Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Book review: The Visitors Book and other ghost stories by Sophie Hannah

I wish I didn't like this book at all. That I keep the memory of it as one of the my reading adventures of this year, of discovering new authors and exploring topics that I am not necessarily passionate about but that landed on my to-read-list just because I need to use my spare free time and my mind as much as possible for books. Regardless what kind of books, even ghost stories can be good for a short read.
My indifferent plan was foiled dramatically. From the fist story (The Visitors Book) until the last (All the Dead Mothers of My Daughers's Friends) I devored every single page. The sentences are so well crafted to create a story that I hardly noticed that once in a while, there are some ghosts popping up in the story, either at the post office or while crossing the street (Justified True Belief), or at the end of a children birthday party (The Last Boy to Leave). There is no shock and awe or traces of blood or terrible apparitions in the middle of the night, preferably near an abandoned building - castle, anyone?. Every story goes to naturally, with intense dialogues and conversations - like in The Visitors Book - that the reader hardly acknowledges terrible realities. Nothing kitsch or Gothic, just simple facts of the everyday life, when extraordinary things are interwoven naturally with the uneventful routines. 
An excellent read recommended to faithful lovers of good books, like you - and me.
Rating: 4 stars

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