I wanted a horror story. The story is narrated by Ted, Oliva, Dee and Lauren with some characters in third person and some in first person, a technical that allows a rounded tale, told from limited but different viewpoints. The description is vague on purpose, and the best thing to do is just dive in without any information. A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory. Every little bit helps, and with so many tenants running around in the corridors, the Asylum would appreciate if you could help us keep running everything smoothly. Don't even open Sundial then. Are you afraid of it too? Then youre forming this bond where you travel through the fear together., But, then again, by the time they reach the final page of Needless Street, readers ideas of what constitutes a horror storyand where precisely Wards book falls within the genremay have changed. You think you know whats inside the last house on Needless Street. Ive been looking for a good opportunity to get to read this book, and the Ladies of Horror Fiction Readalong seemed like the perfect reason to jump The Last House on Needless Street on the top of my TBR. As an avid reader, I often find myself reading a book description and not being able to remember whether Ive read it before. This all seems rather straightforward, aside from maybe getting the perspective of Olivia the . However, I seem to have completely lost grip on the story when it comes to the Chihuahua woman. Ted Bannerman lives alone with his cat Olivia in a boarded up house at the end of Needless Street. To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. #whathaveidone #booksfordays #whoops, Herbs have been planted. Really disappointing ending and one most could see from a mile away. Lauren and Olivia the Cat also have their own points of view of what is happening on Needless Street. "The Wizard of Oz" (Victor Fleming, 1939) As iconic musicals go, "The Wizard of Oz" nearly takes the cake. The main character experiences severe childhood trauma and the story we get is the effect of that trauma. Revenge. She pushed down her own guilt and focused that guilt on trying to find her sister and the person who eventually took her away from the scene. Thats not to say I cant appreciate a great thriller or mystery I like watching true crime shows for instance. I knock things over, I bounce off doorways. Kayla and Ellie both suffer the loss of the man they love. As I mentioned in my review, I suspected from the first chapter that multiple personality issues will come into play in some way, including Lauren and Olivia. The New York TimesCatriona Ward's The Last House on Needless Street is a shocking and immersive read perfect for fans of Gone Girl and The Haunting of Hill House.In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three.A teenage girl who isn't allowed outside, not after last time.A man who . The Chihuahua lady and the mom seemed to be close, and the mom told her later on that she would be going out of town as a way to lead false tracks away from her if the police came snooping because of what happened at the hospital . In the dark forest at the end of Needless Street, lies something buried. 1,051 reviews 2,628 followers. A space to share book reviews and other book related treats. Couldn't handle the lukewarm purple prose and near total absence of suspense. Follow Queen's Book Asylum on WordPress.com. Catriona Ward's The Last House on Needless Street is a shocking and immersive read perfect for fans of Gone Girl and The Haunting of Hill House. "You are an honest child. [Spoilers herein.] Weight: 340 g. Dimensions: 196 x 128 x 34 mm. Any book is up for discussion as long as that discussion is respectful. I am overwhelmed. The same applies to the psyches of its characters. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It sure left me with thoughts. I think its unnerving to the reader because fiction is supposed to be more organized than that. Then Dee moves in across the street. I got a free e-copy through NetGalley about a week ago. Privacy Policy. Death. That might sound confusing, but it's all part of the dark, strange world Ward created for this unsettling story, and it all makes sense. Revenge. In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three. PAGES: 352pg. That was more chilling to think about than a fictional character, and Im honestly not sure what kind of person this makes me. Twice in the same day. In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three. You dont get to know everything about everyone. I loved Ward's Rawblood a few years ago but The Last House on Needless Street is such a disappointment, just a cheap series of narrative cheats whose only purpose is to support the oldest and most cliched 'twist' ending in horror fictionwe are seriously supposed to believe that not only does the murder suspect have multiple personalities, but that the dominant one has a name coincidentally similar to the name of a girl who went missing years ago, who was killed by his mother, but not really, she was actually killed by her own sister, who has stalked the suspect and moved in next door, but has repressed memories so she doesn't remember killing her sister, and who gets written out of the narrative by dying of a snakebite, because her greatest fear is snakes, based on a childhood experience which is actually a false memory, and the suspect acts so weirdly throughout because his psychiatrist is mis-prescribing him outdated medication, and who vanishes without explanation once he's exposed, and all of the other child disappearances around the area are just coincidence. This article does not joke about Needless Street however: the twist is literally given away for anyone with the least perception or thought process on the first page or two. I couldnt put it down. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Please do not copy or reproduce without explicit permission. The atmosphere in this novel is depressing and the strangeness can lead to confusion "'The first time I tried to run,' she says, 'he took my feet. I hated it. Despite my general like of the grimdark/dark fantasy subgenre, horror is a genre I rarely read in. The Last House on Needless Street publishes September 28, 2021 from Tor . While Im talking about spoilers, one of the most chilling things about this book was how the mother treated Ted. This is so well written! For Ward, part of writing Needless Street necessarily involved processing heartbreaking and often quite upsetting things. Change). This is the story of Ted, who lives with his daughter Lauren and his cat Olivia in an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street. In the most basic sense, The Last House on Needless Street follows the story of Ted, a lonely man who lives in a boarded up house (on Needless Street, naturally) with his 12 year old daughter . Books received from a third party sponsor have no impact on the honesty of my reviews. When a woman named Dee moves into the abandoned house next door while on her quest to find her sister, who was kidnapped years ago, Ted's life begins to spiral into chaos. Little Evewon the Shirley Jackson Award, was aGuardianbest book of 2018 and won the Best Horror Novel at the 2019 British Fantasy Awards. This book is the exact reason why I rarely read reviews before picking up a book. And Olivia is Ted's cat, with a mind all her own. But he cant help thinking about Little Girl with Popsicle, a girl who went missing from the lake a few miles from Teds house. . I feel like I need to re-read this book in order to catch all the clues I missed! I think horror doesnt get enough credit as well for its redemptive qualities, Ward continues. The book was well written and certainly had its moments but the ending was extremely disappointing. Dee is left petrified of snakes, thinking she knows who took her sister, she fixates on Ted Bannerman, even though there was CCTV showing he was in a store, with scores of witnesses at the time, proving he had nothing to do with the taking of Lulu. What's worse, she adds the further cliche of repressed memories/unreliable narrator to the protagonist in order to further obfuscate the narrative. Margaret M - Hiatus - I will respond when I can. Unsurprisingly, Dee's family disintegrated, and her father is now dead. It releases on September 28th! Catriona Ward was born in Washington, DC and grew up in the US, Kenya, Madagascar, Yemen, and Morocco. . I dont know. Your post just bumped it to the top of my TBR list! 13.9 miles away from Hero Towing. If you're a fan of the dark and mysterious, this book will be for you. I did not like the last 20-30% at all when the big "reveals" happen. Descriptions of his love of nature reveal his complex character: he takes joy in feeding birds, and the nearby forest is a source of comfort to him; at times he feels he is 'in its . So, just a heads up. Rarely do I struggle to find words about a book that I loved, but I find myself in that position right now. As soon as you crack open Catriona Ward's The Last House on Needless Street, you know something's very wrong. shammon5 1 yr. ago. AUTHOR: Catriona Ward. Needless to say, more tears were shed that day while the three Orimura siblings cried their eyes out when they sat together. No one is who they appear to be, a fact that is lost on them. Ive seen some true crime shows where parents talk about their children who turn out psychopaths and how it was to raise them, but even if they saw the signs and denied it as long as possible, every parent has at least a bit of love for their offspring. A division of The Kreisau Circle LLC. He broke them between two boards with a mallet. And Ive been thinking a lot. It made me think of an online friend I had a couple of years ago, who as she confessed to me at one point has DID. I loved being suspicious, piecing it together in my mind, feeling a tad disoriented. She lives in London and Devon. If you get parts of the talking cat in the second chapter, youre probably going to enjoy the book. But its not what you think. Lauren isn't Lauren, and also suffers from severe dissociative identity disorder. Okay, Im making quick connection: not only to add to your list, please read it! Once I figure that out, I started to get uncomfortable and grew uneasy. Catriona Wards latest novel, The Last House on Needless Street, is the sort of book that defies easy description and categorization. And a house cat who loves napping and reading the Bible. First we find out that Olivia is one of Laurens alters, created to hide from the pain that Ted was causing her. Time is iffy and everyone is erratic. Her next gothic thriller, The Last House on Needless Street, will be published March 2021 by Viper (Serpents Tail). A stolen child. The Last House on Needless Street is a book that has twists not for their own sake, but because what we think of as twists-unexpected events nonetheless grounded in established character and plot-are a natural extension of the characters and events Ward is tackling.. So, when I read about Teds story, the abuse he went through at the hands of his mom, I just couldnt help thinking what might have happened to cause DID and create the person I called a friend. This is the story of a serial killer. The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward, 9781788166188, available at Book Depository with free delivery . Not very successfully. Its inhabitants include a man who drinks a lot, an angry teenage girl who isn't allowed out, and a religious cat. First, there's the stunning transformation as the film shifts from . ISBN: 9781788166188. I think its one people will either love or hate . It would be a bad book if I wasn't afraid of it, says author Cat Ward about The Last House on Needless Street, this season's must-read horror novel. I miss my friend, but I dont really have any means to reach her and even if I would, I have no idea if the person I call a friend is still around. Required fields are marked *. . Like, holy shit, talk about psychopaths At first when they were in the forest and his mother revealed her fathers history and told Ted she never loved him I thought her coldness for her son was, if not natural, kinda understandable. ), Its a very strange genre, horror. All the evidence is there in the beginning. Im fascinated by the lake. All rights reserved. Edition: Main. The Last House on the Street: Directed by Adam Berardi. Fuck this book and every author who blurbed it. It is only outside the last house on Needless Street that Ted finds occasional respite. It feels like a complete short story unto itself, and rightly so because it is integral to all that follows. When new neighbors move in next door, the legacy of the house will finally be revealed - along with the secrets buried among the trees on this dark, dead-end . The Last House on Needless Street. A teenage girl who isn't allowed outside, not after last time. And an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street. The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward is one of those books that is difficult to describe without giving away spoilers. - was it as simple as the mum ended up burying LuLu on her property whilst she was away on holiday. Ive seen some true crime shows where parents talk about their children who turn out psychopaths and how it was to raise them, but even if they saw the signs and denied it as long as possible, every parent has at least a bit of love for their offspring. Right, lets get to the spoilery bits. All these things are true. Could you all raise your hand if the first thought after finishing this book was something like: Conflicted by this one. In fact, it wasnt even scary. A teenage girl who isn't allowed outside, not after last time. Thanks for the great review! by Catriona Ward. Were afraid of Ted, because context clues say we should be, because our own knowledge of the world has shown us its often right to be suspicious of loner men who live in shabby, boarded up houses at the end of the lane. His daughter Lauren visits occasionally. Children have been going missing at a nearby lake for some time and a woman named Dee, whose sister disappeared there some years prior, has convinced herself that Ted had something to do with it. But that plotlines closure felt a bitforced? There were times I was thinking about DNFing, but my curiosity got the better of me, and me see it through the end which I have no regrets about. Suspending belief and use of tropey twists is par for the course for horror/thriller books but this book seemed intent on piling them all into one. This book is in love with itself. Once I found out about Olivia though, I did start to think that Lauren was an alter as well. Do not miss this book.. But that was one twist I didnt quite see coming the mother being the psychopath, I mean. But thisthis is a whole new level. Find him on Twitter at @Gabino_Iglesias. Copyright 2020 by Bookends. Whilst I had my suspicions fairly early on about what was going on, I still enjoyed every second of it. Press J to jump to the feed. This is the story of a serial killer. Part horror story, part mystery thriller, and part tragedy, the book subverts a lot of expectations about what a genre story should be and do, unpacking a complex emotional narrative in the midst of a menacing tale of fear, uncertainty, and constantly escalating dread. To play [not just ] with the expectations of horror but also with the snap conclusions people might come to about certain kinds of behavior or mental health conditions [or socio-economic indicators].. That's where you're wrong. 'The Last House on Needless Street' (Viper Books, Tor Nightfire) was a Times Book of the Month, Observer Book of the Month, March Editor's Pick on Open Book, a Between the Covers BBC2 book club selection, a Times bestseller, and is being developed for film by Andy Serkis's production company, The Imaginarium. To comply with FTC guidelines, I receive no compensation for the reviews or promotional content posted. Ward uses unreliable narrators extremely well.