FINALLY FINISHED! Woo!

I remember someone (I THINK Char's Horror Corner but might be wrong) saying this book a ghost story but not horror and not really a ghost story either. To quote Crimson Peak, It's a story with ghosts in it. And that's a really accurate way to describe this book. 

I found Fellside to be a really beautiful story. There's no denying that Carey is wonderful when it comes to using language in a way that's fresh and emotion-provoking. There were so many places in this book where I had an emotional response simply because of how he phrased something. It's really incredible what he can do with words and language. The way all the plot points wove together in the end was also masterful and well thought out. 

The use of ghosts in this story is really beautiful. I mean, REALLY beautiful. There's a lot of imagination behind it and a truly comforting notion behind why they remain present and how they can help or hurt our lives. The way a certain ghost is able to remain with their certain loved on (no spoilers) was so sweet and left me ending the book feeling so warm and fuzzy. The ghosts felt more human than the living, which I think is an interesting concept. 

The biggest drawback to this novel is I feel it lacks the tension to keep picking it up, if that makes sense. When I was reading it, I devoured it, but it wasn't hard to put down and I wouldn't feel too motivated to start reading again. It wasn't that I didn't want to know what happened next, it just didn't have any hooks in me. Not the worst thing in the world but something that I do consider a drawback.

Final rating: 4 out of 5. Not necessarily a gripping novel but it will tug at your heartstrings and leave you feeling warm and fuzzy when you're done. 

Next up: Gotta finish In Cold Blood, AND I managed to get ahold of I'll Be Gone in the Dark from the Library. Exciting times!

Fun fact: Pandora makes a lovely reading buddy.

Slowly but surely getting in the habit of reading again.

I chose to read this book because I read The Girl with all the Gifts by M.R. Carey and I absolutely adored it. It was a book that stayed with me long after having read it (and I can’t wait for the movie to come out!!). But Fellside was really different, the writing was still great, something I like a lot in The Girl with all the Gifts, but it was not really the same kind of book. It was really creepy and mysterious and I actually liked that about this read.

Still, it was not one of my favourite book and I won’t re-read it. Only because it is not the genre I most enjoy. The author managed to create a really mysterious story. Everytime I came up with an idea to solve the mystery, it was destroyed by new evidence five pages later. I had so many questions and so many ideas it was really difficult to go on.

Nonetheless, I was not that invested in the book at the beginning. I felt that it was a bit slow and I could not keep track on all the characters, who they were and what they were doing; but then the last 150 pages kept me on edge and I read this last part in one sitting.

If you like mystery and paranormal, you need to check this out, I bet you won’t be disappointed.

The most fascinating thing about this book is the portrait of a secondary character, a nurse who joined the profession from a desire to help others. Starting with a struggle between duty and a legitimate anger over the crimes she believes were committed against a child, she gradually desensitizes herself to acts of negligence and violence that her self-righteousness allows her to justify, until there is little to distinguish her from the convicted felons that she tries to punish.

The main story was worthwhile, too, but the plot took forever to get moving. I enjoyed it overall, but this did not grab me and shake me the way that The Girl With All the Gifts did.

Audiobook, borrowed from my public library via Overdrive. Finty Williams provides excellent narration.