Softcover, 404 pages
English language
Published May 24, 2021 by Quirk Books.
Steel Magnolias meets Dracula in this '90s-set horror novel about a women's book club that must do battle with a mysterious newcomer to their small Southern town, perfect for murderinos and fans of Stephen King.
Patricia Campbell’s life has never felt smaller. Her husband is a workaholic, her teenage kids have their own lives, her senile mother-in-law needs constant care, and she’s always a step behind on her endless to-do list. The only thing keeping her sane is her book club, a close-knit group of Charleston women united by their love of true crime. At these meetings they’re as likely to talk about the Manson family as they are about their own families.
One evening after book club, Patricia is viciously attacked by an elderly neighbor, bringing the neighbor's handsome nephew, James Harris, into her life. James is well traveled and well read, and he makes Patricia feel things she …
Steel Magnolias meets Dracula in this '90s-set horror novel about a women's book club that must do battle with a mysterious newcomer to their small Southern town, perfect for murderinos and fans of Stephen King.
Patricia Campbell’s life has never felt smaller. Her husband is a workaholic, her teenage kids have their own lives, her senile mother-in-law needs constant care, and she’s always a step behind on her endless to-do list. The only thing keeping her sane is her book club, a close-knit group of Charleston women united by their love of true crime. At these meetings they’re as likely to talk about the Manson family as they are about their own families.
One evening after book club, Patricia is viciously attacked by an elderly neighbor, bringing the neighbor's handsome nephew, James Harris, into her life. James is well traveled and well read, and he makes Patricia feel things she hasn’t felt in years. But when children on the other side of town go missing, their deaths written off by local police, Patricia has reason to believe James Harris is more of a Bundy than a Brad Pitt. The real problem? James is a monster of a different kind—and Patricia has already invited him in.
Little by little, James will insinuate himself into Patricia’s life and try to take everything she took for granted—including the book club—but she won’t surrender without a fight in this blood-soaked tale of neighborly kindness gone wrong.
I like this a lot, but it did get more heavy than I expected. It starts out feeling like a "hah, these are tough housewives, of course they can defeat the vampire" story, but their own racism as well as their surroundings' sexism make everything go to a pretty tragic direction.
Okay. I really liked this book. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because it squicked me out in a couple of places where the descriptions were very explicit. Not saying they weren't well done, because they were, they were just a little intense body-horror-wise which is not my jam. BUT, I enjoyed it much much more than I didn't and it makes me want to read more Grady Hendrix.
As an entry in the Vampire Canon... I find it interesting. It definitely breaks some new ground, as far as lore and biology are concerned, but I thought that the vampire was more akin to a Xenomorph in human skin than an old school vamp. Which is RAD! But it didn't feel like a true vampire story to me for that reason.
Also the title is misleading, because it's not much of a guide. I was expecting …
Okay. I really liked this book. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because it squicked me out in a couple of places where the descriptions were very explicit. Not saying they weren't well done, because they were, they were just a little intense body-horror-wise which is not my jam. BUT, I enjoyed it much much more than I didn't and it makes me want to read more Grady Hendrix.
As an entry in the Vampire Canon... I find it interesting. It definitely breaks some new ground, as far as lore and biology are concerned, but I thought that the vampire was more akin to a Xenomorph in human skin than an old school vamp. Which is RAD! But it didn't feel like a true vampire story to me for that reason.
Also the title is misleading, because it's not much of a guide. I was expecting an omniscient narrator a la Hitchhiker's Guide. Instead I got a fun romp of middle-aged ladies who really needed better husbands. None of the ladies were as strong as I wanted them to be (except maybe Mrs. Green), they all had flaws, and they all grew. So, I can't really complain, it just wasn't quite what I expected or wanted.
But, I still really liked it.
Die Prämisse war so nice: Hausfrauen als übersehene Protagonist:innen von Vampirgeschichten ebenso wie generell, deren Widerstandskraft und Ressourcenreichtum in der Literatur wie Gesellschaft nicht gewürdigt wird. Das endlich mal sichtbar zu machen wäre eine saugute Ausgangslage für ein Buch - und mit diesem Claim wurde es auch beworben.
Leider war es das schon an feministischem oder sonstwie politischem Potential, denn das Buch hält nicht was es verspricht. Was serviert wird ist beleidigend: Die Story hat so viele Anschlussfehler das es schmerzt, sie wiederholt sich quasi drei Mal, das Pacing ist sloooow..., die Charaktere platt und eigentlich geht doch wieder alles nur um einen Typen, dessen Sadismus und ein bisschen um ein paar Hausfrauen aus der Oberschicht (und eine einzige arme, Schwarze Mutter, gnarf).
Statt Tropes auf den Kopf zu stellen und den immergleichen Vampirgeschichten einen neuen Spin zu geben bekommen wir frauenfeindliche Tropes, Vergewaltigungen und anderer sexualisierte oder sexuell aufgeladene …
Die Prämisse war so nice: Hausfrauen als übersehene Protagonist:innen von Vampirgeschichten ebenso wie generell, deren Widerstandskraft und Ressourcenreichtum in der Literatur wie Gesellschaft nicht gewürdigt wird. Das endlich mal sichtbar zu machen wäre eine saugute Ausgangslage für ein Buch - und mit diesem Claim wurde es auch beworben.
Leider war es das schon an feministischem oder sonstwie politischem Potential, denn das Buch hält nicht was es verspricht. Was serviert wird ist beleidigend: Die Story hat so viele Anschlussfehler das es schmerzt, sie wiederholt sich quasi drei Mal, das Pacing ist sloooow..., die Charaktere platt und eigentlich geht doch wieder alles nur um einen Typen, dessen Sadismus und ein bisschen um ein paar Hausfrauen aus der Oberschicht (und eine einzige arme, Schwarze Mutter, gnarf).
Statt Tropes auf den Kopf zu stellen und den immergleichen Vampirgeschichten einen neuen Spin zu geben bekommen wir frauenfeindliche Tropes, Vergewaltigungen und anderer sexualisierte oder sexuell aufgeladene Gewalt (auch gegen Kinder..), Folter usw. dargeboten.
Der Unterschied zu nicht explizit das Genre ändern wollenden und sich feministisch gebenden Büchern ist echt trivial und mir jetzt ziemlich übel.
I thought this would be fun but it touched on a lot of serious topics (gaslighting, domestic abuse, sexual assault, racism, sexism) as well as being quite gory. Not quite sure it's what I felt like reading right now but the audiobook helped, and I don't want to down-rate it just because it was something other than what I expected.
