Today in Random Library Recommendations, another one that showed up in the same section as a bunch of award winning books. I think I’m getting over my distrust of these at last! They aren’t all pretentious and frustrating! Although I’m not sure if this one actually won anything…
The story follows Ines as she starts her time at Catherine House, an exclusive post secondary school where the students are cut off from the outside world so they can focus on their studies. The school has a reputation for turning out the best and brightest, but the longer Ines is in the school, the more she realizes that the people who have been accepted come in with their own baggage and the school is not all that it seems.
The story feels very much like it’s being told from the perspective of someone suffering from a deep, undiagnosed depressive episode.1 It’s very atmospheric and the events that happen seem to be focused on because Ines thinks there should be meaning in those events, rather than them having any actual significance to the story. I get the sense that this is what gothic horror is like, with it being more atmospheric than narrative driven. It’s very much the sort of style I think I need to be in a specific mood for.
Overall, I did enjoy the read. Ines is an interesting narrator to follow, and the style is a lot different than what I’m used to. I do kind of want to know more about the mechanics behind the school, but ultimately I don’t think that was important to the story and I’m good with not knowing. If you’re in the mood for it, check it out.
- Given what I write, that’s not a bad thing [↩]