>Heart-Shaped BoxJoe Hill
I've been hearing a lot about Joe Hill's highly-regarded first novel, Heart-Shaped Box, and, since I've heard so many people sing its praises and because we were approaching my favorite spooky time of year, I knew I had to pick it up. (I also vaguely remembered hearing that Hill is the son of Stephen King, so, with his lineage in mind, I was anticipating a perfect, autumnal read.)
For the most part, I wasn't disappointed. Heart-Shaped Box is a fairly taut tale of a vengeful ghost. I consider myself a genuinely jaded individual, one who often scoffs at anything not truly scary, and I have to admit that Heart-Shaped Box creeped me out quite a few times. That's not to say it was so scary -- it didn't give me nightmares or force me to stop reading -- but it did provide some pleasurable thrills and some spooky entertainment. Overall, I can't complain.
Heart-Shaped Box follows Jude Coyne, an aging metal god who hasn't been so lucky in love, like so many others used to hard living. Coyne, not surprisingly, has an affinity for the darker side of life. When he finds an opportunity to purchase an actual ghost over the internet, he can't resist the temptation. (I wish I had money to burn, don't you?)
Anyway, he's not purchasing a ghost so much as he's purchasing the dead man's suit -- a suit to which the deceased is reportedly very attached. Jude is skeptical but nevertheless intrigued, and, before you can say boo, the suit -- and the ghost -- is his.
Unfortunately, this is no ordinary ghost, and it isn't long before Jude regrets his purchase. (I, like Jude, am also all-too-familiar with buyer's remorse. Sigh.) Try as he might, however, he cannot rid himself of what is not his property, forcing Jude and his long-suffering girlfriend to fight not only for their lives, but for their very souls as well.
My only complaint was caused by the plot. In certain places it lagged, causing me to skim, eager as I was to reach the next major scene. Certain scenes dragged on a bit too long and could have been condensed, especially during the second half of the novel when things should have been most compelling.
Still, I was pleased overall. Ultimately, Heart-Shaped Box was an intriguing, mostly fast-paced read that provided chills in all the right places, even if certain elements were a shade predictable. I was pleased by the quality of Hill's prose, which is rare for spooky "genre" novels.
In a nutshell: Not perfect, but satisfying overall.
Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars
For the most part, I wasn't disappointed. Heart-Shaped Box is a fairly taut tale of a vengeful ghost. I consider myself a genuinely jaded individual, one who often scoffs at anything not truly scary, and I have to admit that Heart-Shaped Box creeped me out quite a few times. That's not to say it was so scary -- it didn't give me nightmares or force me to stop reading -- but it did provide some pleasurable thrills and some spooky entertainment. Overall, I can't complain.
Heart-Shaped Box follows Jude Coyne, an aging metal god who hasn't been so lucky in love, like so many others used to hard living. Coyne, not surprisingly, has an affinity for the darker side of life. When he finds an opportunity to purchase an actual ghost over the internet, he can't resist the temptation. (I wish I had money to burn, don't you?)
Anyway, he's not purchasing a ghost so much as he's purchasing the dead man's suit -- a suit to which the deceased is reportedly very attached. Jude is skeptical but nevertheless intrigued, and, before you can say boo, the suit -- and the ghost -- is his.
Unfortunately, this is no ordinary ghost, and it isn't long before Jude regrets his purchase. (I, like Jude, am also all-too-familiar with buyer's remorse. Sigh.) Try as he might, however, he cannot rid himself of what is not his property, forcing Jude and his long-suffering girlfriend to fight not only for their lives, but for their very souls as well.My only complaint was caused by the plot. In certain places it lagged, causing me to skim, eager as I was to reach the next major scene. Certain scenes dragged on a bit too long and could have been condensed, especially during the second half of the novel when things should have been most compelling.
Still, I was pleased overall. Ultimately, Heart-Shaped Box was an intriguing, mostly fast-paced read that provided chills in all the right places, even if certain elements were a shade predictable. I was pleased by the quality of Hill's prose, which is rare for spooky "genre" novels.
In a nutshell: Not perfect, but satisfying overall.
Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars
3 comments:
Dang, he looks like his daddy...
Haven't read a spooky story in a looong while.. I shall pick this up ASAP!!
To the library!!!!
I've read both this, and his short story collection, 20th Century Ghosts. This one was pretty good, and definitely had its creepy moments, 20th Century Ghosts was a disappointment.
Nice review; I pretty much agree with you on all your points. I liked this book, but my biggest beef was probably the ending. I'm not sure what I would have done differently, but I just didn't love Hill's climax.
And Mo, I'm sorry to hear you were so disappointed by 20th Century Ghosts. Perhaps its wasn't all that spooky, but I really sort of loved many of the stories in that collection all the same.
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