Publication Date: 16th July 2024
Genre: Southern Dark Mystery, Magic Realism
2.7 stars
One Liner: Ambitious and dark but flatters in execution
1980s, Appalachia
Sheila, a seventeen-year-old, lives with an old woman, a twelve-year-old sister Angie, and their mother. Life is hard and a constant battle of bullying, lack of money, and too much work. It doesn’t help that Angie lives in her own world and draws cards that seem to have a life of their own.
When a pair of female hikers is murdered in the region, the sisters are drawn to the case. This brings danger and violence closer to their home. As things get murkier, can Sheila and Angie survive the aftermath?
The story comes in the third-person POV.
My Thoughts:
There’s something dark and suffocating about the title and cover, which made me request a copy of the book. The premise was intriguing too, especially the setting. The main characters are YA but this is an adult read. I wouldn’t recommend it to teens (unless they are comfortable with dark themes).
What I Like:
The setting is dark and intense. It shows the brutal side of nature, which aligns perfectly with the plot and the characters. The atmosphere is thick, suffocating, strange, uncomfortable, and sinister. Anything can go wrong and they do.
There’s hardly any lighter moment or a scene that makes the reader smile. Everything is tainted with suspicion. Naturally, it makes for an intense read. I enjoyed how the elements were used even when the rest wasn’t working as expected.
Despite the characters living in imaginary worlds, the situations are very much real and gritty. The MCs are poor, outcasts, and bullied. They have different coping mechanisms. The adults aren’t great either. Flawed and compelling.
The chapters' titles and the drawings are intriguing.
What Didn’t Work for Me:
There’s magic realism of sorts, and the lines between real and imaginary often blur. I don’t have issues with this since it is one of my favorite genres. However, I do need things to be a little less haphazard.
The mystery is so, so weak! I hoped for some tension-filled stuff. But nothing much happens for a long, long time and then something happens. After that, I’m not sure how the whole thing would work in reality. It’s confusing and disappointing.
While I understood metaphors like the invisible rope, I’m still not sure about ifs and what’s regarding the recurring role of rabbits. Is there even some sort of inference? No idea!
There are a few more themes like sexuality, gender orientation, eating disorders, dysfunctional family, etc. These weave in and out of the narrative but don’t always make sense. The whole thing feels elusive and hazy.
The ending is okay, decent. There is some progress but this feels largely like a slice-of-life narrative that doesn’t provide any answers. All those bits and pieces were underdeveloped and went nowhere.
The POVs jump from one character to another and from reality to make-believe. It is easy to lose track if we don’t give it 100% attention. In fact, I’ve had to reread some paragraphs even when I was fully focused on the narrative. It feels like a fever dream in many places.
The book is just 250+ pages but packed full, though nothing much seems to happen. This is a strange mix of everything and nothing and further weighs down the reader (unless you enjoy such styles).
To summarize, Smothermoss sounds great in theory and has some worthy elements. It works great in parts but ends up a bit undercooked as a whole. The results will be case-sensitive. So, if my nays are your ayes, give this a try. I know I’d want to read another book by the author. Good potential.
My thanks to NetGalley, and Tin House Books, for the eARC.
#NetGalley #Smothermoss
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