aly ☆彡's Reviews > House of Hollow

I have mixed feelings for this book and no, not because it was bad. The book was actually good but magical realism is just never the genre for me.

The book starts strongly, I really love the ominous atmosphere, the full-blown terror, the dark past, the eerie feelings, literally everything this book has to offer.

"We might be peculiar, but we're not new"

Seventeen years old Iris Hollow and her sisters have always been strange, well at least have always been after the kidnapped incidents that none of them seems to remember. However, when Iris' sister, Grey Hollow started to go missing under suspicious circumstances, it can't be helped that the only way to save her sister is to decipher the mystery of what happened to them as children.

The most interesting thing about this book is definitely the hows of the missing Hollow sister and the truth afterwards .
It literally blows my mind (in a good and bad way).

"If they're dead, do we killed ourselves?"
"Yes"

I already have my first suspicion, seeing how the Hollow parents only allowed the children to call them by their first name after the return. I was wondering why Cate doesn't let them called her "mom" anymore but then they almost killed themselves when they thought of the possibilities of their dead children. They lived with the guilt for the reason of their missing children and maybe by calling "mother" and "father" reminded them of the burden that they once failed... (view spoiler)[or maybe because they knew it was never their daughters who returned WTF. (hide spoiler)]

And for whatever truth comes afterwards, even anticipated, still left me so taken aback because deep down, I wished the truth won't be as dark. But this part is the sole reason why this book is such a page-turner. The constant wondering and question if Grey is still alive, of what actually happened to the sisters, of who the dude with the bull's skull over his head, and for the truth. It was all intriguing until it took a very dark and horrible turn that left you with an unsettling impression. I applaud Sutherland for that, but again magical realism is not my cup of tea and my idealist self did not take the truth as openly as I thought I would.

The second thing I love about this book would definitely be the: Hollow sisters themselves.

"I didn't follow my sister. I was my sister. I breathed when she breathed."

I love the ties that bond the three sisters and how they could not co-exist with one another. They would do anything for one another no matter how morally questionable it is. This book puts sisterhood as one of its main focus as well as self-discovery and recovery from one's grief. And I love how this book traverses their curse to something pleasing instead of their weakness, especially when you look at Grey, who is the most apparent with her compelling and uncanny personality. This also brings me to point out how well written the characters are seeing how distinct the three sisters with one another.

I also enjoyed the symbolism and association with death that this book has going on, which give you more of the creepy feeling. One like the minotaur/the man with the bull skull which was a symbol of power and a tool for death and torture, seeing how legitimate it is to the truth in this book.

Not to say the significance of the carrion flower which also known as corpse flowers that emit an odour that smells like rotting flesh. And I swear, at one point I felt like I can smell what the characters were smelling for how graphic and lifelike the descriptions were. To see how these flowers keep growing on dead bodies got me so uncomfortable. Like it's cool but very uncomfortable.

So, if I were to put aside my non-favouritism for magical realism, this book can be a solid four for me. Even so, there was a moment where things get so repetitive and I started to get bored. Over and over, the book keeps on unfolding the kidnap story that I can remember the whole plot by the time the character decided to tell again. One moment, I feel like I really want to know the truth, and the next time, I hoped this book could have just ended sooner.

(view spoiler)[And despite the truth, I wished the book would offer more establishment behind the "Hollow sisters" before the kidnapping. Although the reason seems valid enough, I just don't see why Grey was after the real Hollow sisters' bodies or why they were stuck in the Halfway (which means that they still have unsettled business and if so, why is that) (hide spoiler)]

Hence, objectively speaking, this book only works three stars for me. But take it with grain or salts, if you love Neil Gaiman works or others of similar works, this book might be the one for you.