Review: The Dead House: A Novel

The Dead House: A Novel by Billy O'Callaghan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review: THE DEAD HOUSE by Billy O'Callaghan

I sped through this exciting and enlightening literary supernatural thriller in a day; I couldn't separate myself from the story. I was so engrossed in empathy with the protagonists: Michael, Maggie, Allison; and with the fulcrum character, Liz--and much later, with the child Hannah, who may be the target, or who may be another fulcrum character. {By fulcrum character, I am meaning the individual whose lever applied just at the crossroads crux situation quite literally changes the path and direction of the story.}

In no way am I about to imply derivativeness: THE DEAD HOUSE is perfect in its originality, and I believe its drama to be quintessentially Irish. Yet in certain portions (specifically Michael's return visit to the painter Maggie's cottage, her new paintings and sketches, and the way in which Maggie encapsulates her new view of "the way things really are"), I perceived somewhat of both a Lovecraftian tone, and of the rural prime madness of the countryside of Thomas Hardy' s moors. Then in the Epilogue, several elements combine to resonate for me with the subtle unendable terrors of Henry James' "Turn of The Screw." Yet again, these literary allusions are my perception, not derivation.


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