Review: Darker Still: A Novel of Magic Most Foul by Leanna Renee Hieber

Title: Darker Still: A Novel of Magic Most Foul [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Leanna Renee Hieber [Website|Twitter|Facebook]
Standing: First in a new series.
Genre: Young/New Adult, Historical Fiction, Gothic, Paranormal
Published: November 8th, 2011 by Sourcebooks Fire
Format: Paperback; 317 pages.  
Source: Borrowed from my local library.

New York County, Municipal Jurisdiction
Manhattan, July 31, 1880

New York City Police Record Case File: 1306

To whoever should have the misfortune to review this closed--but still unresolved--case, I extend my condolences.  I tell you truly that all persons involved have been insufferably odd.

All we know directly of Miss Natalie Stewart, disappeared at age seventeen, is what you will read here in what was left behind as an absurd testimonial.

Herein you shall find pertinent newspaper articles enclosed by Miss Stewart regarding Lord Denbury and his infamous portrait.  There are also letters from involved parties.

I am left to conclude that everyone involved is a certifiable lunatic.  Should you wish to indulge yourself and read a young lady’s foolish reveries on such highly improbable events, so be it.  Should you believe any of it, I hope you have no business with the New York Police Department now or in the future.

Regards,
Sergeant James Patt

Natalie Stewart hasn’t spoken since her mother’s death when she was four.  Despite the pitying looks she’s constantly receiving from those who meet her, she is neither deaf nor dumb, but rather quick of wit and strong of character.  Her father’s employment at the fledgling Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has put her in the position to pressure him into working with the buyer of a unique painting to put that painting on loan--and more importantly--give Natalie time to view it.  The portrait of Lord Denbury has gained renown for its lifelike image, and many believe it to have supernatural qualities.  Natalie alone, however, will find herself privy to the reality--that Lord Denbury’s good soul is indeed trapped in his portrait, and that a devil roams New York wearing Denbury’s body.

Natalie’s story is told, as indicated from the letter above, through her own words recorded in her diary and the addition of relevant newspaper articles and letters.  I enjoy this narrative style quite a bit when it is done well, and Natalie’s ability to recount events in the written word is believable in particular as she is an intelligent and well-spoken character who has had no other way to express herself (save for those few who understand sign language) for the bulk of her life.  However, this style also has its limitations, in that it limits the possibilities of where a story might go.  I kept expecting/almost wanting some horrible betrayal or event to occur, but how could it when somehow losing our narrator would also guarantee our loss of story?  I did very much enjoy Natalie’s character as a narrator with a disability, however mentally stimulated, though I think I would have preferred it had it not been something she could ever physically overcome (she technically has the capacity to speak, she simply has a traumatic mental block keeping her from doing so).   

I have found the idea of souls being trapped in pictures mind suckingly terrifying since I first read Roald Dahl’s The Witches as a child.  This terror is carried through in The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Darker Still.  The devil that wears Lord Denbury’s body like a suit uses it to partake in his carnal pleasures, and the results of his behaviors are reflected in the waining health of the Lord Denbury trapped in the portrait.  One Lord Denbury is good and kind to the point of making him vulnerable to those who would take advantage, the other is quite frankly a total creeper.    

As an obvious fan of Oscar Wilde, I could hardly pass up the chance to read a tale with such a clear nod to The Picture of Dorian Gray.  Leanna Renee Hieber’s tale used choice elements of this story beautifully, and in such a way as to make me rethink aspects the original.  While it is lacking the horrific edge of the Dorian Gray, Darker Still was a wonderful illustration of the possibilities fermented in Wilde’s novel.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more: I really enjoyed Darker Still, though I honestly went in thinking it was a stand alone.  I was happy with the ending, but the series premise could be interesting enough to keep me going--we’ll see.  I also now want to read The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker.   

Recommended for:  Fans of The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the Gemma Doyle series.  Not for people looking for a horror novel (which is how it was categorized at my library); this is a paranormal romance with some admittedly creepy aspects, but it is not what I would call overly scary.

Real life repercussions of reading this book:  The likelihood of me ever sitting for a portrait is shrinking significantly from an already unlikely number.

Review: The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

Title: The Woman in Black [Amazon|GoodReads]
Author: Susan Hill [Website|Twitter]
Illustrator: John Lawrence
Standing: Stand alone novel.
Genre: Horror, Gothic, Historical
Published: 1986 by David R. Godine, Publisher, Inc. (Originally published in the U.K. in 1983 by Hamish Hamilton Ltd.)
Format: Hardcover; 160 pages.  
Source: Borrowed from my local library.

Arthur begins his story on a Christmas Eve with his wife and stepchildren telling ghost stories around the fire.

“You must know at least one ghost story, stepfather, everyone knows one...” Ah, yes, yes, indeed.  All the time I had been listening to their ghoulish lurid inventions, and their howlings and groans, the one thought that had been in my mind, and the only thing I could have said was, ‘No, no, you have none of you any idea.  This is all nonsense, fantasy, it is not like this.  Nothing so blood-curdling and becreepered and crude--not so...so laughable.  The truth is quite other, and altogether more terrible.” 

They had chided me with being a spoilsport, tried to encourage me to tell them the one ghost story I must surely, like any other man, have it in me to tell.  And they were right.  Yes, I had a story, a true story, a story of haunting and evil, fear and confusion, horror and tragedy.  But it was not a story to be told for casual entertainment, around the fireside upon Christmas Eve.”

Arthur proceeds to write down his tale for us to read, a tale of the haunting at Eel Marsh House and the woman in black.

This book is self-described as a ghost story as Jane Austen would have written, and with its language and manner I have to say it is a fairly accurate description.  Arthur, a London solicitor (that is a lawyer for those of you non-Anglophiles) is sent to attend to the paperwork of a recently deceased client, the former resident of Eel Marsh House.  Now, I love the tradition of naming houses as much as the next self-respecting Green Gables fan, but “Eel Marsh” isn’t one that instills a feeling of warmth and welcome and comfort.  

Eel Marsh House can only be reached (or left) during low-tide, and is otherwise surrounded by water and marshlands.  The townspeople seem abnormally wary of the house, and no one will consent to helping Arthur about his task, and when he mentions the mysterious woman in black with the wasted face that attended his client’s funeral, his words are met with horror.

The Woman in Black was told beautifully, and I found Arthur to be quite refreshing as a narrator.  He’s so logical and steadfast in his belief that ghosts cannot hurt him, and that they must be confronted or things will become worse.  Like any of us would under similar circumstances, he is able to convince himself in the light of day that things were not so bad as they seemed at night, and returns to face the house.  The townspeople's unwillingness to discuss the hauntings portends the ultimate tragedy of this novel, though the sad reality is it would make no difference.  

Not only does Susan Hill’s language transport us back in time, John Lawrence’s illustrations evoke the feeling of a novel written before the advent of television.  In my opinion, the lack of use of illustrations in young adult and adult novels these days is a disappointment--author Scott Westerfeld gave an interesting interview on the topic in regards to his illustrated Leviathan series here.  Certainly he would approve of The Woman in Black!

The Woman in Black has been adapted to the screen, and will be in theaters February 10th:

It looks totally creepy and nightmare inducing (disheveled toys are always creepy!!!), plus--it’s Daniel Radcliffe!  Yay!!

Likelihood that I'll be back for more:  Well since I am a complete and utter wimp when it comes to horror, I can’t promise anything, but I do plan to make myself watch the movie to see Daniel Radcliffe’s first foray to the screen since Harry Potter!

Recommended for:  Anyone who enjoys horror or Gothic novels, or like me is preparing for the movie!

Real life repercussions of reading this book:  When did we dispense with the tradition of telling ghost stories on Christmas Eve? It seems the only one we get today is A Christmas Carol, but I'd love to hear others.