Thursday, August 28, 2014

Review: The Hundred-Year House

The Hundred-Year House
By Rebecca Makkai
Viking Adult July 2014
352 pages
Read for review via Netgalley 

The Hundred-Year House

In 1999, Zee and Doug return home to Laurelfield, Zee's family estate. It is the last place they want to be, but financial woes force them to live in the carriage house. Zee is a professor with Marxist leanings and Doug is a writer. At least he hopes to one day finish his book on little-known poet Edwin Parfitt, but for now he is writing formulaic books for tween girls (without his wife's knowledge).

Laurelfield has always been a place of mystery - Zee's great-grandmother committed suicide under strange circumstances, an artists' colony stayed at the estate but has few records, and unexplained noises bump in the night. But it seems that the problems are not contained to the past. When another couple moves into the carriage house with Zee and Doug, tensions rise as families feud, flirtations begin, and people are injured on the grounds of the beautiful and unsettling Laurelfield.

The Hundred-Year House is multifaceted. It begins at the end of the twentieth century and then goes back in time as we find some answers and encounter a whole new bunch of questions. We encounter Zee's mother Grace again in 1955 as a newlywed. Her marriage is troubled, to say the least, and the anger and sadness become claustrophobic. Twenty-six years earlier, the estate is home to a zany and fascinating bunch of artists - painters, musicians, and writers, including Edwin Parfitt himself. This is the portion of the novel that is the most comedic, as the artists band together to save the colony from closing. 

The atmosphere built throughout this novel is incredible. The estate itself feels haunted. Everyone who is there feels like the spirits of past inhabitants remain and questions are still unanswered. They also feel a distinct sense of destiny and it is clear that some of them are destined to be there, while others are not welcome. Makkai uses a subtle touch throughout this book. You can feel the unease as the characters start to wonder how many of their problems are self-made and how many are caused by forces beyond their control. 

Unfortunately, there is just too much going on here. There are too many characters, too many time periods, and too many themes. It is difficult for the reader to focus on any of them for long because it's only a matter of time until you get thrown into a whole new situation. There is a certain kind of reader who will enjoy this box within a box approach to storytelling, but I found it simultaneously overwhelming and underwhelming.

The Hundred-Year House might be called light horror. The creepy air around Laurelfield is undeniable and Zee even teaches a course about ghost stories, but this isn't really about ghosts. It is a literary story about destiny and how our choices can reverberate for centuries to come. This book would be a great pick for a reader who wants to feel a little chill in the air without suffering a sleepless night. 



My review of Makkai's The Borrower

12 comments:

  1. I may end up picking this book up after all. I really didn't care for The Borrower but I have a few friends on GOodreads who've been talking this one up.

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    1. I didn't love The Borrower either. Maybe I'm just not meant to be a Makkai fan...sigh.

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  2. I'm curious about this one. From the blurb and your opinion, I still have to admit I'm not sure which direction this plot is moving in. Literary fiction horror, perhaps? Glad you enjoyed it!

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    1. Literary fiction horror seems about right! I might call it horror light. :)

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  3. Darn about too many characters and such.

    I loved the title and figured it would be good.

    Thanks for sharing.

    Elizabeth

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    1. You might love it! This is one of those divisive reads where I'm pretty sure that some will love it and others will just like it.

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  4. I'm currently about 30% in to this book, which would typically mean I'd avoid reviews, however I'm glad I checked yours out. I'm finding it to be slow going, and I'm not entirely sold... I was considering abandoning, but after reading your thoughts I think I'll try and push on a little further. I am intrigued as to how the other parts, other than the 1st, play out. Thanks for sharing, Lindsey!
    :-)
    Bits & Bobs

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    1. I usually avoid reviews while reading too but I'm glad mine pushed you to keep going! Let me know what you think when you are done. :)

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  5. The premise of this book sounds really interesting, though I'm sorry to hear that there's too much going on in it. I get overwhelmed pretty easily when there are too many themes in a book.

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    1. I certainly don't rule out multiple narratives (I wouldn't have many books left to choose from these days!). In this case though, the many characters and timelines kept me from really empathizing with any of them.

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  6. Which book do you think is better? This one or The Borrower?

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    1. Hmmm...I think if you are into atmospheric reads, this is the better choice. But The Borrower had more to say about compassion and it's about a librarian, so there are some great bits about books and reading!

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