Required fields are marked *. 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, Lauren, and his cat, Olivia. A teenage girl who isn't allowed outside, not after last time. Because, although Needless Street has no real factual content in the plot at all, there are echoes of a real-life tragedy built into its bones, the kind that could certainly encourage readers to draw specific conclusions about the things theyre watching unfold. No one is who they appear to be, a fact that is lost on them. A post shared by Caroline (@howdidthatbookend). This is a great example of the skill of showing and not telling. Let me in. That synopsis is short and covers just the basics. 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].. The second I finished this extremely impressive debut, I went back to the beginning and read it again: I defy anyone else to do otherwise. Today we're discussing the book of the month that we read for March!! Ted has reason to believe that there is a murderer loose in his neighbourhood and fears what that means for the safety of his little familyespecially when (for all he knows) that murderer could in fact be him. Wonderful review, Jeanne. The Last House on Needless Street follows Ted, who lives with his daughter Lauren and his cat Olivia in an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street. The Last House on Needless Street is more accurately comparable to 2016's surprise hit I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Ian Reid. This is one of the best well rounded stories that I have read in some time, everything fits and it does not feel forced. Find him on Twitter at @Gabino_Iglesias. Each plot thread was integral yet interconnected to a hundred others, and each change affected and reverberated through the whole. I know that The Last House on Needless Street is in the best possible hands, and I cant wait to start working with them to bring the mysterious world of Needless Street to life on film., Serkis called The Last House on Needless Street The kind of book you come across once in a lifetime. Its a talent that his mother largely wants to ignore, until her top client Regis Thomas dies with the final novel in his long-running (and joyfully terrible) series unfinished. But he cant help thinking about Little Girl with Popsicle, a girl who went missing from the lake a few miles from Teds house. There is a truth we begin to see relatively early on, but when you're standing on shaky ground and the narrative keeps throwing curveballs your way, believing you know what's happening is almost impossible. And a house cat who loves napping and reading the Bible. A teenage girl who isn't allowed outside, not after last time. Follow Ted, who lives with his daughter and his cat. I think horror doesnt get enough credit as well for its redemptive qualities, Ward continues. He's unemployed, drinks a lot, and suffers from a few undiagnosed mental health problems. Jeez what a trip. Big, fat. I think what I wanted to do with this [story] was destabilize that a little bit.. And according to Ward, that unease is absolutely something she counted on her audience feeling. The last twist was that Teds mother was the one who took Lulus body for more of her medical experiments. Well, then there's the rest: gods buried in the woods, the mystery of Lauren's sporadic presence and brooding mood, angry green boys living in the attic, and Olivia, a cat who talks, reads, believes in God, wants to have a TV show, and suffers from dissociative identity disorder. The novelist talks about her fascination with horror Sat. His daughter Lauren comes to visit from time to time, but they never go out when she does, and their relationship is always tense and often violent. The Last House on Needless Street is quite different to your two previous novels, Rawblood and Little Eve, which were more straight historical gothic. Sounds like something I would read when Im in a different frame of mind. The Last House on Needless Street is an excellent psychological horror Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2021 Verified Purchase "The Last House on Needless Street" by Catriona Ward is one of those rare books you'll read in 2021 that will keep you on the edge of your seat from the moment you start. She was already very full of opinions. Noping right out of that one, that absolutely does sound like nightmares waiting to happen. The Last House on Needless Street is complex and multilayered, but more like a multiverse than an onion. I'm not used to how much space I take up in the world. It's the tragic and often heart-wrenching story of a man living with a profound mental illness, and how this illness forces him to navigate his life. I picked this up from the new books shelves at the library this weekend, opened it at random, and the page I read was upsetting in similar ways to the passage about the little cat, so I didnt check it out. Funny that I justified your hunch so immediately! Often, Im not a fan of male narrators trying to do female voices, but Christopher Ragland did an incredible job of matching all the different characters. Mystery unravels layer by layer in intricate tales of trafficking, abduction and a New Yorker with a sixth sense plus, a 27th outing for Alan Banks. The same applies to the psyches of its characters. Catriona Wards The Last House on Needless Street, which opens 11 years after a little girl vanishes on a family trip to a lake, comes emblazoned with glowing and much-deserved praise from her fellow authors: Stephen King, no less, calls it the most exciting novel since Gone Girl, and a true nerve-shredder. The ending is propulsive and shocking and definitely had me re-running prior scenes in my head to assist with putting the pieces together. Hes unhappy at work, recently dumped, and his one big dream is stalled outliterally. This book is wearing the disguise of horror. There isnt a page where the story lags. . And yet some of them are lies. Dee, the girls sister, has never stopped thinking about Lulu. Later is a horror story, but its also a proper thriller, told by a master of his craft. Despite the fact that thousands of people were at the lake that day, he walked up to each woman while they were with friends and introduced himself using his real name. 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. Is she a complete creation, or is she based on a real cat? The book embraces many of the most familiar aspects of the horror genre, but it also counts on its readers to possess a shared understanding of its common tropes and signifiers, and uses those assumptions to subvert many of their preexisting expectations. That makes her the only woman to win the prize twice, and Little Eves selection for the 2019 Shirley Jackson Award establishes Ward as a new face of literary dark fiction. What kind of overpowering greed leads someone to need to do it twice in one day?. Shes honed in on Ted and is determined to find out what became of her sister. Not sure why she didn't bury Lulu there as well though. Yeah, the mom buried Lulu in the neighbor's yard when the neighbor went on vacation. I thought that was really important to make sure that [those things] come out, [that[ it has the light shining through the dark branches as it were.. So Tara decides to revisit her exes in hopes of securing her very own trope-worthy second-chance romance. Growing up, I had a black cat called Velvet. Thank you! Snakes were her one true fear because they slithered out from under Lulus body when she found it. And [theres] actually a huge quality of empathy [involved] because what youre saying to the reader is, Here are my vulnerabilities. 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. What did you think?! Four girls drove home but after their car crashed only Olivia was found. Ward uses unreliable narrators extremely well. 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. Inquiries to kay@kreisaumedia.com. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/. 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 . The description is vague on purpose, and the best thing to do is just dive in without any information. Did you plan them in detail, or write furiously and edit afterwards? Each character has their own distinctive voice, each one giving a slightly different viewpoint of the story. Everyone who has read The Last House on Needless Street raves about all the many twists and turns. Each thinks the other is planning to murder her out there. Ward will executive produce alongside the Imaginarium. I spent most of my childhood reading so we spent a lot of time together. Even as someone who typically predicts plot-twists with annoying accuracy, I was repeatedly forced to revisit my assumptions as each revelation rendered my best guesses fallacious. Now it is confirmed. Required fields are marked *. Books received from a third party sponsor have no impact on the honesty of my reviews. Its fun to talk about books because it leads you into talking about ideas and reflections. In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three. I hope its [really] about survival and hope as much as it is about suffering. That stays here.Why? I whispered. The Last House On Needless Street was an absolute masterclass of suspense and storytelling, and I can hardly believe how well constructed just about every aspect of it was. Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks. Maryland man banned from his favorite local pub 'for being old and white' says staffers previously tried to drive him away with 'head-banging' music: Owner says venue plays Taylor Swift and Lizzo This book was one crazy ride!! Why did you decide to write a modern gothic thriller? The truth of who Alexa is, and how she feels, is safely masked and protected by all the personalities Id hidden inside. I read it in one sitting because its so compelling, but the more I got drawn into the mystery of what was happening and the more I found out, the worse I felt. This is the most gloriously complex, shifting story, deeply disturbing yet also, somehow, heartwarming. And yet some of them are lies. All commissions go toward supporting this blog. It . Revenge. A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory. Ward has created something truly special here, and fans of the horror and thriller genres will be well impressed by what they find. And I won't even start with the talking cat. But then Ella gets a job at a strip club, and the pair stumble into a dangerous world of abuse and sex-trafficking in the underbelly of London. The chapters alternate between Ted, Olivia, Lauren, and Dee, and none of them can be trusted. As soon as you crack open Catriona Ward's The Last House on Needless Street, you know something's very wrong. 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