The Gray House

I received my review copy of The Gray House back at the beginning of 2017 but, being intimidated by its 700+ page length, kept putting off even starting to read it until December of that year. This was a serious mistake - The Gray House is absolutely brilliant! Seclude-yourself-for-a-week-with-your-phone-turned-off breathtakingly brilliant! I could easily write a whole review of fangirl superlatives, I loved this book that much. Yet, that said, it won't be to everyone's taste. I have seen other reviews using The Lord Of The Flies as a comparison and inasmuch as that book centres on a group of unaccompanied boys I can see their point, but I wouldn't necessarily agree. Perhaps if Salman Rushdie had written Gormenghast the result might be closer to the fantastic and fantastical richness of The Gray House?

I obviously want to impart as much of my enthusiasm as possible, but am struggling to describe Petrosyan's novel in a way that will do it justice! It is set in a neglected House for physically disabled children, children who have mostly been effectively abandoned there by their families so, other than attempts at lessons, the tribes of boys (and, later, girls) are left to their own devices. Living by complex sets of rules and Laws, we see their limited world through their own eyes. I loved that this world is limited by the borders of the House, not by the various disabilities. Ingenuity, inventiveness and camaraderie seem to render most disability irrelevant.

The story is told from different points of view, some first person and some third person, with each speaker having their own distinctive voices. The Gray House is divided into three books each with their own lengthy character list at the beginning, but I didn't bother with the lists as I soon found myself easily identifying and remembering characters by their Nicks (nicknames) and actions. Like new boy Grasshopper, it took me a while to settle into the House, but once I began to understand its ways and its stories, I was absolutely engrossed.

When Amazon gave this ebook away for World Book Day, I snatched it up because it sounded intriguing. That might be the biggest understatement I've ever made. The Gray House is both challenging and enchanting. Did you notice that I spent more than a month with it? I did, and now I feel so....alone. Almost bereft.

I would certainly classify this tome as magical realism. It is also nonlinear and narrated by several characters, all of them unreliable. They live in a boarding school for children with disabilities, and we only know them by their "nicks." And over time, these might change. You the reader will be given no help with that. Not to worry, just pay attention... I cherish books that make me feel that I've accomplished something just by doing that.

Grasshopper, Stinker, Humpback, Noble, Blind, Smoker, Vulture, Black, Ancient, Sphinx, Tabaqui the Jackal, Tubby, Alexander... at a certain age, these boys start to talk to girls Ginger, Rat, Needle, Mermaid... these kids have actively invented themselves. Most of the time, we are not let in on the reason behind the nicks, but they all have an interesting backstory, and the way such strong personalities develop hierarchies and live together is fascinating in itself.

The plot is not only nonlinear but circular as well. I'm still puzzling over it, and will meander off to read others' theories. Pick this up at your own risk: we might not see you again for awhile.