I’ve had several of Sarah Addison Allen’s books on my TBR for ages, but had never gotten around to reading any of them. Then, a few months ago, I was sent an ARC of her newest release, Paper Ghosts, and upon reading the premise, I was both intrigued and a little wary at the same time. Books that incorporate magical realism have always been a hit or miss for me, so from that perspective, I was more than a bit apprehensive going into this one, wondering where on the spectrum this would end up. It turns out this was on the “hit” side, as I was thoroughly absorbed with the story and, most importantly for me, I absolutely adored the characters. I especially loved Willamena and Jack, so much in fact, that I honestly could not help feeling a bit disappointed when I realized that the present timeline, with its focus on Willamena’s granddaughter Bailey’s perspective, seemed to be the more dominant arc of the story. With that said, I did appreciate the interesting way in which the two timelines came together, even if I did feel that there were some unexplained gaps at certain points that kind of threw me for a loop (especially in Willamena’s story arc), though I guess I shouldn’t really have been surprised given the magical realism component, which sometimes I forget about when I’m reading until I come across an element that breaks slightly with reality. Speaking of which, this was another aspect that I appreciated about the story – how the supernatural elements were incorporated in ways that were subtle and meaningful, but never overwhelming.
As I mentioned earlier, the story is told via a dual timeline: one in 1976 when Willamena is a young woman in her last year of high school, and the other in Present Day starting with Willamena’s granddaughter Bailey as a child through her adult years. While I did prefer Willamena’s timeline more, one thing I felt that both timelines did extremely well was in its atmospheric depiction of the Wester House, as well as the overall mystery surrounding the Wester legacy. This is one of those books where the setting is as much a character as the humans – and not just the house either, but the entire town in which the story takes place also has its own distinctive personality, which contributed to making this even more atmospheric. I also really like the way Sarah Addison Allen writes – she is known for her lyrical prose and I can definitely see why: the writing flowed beautifully throughout, capturing an emotional poignancy that made this such a heartfelt and moving read.
With its gothic vibes and ghost story element that gives it a touch of spookiness, this is an ideal read for the fall season. If you love multigenerational family stories with a little bit of everything – romance, mystery, coming of age, and hints of the supernatural – I definitely recommend picking this one up. Since reading this also piqued my interested in Allen’s backlist works, perhaps this is a good time to finally pick up her books that have been lingering on my TBR.
Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.
No comments:
Post a Comment