Monday, August 14, 2006
Daisy gave me The Love Curse Of The Rumbaughs by Jack Gantos to read yesterday. By all rights I should have loved it - it's got that Midwestern Gothic thing going for it, hints of the supernatural, a nature v. nurture debate, etc. but I really, really hated it. I can't point to any one thing that stands out as a cause for my dislike, but there are several little annoyances that added up. For one thing, it's so obvious. There are no shocking revelations, although the book makes it seem as if the secrets it reveals should make the reader clutch her pearls. Initially I thought the setting and the tone were nice and subtly creepy, but both went over the top fairly quickly and ended up just making me roll my eyes at any attempt to invoke a Gothic feel. I mean, the storm in the cemetery? Please. It was all just so... heavyhanded, I guess is a good word. It seemed like a weak combination of The Velvet Bubble and The Girl In The Glass with a little "Psycho" thrown in for good measure.
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