been a bit of a tough one for me, if I’m being completely honest. I ended up in the ER for some intense back, rib, and abdominal pain, and have some tests coming up to see if we can figure out what is going on. And I’ve had two more backttacks (forgive me my whimsy, it makes me feel better) since then… which have sucked. So, I’m not entirely sure what is going on, but I have been dealing with a lot of pain, and some weirdness from the medication. So, that’s my personal update.
Anyway, let’s get to what we’re actually here for! My August 2022 reading wrap-up! I read four books this month, and I quite enjoyed each of them, so let me show you what they were and tell you a little bit about them. There will be some trigger warnings, which I will colour the same as my background, so if you highlight after TW/CW, you should be able to see them if you are concerned.
My first book this month was Horace Walpole’s 1764 novel, The Castle of Otranto. I picked this one up because it is often cited as the first gothic horror novel, and I am working on several articles about horror firsts for an upcoming project. It was an interesting read. Obviously the language was quite different from what a modern reader is used to, though I was still able to understand the majority of what was happening. And the scares… well, again, different to what a modern reader would find scary. I did enjoy some of them, but there was a lot of characters recounting what they’d seen, rather than us seeing it with them, which removed some of the tension. Perhaps that was necessary in the age it was written though. And the humans in the story were… different, again. We saw some familiar characters of course. The power hungry ruler who doesn’t want to lose his land, and will force divorce and marriage onto people to ensure his continued reign. The obedient wife who would do anything to make her husband happy (though this read as quite obnoxious to a woman who lives in a time and place where we have rights and are allowed to be our own people with our own desires). A daughter who wants what she can’t have, and feels conflicted. So definitely some familiar faces.
Overall, I gave The Castle of Otranto 3/5 stars, and I am glad that I read such an integral part of the history of my favourite genre!
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware was my second read of August, and my second Ruth Ware as well, and I absolutely loved it! I picked it up a while ago in a sale, and I have been trying to get through some of the books I’ve already got on my Kindle, so decided to give this one a go, and I was not disappointed.
It’s hard to talk about without spoiling things, and you really need to go into Ware’s stories knowing as little as possible, but let me give you a basic run down of the premise. Rowan decides she needs a change of pace, and job, so applies to become the private nanny of the family living at Heatherbrae House. Her interview goes well, and she gets the job. At first she is ecstatic, but it isn’t long until things start going badly. One of the kids seems to loathe her, the smart house technology is confusing and alarming to Rowan, and there might be a ghost?
If you love modern gothics, Scottish setting, psychological thrillers, and bloody good mysteries, this one is for you! TW/CW for a child’s death.
I gave The Turn of the Key 5/5 stars.
My Best Friend’s Exorcism was a buddy read with the Fanciful Sister, in preparation for the film adaptation coming out in September. We both had an absolute blast! Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since they were ten. Glued together at the hip, practically sisters, DBNQ. But one night after hanging out with two of their other friends, Gretchen changes. She starts acting bizarrely. Says weird things, doesn’t seem to take care of her hygiene or appearance, or anything for that matter. It’s almost as if she is a different person entirely. But, surely she couldn’t be possessed, could she? That’s not real.
I loved this book. It was pretty brutal in regards to any of the supernatural stuff, and I loved Abby and Gretchen’s relationship, when everything was nice and normal for them. If you’re into 80s nostalgia at the moment (thanks Stranger Things), then I think you’ll enjoy this. I was not around for the 80s, but since I was born in 1990, some of the nostalgia was applicable to me as well, which was fun.
Do be aware that there seems to be different versions of this book. My Kindle copy had lots of pictures and brochures and things in it, which really added to the immersion, and were fun to share on Instagram. However, my sister has a physical copy with none of that in it. So do make sure you know what edition you want and purchase the right one. TW/CW for eating disorder, attempted suicide, and dog death.
My Best Friend’s Exorcism got a 5/5 stars from me!
This was my most anticipated read of 2022, and I am so glad that it lived up to my expectations! In What Moves the Dead, we have a retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe, which I have not read, but would like to. I hear it is a pretty short read. Even not having read T. Kingfisher’s inspiration, I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and was not confused at all.
Easton is summoned to the house of their childhood friends, Madeline and Roderick Usher. Madeline is sick, and it seems she may not be long for this world. When Easton arrives, they discover that Roderick may also be ill, there is an American doctor living with them who has no true idea of what is happening, an English woman wandering the grounds studying and painting fungi, and the local townsfolk believe that there is a curse on the House of Usher and the tarn surrounding it. The hares there are acting strange, as are the Usher’s themselves. Could there be a connection between the two? And if so, what can Easton do about it?
I loved the atmosphere of this book. The Usher manor is a crumbly, desolate gothic manor, already outdated when this book is set (sometime in the 19th century I believe, I’m not sure the date is ever specifically mentioned). The tarn is suitably foggy. There are mushrooms everywhere, even some that baffle Miss Potter, the English mycologist. There is a family crypt, a rotted library, and gosh I just love it. Something about the depletion and decay of grandeur gets me every time.
What Moves the Dead had twists that I predicted, and some that I did not, and I ended up happily giving it 4/5 stars.
TW/CW for animal death, mentions of suicide, post war PTSD.
Rebecka O'Malley 