In keeping with my traditions of reading from the horror genre during the month of October, I was supposed to start reading Dracula or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide. But I didn’t. I figured finishing Frankenstein and enjoying it was pushing my mental limits on classic literature. So I will strive to read another classic during next year’s October.
Instead I was lucky enough to get a copy of Lauren Oliver’s recently published Rooms from the library. I had been hoping to get to read this one before Halloween but I wasn’t sure if I’d get a chance. The book had been quickly bought out at my local book store and I haven’t been able to get a copy.
Rooms is a story about the living and the dead dealing with secrets, lies, truths, and coming to terms with the past and accepting their individual faults.
I really, really enjoyed this book. A lot.
Each chapter was a different POV, which if not done properly, can be extremely confusing and frustrating. Oliver did an excellent job at avoiding any confusion. Each character was flawed in a way that was human and relate-able almost. I’ll be honest, at first I expected some of the story lines to be a little over the top with how damaged everyone was. I was wrong.
It was interesting to see how the ghost’s manifested their communications through out the house. We were able to not only experience their stories from inside their minds but also experience through the living occupants of the house. An angry flickering of a light here, a whispering conversation through the pipes there. All very well done.
There were moments that were shocking and left you reeling with emotions and heartache. In the end, Oliver didn’t slap a happy bow on the book and tie everything all tidily up together. She managed to write the perfect ending for an un-perfect existence. even though I would consider this to be more of a suspense than a horror, I highly recommend the book.
~AJP
