In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods by Matt Bell
My rating: 4/5 cats
this book is beautiful and maddening. it is convoluted fabulism, sad and irrealy real.
the setting and the atmosphere are like a fairytale, like The Snow Child, but the truths it dissects: romantic relationships, parenthood, and regret, are real and dark dark dark.
if you don’t have time to devote to it, though, don’t bother. it’s not a long book, so it’s not like it is a real commitment you will have to be making, but i read this while in the middle of a million projects at work, and the language was so lullingly meandering, that i would just zone out and find myself thinking about LMS and D-refs. which means nothing to you, probably.
so do the book more justice than i did, and quit your job, kennel your kids, give your spouse ten dollars to go to the fair, and focus. because there are moments in here that are staggering.
i gave it a four because it left an impact, for sure, but my experience of reading it, distracted and work-nerved as i was, was only a three.
but this is a book i will definitely revisit, and i know that on the second read, it will easily earn its four stars.
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