I have thoroughly enjoined some of David Mitchell’s previous work (e.g., Bone Clocks, Black Swan Green), so I couldn’t wait to start his latest, Slade House. In many ways, this is a spin-off of his highly successful and very unique Bone Clocks. The latter kind of jolted the literary upper crust when Mitchell embarked on a journey with extensive fantasy, horror, and supernatural themes. This was fine with me—which is why I loved Bone Clocks—but for those expecting a literary effort akin to Cloud Atlas, well, let’s just say they didn’t know what to make of it.
Mitchell’s Slade is about a haunted house that mysteriously “appears” within a labyrinth of back alleys once every nine years. The inhabitants, fraternal twins Norah and Jonah Grayer, are soul “vampires” who must partake in the digestion of souls from unwitting victims in order to maintain their immortality – and the feasting must occur on a nine-year basis. Five different accounts spanning five decades comprise Slade House, with the last in 2015. The tales, while interrelated for the plot line, are strikingly different in terms of content. The targets of the haunted house include a young teenager, a detective, a college student and her older sister, and a psychiatrist. The forays of these characters into the house are riveting, and I found the narratives deliciously spooky. The stories are beautifully told in chilling detail. The impact is frequently creepy and often startling.
Mitchell’s Slade is about a haunted house that mysteriously “appears” within a labyrinth of back alleys once every nine years. The inhabitants, fraternal twins Norah and Jonah Grayer, are soul “vampires” who must partake in the digestion of souls from unwitting victims in order to maintain their immortality – and the feasting must occur on a nine-year basis. Five different accounts spanning five decades comprise Slade House, with the last in 2015. The tales, while interrelated for the plot line, are strikingly different in terms of content. The targets of the haunted house include a young teenager, a detective, a college student and her older sister, and a psychiatrist. The forays of these characters into the house are riveting, and I found the narratives deliciously spooky. The stories are beautifully told in chilling detail. The impact is frequently creepy and often startling.
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