Title: Slade House
Author: David Mitchell
Pages: 238
Finished: July 5, 2018
First Sentence: Whatever Mum's saying's drowned out by the grimy roar of the bus pulling away, revealing a pub called The Fox and Hounds.
Summary: Every nine years, someone finds a small, black iron door in the wall of Slade Alley. When they open it, they find themselves in the backyard of Slade House, a house too large to fit in the space provided. They find themselves in a place that absolutely fits with what they're looking for. Friendship. Companionship. Answers to questions. Even when things start to seem wrong, they don't leave. Every nine years, someone goes into Slade House and never comes out. Every nine years.
Thoughts: I read this a year ago as a standalone. Today, I read it as the last book of my David Mitchel personal reading challenge. I wanted to read his "ubernovel." The book definitely had some more meaning to it this time around now that I know more. I recognized more names, I was connecting things with other things from other books (real descriptive, I know.) The book itself was a fast read compared to Mitchell's other works.
I think out of the seven, this is my favorite. It's small, fairly light, and just fun. As fun as a haunted house story can be. The book can totally be read on it's own without causing any issues. That being said, it was really neat seeing all the connections including the Moon Grey Cat, some names that connect with other stories, and the tie-in with The Bone Clocks.
In general, I feel like as I read each subsequent Mitchell novel, I need to go back and reread the ones before. I don't feel like the reading experience of any of them was particularly enjoyable, but I keep thinking about them. I'm most curious by the being in Ghostwritten that travels in various people's heads. Is it an Atemporal being like the ones we've met, or is it something else entirely? I'm also intensely curious about the end of Ghostwritten with the comet. When did that supposedly take place? It doesn't seem to take place in any of his other books, but that could just be due to the fact that it's his first book. I'm sure if I Googled long enough, I'd figure it out.
Read for my Persona Reading Challenge.
I think out of the seven, this is my favorite. It's small, fairly light, and just fun. As fun as a haunted house story can be. The book can totally be read on it's own without causing any issues. That being said, it was really neat seeing all the connections including the Moon Grey Cat, some names that connect with other stories, and the tie-in with The Bone Clocks.
In general, I feel like as I read each subsequent Mitchell novel, I need to go back and reread the ones before. I don't feel like the reading experience of any of them was particularly enjoyable, but I keep thinking about them. I'm most curious by the being in Ghostwritten that travels in various people's heads. Is it an Atemporal being like the ones we've met, or is it something else entirely? I'm also intensely curious about the end of Ghostwritten with the comet. When did that supposedly take place? It doesn't seem to take place in any of his other books, but that could just be due to the fact that it's his first book. I'm sure if I Googled long enough, I'd figure it out.
Read for my Persona Reading Challenge.
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