What do you think?
Rate this book
Un coro de niños enfermos
Desde la misteriosa desaparición de su madre y el suicidio de su padre, la vida no ha ido muy bien para Thomas. Se ha tenido que hacer cargo de sus tres hermanos, tres gemelos con cuerpos separados que comparten un solo cerebro; así como de la empresa familiar, la única industria del lugar, que es temida y respetada por igual por los habitantes de la comunidad.
Un coro de niños enfermos es la extraordinaria historia de un territorio de los pantanos atrasado y consumido que atrae a los perdidos, a los desventurados y a los malditos.
Un coro de niños enfermos es la extraordinaria historia de un territorio de los pantanos atrasado y consumido que atrae a los perdidos, a los desventurados y a los malditos.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
91 people are currently reading
4415 people want to read
About the author
Tom Piccirilli
186 books386 followersThomas Piccirilli (May 27, 1965 – July 11, 2015) was an American novelist and short story writer.
Piccirilli sold over 150 stories in the mystery, thriller, horror, erotica, and science fiction fields. He was a two-time winner of the International Thriller Writers Award for "Best Paperback Original" (2008, 2010). He was a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award. He was also a finalist for the 2009 Edgar Allan Poe Award given by the Mystery Writers of America, a final nominee for the Fantasy Award, and the winner of the first Bram Stoker Award given in the category of "Best Poetry Collection".
Piccirilli sold over 150 stories in the mystery, thriller, horror, erotica, and science fiction fields. He was a two-time winner of the International Thriller Writers Award for "Best Paperback Original" (2008, 2010). He was a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award. He was also a finalist for the 2009 Edgar Allan Poe Award given by the Mystery Writers of America, a final nominee for the Fantasy Award, and the winner of the first Bram Stoker Award given in the category of "Best Poetry Collection".
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 248 reviews
September 27, 2018
**review amended to include deborah's thoughts, because even though we gave it the same amount of stars, i did not do a good enough job reviewing.
"...listen to me - things are different down here. This is the deep South. There are laws that don't apply."
"You're an ugly, disgusting people."
"No worse than most I'd guess."
krok zero hated this book.
and i understand his problems with it - when something is compared to faulkner and flannery o'connor, you have certain expectations as a reader, and while this book definitely borrows the tone of those southern masters, there is something out of control in its narrative that doesn't reach the heights of its own blurbs. and i am giving it a four-star rating, even though i am feeling a high-three. i have read too many three-star books lately, and this one, while frustrating in places, was way better than the others. my star-ratings are always extremely subjective, which is pretty much why i review, so i can work out my feelings.
here are some of my feeeelings:
this book is like a diorama of southern bizarro: conjoined mystical triplets, underage sex grenades (an expression i totally just stole from dan simmons), murder, suicide, pregnant nuns, speaking in tongues, folklore, witch-healers, alligators, white trash catfights, amputations for the good of all, a mysterious carnival, and a main character who lives in this liminal space between reality and ghostly apparitions.
and it's a hoot, but sometimes it gets to be a bit much. it is a tiny book, but it is somehow a slow read, because there is a lot of re-reading necessary. the story is tricksy, and there is never one of those handy "you are here" signs. it reminded me so much of, The Obscene Bird of Night which is a supremely grotesque and convoluted book. greg and maureen have great reviews of it - i read it pre-goodreads, and i do not have the balls to review it now, but if you want to read something completely mind-blowing and possibly vomit-inducing, and which is probably going to confuse the shit out of you, that book would be a good place to start. so having loved obscene bird, and having loved another book by piccirilli, The Last Kind Words, i think i was predisposed to like this one more than krok zero (joel, collect your dollar, even though i think your prediction may have been an insult to me?).
it definitely is not a perfectly-constructed novel; characters come into and out of play, drifting through the scenes just to perform acts of strangeness or discomfort for the benefit of the reader, and there is never really a sense of where the story wants to be going. the reveal of the mystery is a mystery we never knew we were supposed to be looking for, although it almost accidentally solves the riddle of "who is kicking all these dogs??"
and the last quarter of this book is a pretty out-of-nowhere bloodbath.
and yet... i liked it a lot more in thinking over having read it then while i was actually reading it, because now i can see the full scope of it. but i still don't know what it is. it is a noir-magical-realism-ghost-crime story, i guess. but i still don't know what the story is, other than a dark slice-of-life story in which horrible things happen. and i think i will want to re-read it sometime, now that i know where it is going to end up, because i think there were probably a lot of scattered clues throughout that i would appreciate a second time through.
spooky month continues...
** but all of that is incorrect!! here is the real review, from deborah:
I thought it was a beautiful and moody read. I think it failed to be truly scary, but it was ugly enough to be interesting. Dreamy and strange.
my work here is done.
come to my blog!
"...listen to me - things are different down here. This is the deep South. There are laws that don't apply."
"You're an ugly, disgusting people."
"No worse than most I'd guess."
krok zero hated this book.
and i understand his problems with it - when something is compared to faulkner and flannery o'connor, you have certain expectations as a reader, and while this book definitely borrows the tone of those southern masters, there is something out of control in its narrative that doesn't reach the heights of its own blurbs. and i am giving it a four-star rating, even though i am feeling a high-three. i have read too many three-star books lately, and this one, while frustrating in places, was way better than the others. my star-ratings are always extremely subjective, which is pretty much why i review, so i can work out my feelings.
here are some of my feeeelings:
this book is like a diorama of southern bizarro: conjoined mystical triplets, underage sex grenades (an expression i totally just stole from dan simmons), murder, suicide, pregnant nuns, speaking in tongues, folklore, witch-healers, alligators, white trash catfights, amputations for the good of all, a mysterious carnival, and a main character who lives in this liminal space between reality and ghostly apparitions.
and it's a hoot, but sometimes it gets to be a bit much. it is a tiny book, but it is somehow a slow read, because there is a lot of re-reading necessary. the story is tricksy, and there is never one of those handy "you are here" signs. it reminded me so much of, The Obscene Bird of Night which is a supremely grotesque and convoluted book. greg and maureen have great reviews of it - i read it pre-goodreads, and i do not have the balls to review it now, but if you want to read something completely mind-blowing and possibly vomit-inducing, and which is probably going to confuse the shit out of you, that book would be a good place to start. so having loved obscene bird, and having loved another book by piccirilli, The Last Kind Words, i think i was predisposed to like this one more than krok zero (joel, collect your dollar, even though i think your prediction may have been an insult to me?).
it definitely is not a perfectly-constructed novel; characters come into and out of play, drifting through the scenes just to perform acts of strangeness or discomfort for the benefit of the reader, and there is never really a sense of where the story wants to be going. the reveal of the mystery is a mystery we never knew we were supposed to be looking for, although it almost accidentally solves the riddle of "who is kicking all these dogs??"
and the last quarter of this book is a pretty out-of-nowhere bloodbath.
and yet... i liked it a lot more in thinking over having read it then while i was actually reading it, because now i can see the full scope of it. but i still don't know what it is. it is a noir-magical-realism-ghost-crime story, i guess. but i still don't know what the story is, other than a dark slice-of-life story in which horrible things happen. and i think i will want to re-read it sometime, now that i know where it is going to end up, because i think there were probably a lot of scattered clues throughout that i would appreciate a second time through.
spooky month continues...
** but all of that is incorrect!! here is the real review, from deborah:
I thought it was a beautiful and moody read. I think it failed to be truly scary, but it was ugly enough to be interesting. Dreamy and strange.
my work here is done.
come to my blog!
November 26, 2016
In the town of Kingdom Come, Thomas cares for his brothers, conjoined triplets, and for the mill, the town's only source of income. Who's kicking all the dogs? What happened to Thomas' family?
A Choir of Ill Children is a modern Southern Gothic tale, a slice in Thomas' bizarre life. To be honest, I'm not precisely sure what this was supposed to be. It reads like a collaboration between Flannery O'Connor and Donald Ray Pollock. There is a bleakness to the tale and a lot of strange shit happens. Some parts feel quite dreamlike and I'm not sure which ones actually happened.
I'm not even sure how to describe the plot. Thomas wanders from one encounter to the next and very little ever gets resolved. However, the encounters themselves are well-written and captivating. Someone's kicking all the dogs. There is lots of sex and violence, and mystery mute woman who is either eleven years old or twenty. There are witches, a preacher that speaks in tongues, and the Holy Order of the Flying Wallendas. And much more. Some things are best experiences for yourself.
As I said before, I thought the writing was great and Piccirilli's depictions of the grotesque are very well done. There are some scenes that will stick with me for a long time. Hell, I enjoyed the shit out of it despite being lost in the swamp a few times as to what was actually happening.
Overall, I liked this book and I'll be tracking down more of Tom Piccirilli's work. I enjoyed it even if I'm not sure what the hell actually happened. Three out of five stars.
A Choir of Ill Children is a modern Southern Gothic tale, a slice in Thomas' bizarre life. To be honest, I'm not precisely sure what this was supposed to be. It reads like a collaboration between Flannery O'Connor and Donald Ray Pollock. There is a bleakness to the tale and a lot of strange shit happens. Some parts feel quite dreamlike and I'm not sure which ones actually happened.
I'm not even sure how to describe the plot. Thomas wanders from one encounter to the next and very little ever gets resolved. However, the encounters themselves are well-written and captivating. Someone's kicking all the dogs. There is lots of sex and violence, and mystery mute woman who is either eleven years old or twenty. There are witches, a preacher that speaks in tongues, and the Holy Order of the Flying Wallendas. And much more. Some things are best experiences for yourself.
As I said before, I thought the writing was great and Piccirilli's depictions of the grotesque are very well done. There are some scenes that will stick with me for a long time. Hell, I enjoyed the shit out of it despite being lost in the swamp a few times as to what was actually happening.
Overall, I liked this book and I'll be tracking down more of Tom Piccirilli's work. I enjoyed it even if I'm not sure what the hell actually happened. Three out of five stars.
October 6, 2018
Well, there's plenty of weird stuff here.
Conjoined triplets, a conjure woman's daughter traded into being their concubine, a naked minister, an oversexed, lusty librarian and a college student who wants to use them all in a porno film. Yeah. This is not your typical book club selection, though I'd love to see the old gals discussing this one over their wine and cheesecake.
Like a visit to the carnival freak show or one of those TV documentaries about obese infants and 300-pound tumors, the whole shebang seems to exist more to SHOCK than anything else.
But, Piccirilli sure does turn a pretty phrase now and again...
. . . no tar paper shack that collects heat in the summer and pours it over you like scalding water.
I liked that. And his referring to the horny librarian as having "molten loins." That's pretty evocative. And then there's this:
They, like most men, are men of myth and mediocrity. They carry with them the fables of their commonplace grandfathers and the blood of warriors and drunks. Over the years they've had to scrape their broken fathers off the back porch and put cold compresses on their mothers' busted noses. They've awoken in unmopped kitchen corners beneath the scowls of wives who've been failed early by life. This is their heritage and legacy.
This one is probably not for MOST people. It's punchy and mean, smelly and sweaty. There's not a single likeable character in the book, if that matters to you. There IS plenty of sex and violence and a bloodbath or two. Bad things happen to pretty much everybody. Children cry. Dogs get kicked. The dead speak in dreams, then dreams become real.
BUT, if you're looking for something to shake you out of your complacency, your safe little reading zone, this might possibly do the trick.
Just don't say I didn't warn you.
Conjoined triplets, a conjure woman's daughter traded into being their concubine, a naked minister, an oversexed, lusty librarian and a college student who wants to use them all in a porno film. Yeah. This is not your typical book club selection, though I'd love to see the old gals discussing this one over their wine and cheesecake.
Like a visit to the carnival freak show or one of those TV documentaries about obese infants and 300-pound tumors, the whole shebang seems to exist more to SHOCK than anything else.
But, Piccirilli sure does turn a pretty phrase now and again...
. . . no tar paper shack that collects heat in the summer and pours it over you like scalding water.
I liked that. And his referring to the horny librarian as having "molten loins." That's pretty evocative. And then there's this:
They, like most men, are men of myth and mediocrity. They carry with them the fables of their commonplace grandfathers and the blood of warriors and drunks. Over the years they've had to scrape their broken fathers off the back porch and put cold compresses on their mothers' busted noses. They've awoken in unmopped kitchen corners beneath the scowls of wives who've been failed early by life. This is their heritage and legacy.
This one is probably not for MOST people. It's punchy and mean, smelly and sweaty. There's not a single likeable character in the book, if that matters to you. There IS plenty of sex and violence and a bloodbath or two. Bad things happen to pretty much everybody. Children cry. Dogs get kicked. The dead speak in dreams, then dreams become real.
BUT, if you're looking for something to shake you out of your complacency, your safe little reading zone, this might possibly do the trick.
Just don't say I didn't warn you.
November 27, 2022
Para la penúltima conjunta del mes con Devoradora de libros decidí escoger esta novela y estrenarme con un autor al que tenía pendiente desde hacía tiempo y así adentrarme en un mundo extraño, lleno de supersticiones, personajes rocambolescos y un aire putrefacto cargado de desgracias con esta novela de Tom Piccirilli.
Me moría de curiosidad ya que la portada por sí sola captó mi atención, la sinopsis también pero tampoco sabía muy bien lo que me iba a encontrar hasta que no estaba bien avanzada en la trama.
El inicio es muy potente, mostrándote el día a día de esos hermanos trillizos, nada menos, y siameses que comparten un mismo cerebro, es algo aterrador y a la vez fascinante, soy de las que le encanta ver documentales que muestran este tipo de problemas médicos, pero según iba leyendo sentí que se diluye con múltiples divagaciones de índole sexual, además de acciones en determinados personajes, momentos y situaciones que no llegaba a entender muy bien qué pintaban ahí o me parecían tremendamente surrealistas.
Por ejemplo, y no se preocupen que no es spoiler, ocurre nada más comenzar a leer; una reportera, Sarah, que llega para hacerles una entrevista a los siameses y se queda allí a vivir de buenas a primeras y se pasa el día drogada junto a su pareja Fred.
Si les llama la atención adelante y léanla, no la considero una mala lectura, de hecho me ha encantado la experiencia aunque con esos "peros" que comento. Extravagante la define a la perfección.
Su prosa es como seguir un camino de piedras impregnadas en musgo y cuando menos te lo esperas resbalas, para luego no saber por donde tienes que seguir, así es la pluma de Piccirilli. Un tanto caótica y fragmentada donde en algunos momentos no sabes cuál es el hilo conductor hacia donde quiere llevarte.
En esencia es un vaivén emocional de pueblos consumidos por la ignorancia y la desidia de los que viven en el.
🤔 Lo que está claro es que me ha costado adentrarme en el estilo de Piccirilli, y aunque tardé, al final me hice con la historia.
Lo volveré a intentar con "Noviembre de luto" que es otro que tengo en la pila de pendientes, pero al menos ya sé a lo que me enfrento. Un estilo algo caótico, que va de un hecho a otro sin una clara línea argumental como comenté antes.
Todo esto no deja de ser mi opinión personal. Entiendo que pueda encantar a mucha gente asidua al género, de hecho yo iba con altas expectativas pero a medida que iba leyendo y se sucedían situaciones que me sacaban del contexto, sentía que perdía el hilo de lo que me estaba contando el autor.
Sí debo destacar su ambientación que me ha parecido de diez; el aire malsano que se respira, de dejadez, supersticiones y mucho fanatismo, brujas incluidas.
Todo ese aire enfermo y plagado de desgracias es lo que hace que esta lectura tenga algo que te anime a seguir leyendo. Pero reconozco que no es fácil llegar hasta el final a pesar de su corta extensión.
Otra cosa que me ha quedado clara es que no se salva nadie, están todos como cencerros 😂
📖 Próxima lectura:
"Umbría" - Santiago Eximeno.
📚 https://www.facebook.com/LaLocadelosL... 💜
Me moría de curiosidad ya que la portada por sí sola captó mi atención, la sinopsis también pero tampoco sabía muy bien lo que me iba a encontrar hasta que no estaba bien avanzada en la trama.
El inicio es muy potente, mostrándote el día a día de esos hermanos trillizos, nada menos, y siameses que comparten un mismo cerebro, es algo aterrador y a la vez fascinante, soy de las que le encanta ver documentales que muestran este tipo de problemas médicos, pero según iba leyendo sentí que se diluye con múltiples divagaciones de índole sexual, además de acciones en determinados personajes, momentos y situaciones que no llegaba a entender muy bien qué pintaban ahí o me parecían tremendamente surrealistas.
Por ejemplo, y no se preocupen que no es spoiler, ocurre nada más comenzar a leer; una reportera, Sarah, que llega para hacerles una entrevista a los siameses y se queda allí a vivir de buenas a primeras y se pasa el día drogada junto a su pareja Fred.
Si les llama la atención adelante y léanla, no la considero una mala lectura, de hecho me ha encantado la experiencia aunque con esos "peros" que comento. Extravagante la define a la perfección.
Su prosa es como seguir un camino de piedras impregnadas en musgo y cuando menos te lo esperas resbalas, para luego no saber por donde tienes que seguir, así es la pluma de Piccirilli. Un tanto caótica y fragmentada donde en algunos momentos no sabes cuál es el hilo conductor hacia donde quiere llevarte.
En esencia es un vaivén emocional de pueblos consumidos por la ignorancia y la desidia de los que viven en el.
🤔 Lo que está claro es que me ha costado adentrarme en el estilo de Piccirilli, y aunque tardé, al final me hice con la historia.
Lo volveré a intentar con "Noviembre de luto" que es otro que tengo en la pila de pendientes, pero al menos ya sé a lo que me enfrento. Un estilo algo caótico, que va de un hecho a otro sin una clara línea argumental como comenté antes.
Todo esto no deja de ser mi opinión personal. Entiendo que pueda encantar a mucha gente asidua al género, de hecho yo iba con altas expectativas pero a medida que iba leyendo y se sucedían situaciones que me sacaban del contexto, sentía que perdía el hilo de lo que me estaba contando el autor.
Sí debo destacar su ambientación que me ha parecido de diez; el aire malsano que se respira, de dejadez, supersticiones y mucho fanatismo, brujas incluidas.
Todo ese aire enfermo y plagado de desgracias es lo que hace que esta lectura tenga algo que te anime a seguir leyendo. Pero reconozco que no es fácil llegar hasta el final a pesar de su corta extensión.
Otra cosa que me ha quedado clara es que no se salva nadie, están todos como cencerros 😂
📖 Próxima lectura:
"Umbría" - Santiago Eximeno.
📚 https://www.facebook.com/LaLocadelosL... 💜
October 11, 2012
I’m sure that your reading list is plenty long, but this book needs to be moved to the top of the pile. This book is not for the faint of heart, for it is quite challenging. Think William Faulkner mixed with Flannery O’Connor and you’ll get a pretty good picture at Piccirilli’s writing-style. The language of the novel is both horrifying and beautiful, and if you can keep from reading the same passages over and over, because of how he constructed and mixed seemingly disconnected words and images, I applaud you. Though only a bit over 200 pages, relish this novel in small doses, for it may be the best example of Southern Gothic literature today. Simply put: this novel will knock you down, help you back up, and knock you down again because it can. With all that being said, the novel is far from perfect. There are many what the fuck moments that are mated with the grotesque. Ultimately, this book evokes a feeling, an environmental response.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
October 27, 2011
Oy.
So it's October, and that's when you're supposed to read horror fiction, right? And I always feel like I should be reading horror, should be unearthing the good stuff, because I like horror movies and in theory the genre appeals to me, but in practice I have never really come across a horror novel that has served my particular literary needs. Unless you count Shirley Jackson, which I guess I don't, because the only genre she belongs to is the genre of the fucking sublime.
But I sometimes give it a go this time of year. My 2011 attempt began with the '70s voodoo-curse thingy All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By (which my fingers almost just typed as All Hands on the Bad One, a Sleater-Kinney album that would be a better use of your time than reading that John Farris book). It wasn't really actively bad, just pretty dumb and unsatisfying, so I didn't/don't have much to say about it. Undeterred, I moved on to what turned out to be a much worse piece of shit, namely this book. 0 for 2.
"Piece of shit" is unfair, I guess. It's fairly ambitious, certainly not hackwork, but it is a spectacular failure. I was intrigued by the Southern Gothic comparisons, the weird title, the conjoined-twins hook, even the text of the first page. But Piccirilli simply does not have the prose skill to support this kind of book, a plotless mood-piece about a bizarre backwater swamp town where everyone is various shades of fucked-up/violent/sex-crazed/insane/scarred/depraved/etc. There are a bunch of different plot threads involving the protagonist's affairs with different crazies, but there is absolutely no narrative engine to the book, no tension, no stakes — and the "mood" being cultivated is totally ersatz and transparent and ineffective, and Piccirilli just isn't capable of style at the level he reaches for, so there is really no reason to turn the pages at any time, no matter how much fucked up shit happens (ultimately not even that much; the creepy conjoined triplets with a single brain don't even do anything, they're just in the background for the first few chapters and then pretty much disappear). It's all just a pretentious mess, and certainly nothing remotely close to "scary" (though I'd have settled for "readable"). As for the publisher and reviewers who dropped Queen Flannery O'Connor's name in conjunction with this book, I hope they have trouble sleeping at night.
Horror and I will one day have a blissful union, but it didn't happen this time.
So it's October, and that's when you're supposed to read horror fiction, right? And I always feel like I should be reading horror, should be unearthing the good stuff, because I like horror movies and in theory the genre appeals to me, but in practice I have never really come across a horror novel that has served my particular literary needs. Unless you count Shirley Jackson, which I guess I don't, because the only genre she belongs to is the genre of the fucking sublime.
But I sometimes give it a go this time of year. My 2011 attempt began with the '70s voodoo-curse thingy All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By (which my fingers almost just typed as All Hands on the Bad One, a Sleater-Kinney album that would be a better use of your time than reading that John Farris book). It wasn't really actively bad, just pretty dumb and unsatisfying, so I didn't/don't have much to say about it. Undeterred, I moved on to what turned out to be a much worse piece of shit, namely this book. 0 for 2.
"Piece of shit" is unfair, I guess. It's fairly ambitious, certainly not hackwork, but it is a spectacular failure. I was intrigued by the Southern Gothic comparisons, the weird title, the conjoined-twins hook, even the text of the first page. But Piccirilli simply does not have the prose skill to support this kind of book, a plotless mood-piece about a bizarre backwater swamp town where everyone is various shades of fucked-up/violent/sex-crazed/insane/scarred/depraved/etc. There are a bunch of different plot threads involving the protagonist's affairs with different crazies, but there is absolutely no narrative engine to the book, no tension, no stakes — and the "mood" being cultivated is totally ersatz and transparent and ineffective, and Piccirilli just isn't capable of style at the level he reaches for, so there is really no reason to turn the pages at any time, no matter how much fucked up shit happens (ultimately not even that much; the creepy conjoined triplets with a single brain don't even do anything, they're just in the background for the first few chapters and then pretty much disappear). It's all just a pretentious mess, and certainly nothing remotely close to "scary" (though I'd have settled for "readable"). As for the publisher and reviewers who dropped Queen Flannery O'Connor's name in conjunction with this book, I hope they have trouble sleeping at night.
Horror and I will one day have a blissful union, but it didn't happen this time.
April 5, 2014
Tom Piccirilli has written this novel in nearly a poetic, lyrical style. The gothic setting of the Southern town of Kingdom Come is the perfect backdrop for this tale of madness, evil, conjure women, and secrets galore.
If you're looking for an easy read, this is not the book for you. However, those that like a mental challenge while reading will probably appreciate this strange tale where age-old mysteries, and the fantastic collide.
Recommended.
If you're looking for an easy read, this is not the book for you. However, those that like a mental challenge while reading will probably appreciate this strange tale where age-old mysteries, and the fantastic collide.
Recommended.
September 3, 2019
Well, I've never read anything quite like this. After the first chapter I asked myself WTF did you just read. (pardon my language). This novel was disturbing, challenging and most engaging. I admired the format as it made it almost impossible to quit reading which I was never inclined to do. I really liked it and will proceed with Mr. Piccirilli.
March 3, 2012
This book is definitely not for the faint of heart or one who shys away from horror. There are a lot of elements for a great book, but in my opinion the story doesn't really go anywhere, the first half was a trial, the second half got better but there was a lot left unresolved and it left me saying, "ugh..." and scratching my head. Maybe I should have started my Piccirilli journey with "The Night Class," or "The Dead Letters" as they were both Bram Stoker Award winners.
=Begin my attempt at a plot summary= "A Choir of Ill Children" is set in a small southern town called "Kingdom Come." It is a disgusting swamp backwater that seems to attract the worst of the worst form of life around. Violent bikers, nymphs, prostitutes, old granny witches, and drug addicts constitute the bulk of its charming population. With special characters such as conjoined psychic triplets, hipster documentarians, a geek (not the type of geek your thinking), and the Holy Order of the Flying Wallendas. The novel's central character and narrator, Thomas, is one of the richest men in town due to an inheritance he earned when his parents passed on. He lives in a large mansion with his freakish 3 brothers, the conjoined psychic triplets I mentioned earlier, who have three bodies but share a single brain. One day with the arrival in town of a strange young mute girl who seems abandoned Thomas hires a private detective to uncover the mysteries behind her arrival AND the identity of an infamous dog kicker who is pissing off the locals and leaving behind some wicked shoe prints on said dogs. Along with the uncovering of those mysteries, Thomas discovers that there is way more going on in Kingdom Come and it's murky swamp then he had ever thought. =End my attempt at a plot summary=
Trying to write a plot summary for this novel was rough and hurt my brain. Piccirilli is literally all over the map with this novel. There's little to no narrative or plot structure. Instead of focusing on creating a story, Piccirilli seems content in just throwing together hallucinatory scenes about the everyday lives of the town's populace and odd memories, or should I say nightmares, that his mother and father had. Even at a mere 225 pages, reading this felt like a chore. Piccirilli's writing style is one that I found very difficult to absorb, not to mention trying to keep up with all the characters. There's so many that I would often find myself forgetting where I'd first read of this character and Piccirilli never makes any attempt to refresh the reader's memory once a minor character who hasn't appeared for dozens pages suddenly makes an appearance. It took me almost half the book to nail down who was who, something that should never happen in a novel.
It's too bad because Piccirilli really is a fantastic writer in the technical sense. His prose can be beautiful and poetic. I was impressed with the uniqueness of the town and of some of the characters he created in this book; Moreover, his ability to make us feel like a part of the southern swamp setting is impressive. But for a novel (especially horror) to be entertaining it needs more than creative writing, and it definitely needs a coherent plot, and in this I believe he fails miserably. I am baffled by all the praise thrown this novel's way, I don't understand it, but to each his/her own.
Bottom line, the language is poetic, he paints some beautiful scenes and the characters are well-developed and very interesting/unique; however, the story doesn't seem to go anywhere and leaves something to be desired.
=Begin my attempt at a plot summary= "A Choir of Ill Children" is set in a small southern town called "Kingdom Come." It is a disgusting swamp backwater that seems to attract the worst of the worst form of life around. Violent bikers, nymphs, prostitutes, old granny witches, and drug addicts constitute the bulk of its charming population. With special characters such as conjoined psychic triplets, hipster documentarians, a geek (not the type of geek your thinking), and the Holy Order of the Flying Wallendas. The novel's central character and narrator, Thomas, is one of the richest men in town due to an inheritance he earned when his parents passed on. He lives in a large mansion with his freakish 3 brothers, the conjoined psychic triplets I mentioned earlier, who have three bodies but share a single brain. One day with the arrival in town of a strange young mute girl who seems abandoned Thomas hires a private detective to uncover the mysteries behind her arrival AND the identity of an infamous dog kicker who is pissing off the locals and leaving behind some wicked shoe prints on said dogs. Along with the uncovering of those mysteries, Thomas discovers that there is way more going on in Kingdom Come and it's murky swamp then he had ever thought. =End my attempt at a plot summary=
Trying to write a plot summary for this novel was rough and hurt my brain. Piccirilli is literally all over the map with this novel. There's little to no narrative or plot structure. Instead of focusing on creating a story, Piccirilli seems content in just throwing together hallucinatory scenes about the everyday lives of the town's populace and odd memories, or should I say nightmares, that his mother and father had. Even at a mere 225 pages, reading this felt like a chore. Piccirilli's writing style is one that I found very difficult to absorb, not to mention trying to keep up with all the characters. There's so many that I would often find myself forgetting where I'd first read of this character and Piccirilli never makes any attempt to refresh the reader's memory once a minor character who hasn't appeared for dozens pages suddenly makes an appearance. It took me almost half the book to nail down who was who, something that should never happen in a novel.
It's too bad because Piccirilli really is a fantastic writer in the technical sense. His prose can be beautiful and poetic. I was impressed with the uniqueness of the town and of some of the characters he created in this book; Moreover, his ability to make us feel like a part of the southern swamp setting is impressive. But for a novel (especially horror) to be entertaining it needs more than creative writing, and it definitely needs a coherent plot, and in this I believe he fails miserably. I am baffled by all the praise thrown this novel's way, I don't understand it, but to each his/her own.
Bottom line, the language is poetic, he paints some beautiful scenes and the characters are well-developed and very interesting/unique; however, the story doesn't seem to go anywhere and leaves something to be desired.
October 23, 2017
Un libro muy asqueroso que no me ha gustado nada, y eso que lo gore me fascina, pero éste tiene un punto que considero muy desadagrable, aunque reconozco que es un muy buen libro, dentro de su "género".
November 29, 2022
Conjunta del mes de Noviembre junto a la Loca de los libros, esta vez eligió ella y ha sido una lectura con altibajos.
El comienzo es brutal, impactante y hace que se te haga la boca agua con todo lo que puede venir después.
Es una historia decadente, lúgubre, marcada por los fanatismos religiosos y las supersticiones.
La ambientación es inmejorable. Se respira un ambiente pesado y el autor lo transmite durante todo el libro.
Esos hermanos unidos por la cabeza dan auténtico mal rollo. Son tres, cada uno con una personlidad diferente, siempre en esa cama, respirando sus alientos mutuamente...resulta escalofriante.
Thomas, el otro hermano nos guiará por el pueblo y conoceremos a sus peculiares habitantes.
Todo ello aderezado con la trágica historia de la familia de los hermanos. Una madre desaparecida y el padre que ha optado por suicidarse.
Nos encontraremos con la extraña aparición de una joven de la que no sabemos nada y esa ciénaga que ejerce su influjo en todos los habitantes.
La verdad que me ha costado muchísimo entrar en la historia. Te la plantea sin más, ya sucediendo cosas por lo que ubicarme en el escenario no ha sido fácil. Saltaba de un lado a otro como si supiera de que iba la trama. Pensaba que no me iba a gustar el libro. Pero a medida que avanzaba ya iba adéntrandome y comprendiendo lo que Piccirilli no estaba contando.
Tiene partes realmente desagradables y perturbadoras y unido a la ambientación, al final ha sido una lectura muy disfrutable.
Eso sí, tienes que estar concentrado leyendo para ubicarte y también tiene ciertas partes oníricas (referente a sueños) que no me han gustado tanto, pero que no han desmerecido el conjunto global.
El comienzo es brutal, impactante y hace que se te haga la boca agua con todo lo que puede venir después.
Es una historia decadente, lúgubre, marcada por los fanatismos religiosos y las supersticiones.
La ambientación es inmejorable. Se respira un ambiente pesado y el autor lo transmite durante todo el libro.
Esos hermanos unidos por la cabeza dan auténtico mal rollo. Son tres, cada uno con una personlidad diferente, siempre en esa cama, respirando sus alientos mutuamente...resulta escalofriante.
Thomas, el otro hermano nos guiará por el pueblo y conoceremos a sus peculiares habitantes.
Todo ello aderezado con la trágica historia de la familia de los hermanos. Una madre desaparecida y el padre que ha optado por suicidarse.
Nos encontraremos con la extraña aparición de una joven de la que no sabemos nada y esa ciénaga que ejerce su influjo en todos los habitantes.
La verdad que me ha costado muchísimo entrar en la historia. Te la plantea sin más, ya sucediendo cosas por lo que ubicarme en el escenario no ha sido fácil. Saltaba de un lado a otro como si supiera de que iba la trama. Pensaba que no me iba a gustar el libro. Pero a medida que avanzaba ya iba adéntrandome y comprendiendo lo que Piccirilli no estaba contando.
Tiene partes realmente desagradables y perturbadoras y unido a la ambientación, al final ha sido una lectura muy disfrutable.
Eso sí, tienes que estar concentrado leyendo para ubicarte y también tiene ciertas partes oníricas (referente a sueños) que no me han gustado tanto, pero que no han desmerecido el conjunto global.
December 30, 2017
All finished. Enjoyed it, but can't really recommend it to anyone except for those seeking a doctoral thesis on metaphors and similes. Quite a fine bit of writing, but horror? Not so much.
I found the narrator to be oddly jovial in the midst of madness, nary a flicker of fear or dread to be found within these pages. Weird and somewhat disturbing imagery and circumstances, yes. Scary, no.
It was a very mentally stimulating read, almost a bit too rich. Even though it was a short book, the thickness of the brew was best enjoyed in small portions. I rate "the writing" four stars (Even though it was a bit too unrelentingly show-offy, we all enjoy a mind-blowing guitar solo, but after a while knock it off and play a few chords, you know?), but the story itself barely rated two stars, thus an average rating of three for the book overall.
Interesting cast of characters, promising set-up, but ultimately all these intriguing things end up becoming little more than a static backdrop for an unending display of virtuosic wordsmithy that, while impressive, inevitably numbs one's senses. Tell me a story that gets my heart pounding, makes me feverishly turn the pages. The narrator of the story was just a bit too clever and blase for his own good, and a good story could have compensated for it, but it just wasn't there.
Still, I remain in awe of Tom Piccirilli's command of the English language, and will likely return to his writings again at some point in the future, if only to boost my own IQ a few points from time to time.
There were quite a few cryptic passages and recurring themes that probably were chock-full of symbolism and life-changing meaning, but to someone of my limited capacity for enlightment and penchant for cracking open a horror novel solely for the purpose of having a good time, these brain-teasers and conundrums struck me as "full of sound and fury, yet signifying nothing."
Clearly a lot of work and love went into this book, and it shows on every page.
I found the narrator to be oddly jovial in the midst of madness, nary a flicker of fear or dread to be found within these pages. Weird and somewhat disturbing imagery and circumstances, yes. Scary, no.
It was a very mentally stimulating read, almost a bit too rich. Even though it was a short book, the thickness of the brew was best enjoyed in small portions. I rate "the writing" four stars (Even though it was a bit too unrelentingly show-offy, we all enjoy a mind-blowing guitar solo, but after a while knock it off and play a few chords, you know?), but the story itself barely rated two stars, thus an average rating of three for the book overall.
Interesting cast of characters, promising set-up, but ultimately all these intriguing things end up becoming little more than a static backdrop for an unending display of virtuosic wordsmithy that, while impressive, inevitably numbs one's senses. Tell me a story that gets my heart pounding, makes me feverishly turn the pages. The narrator of the story was just a bit too clever and blase for his own good, and a good story could have compensated for it, but it just wasn't there.
Still, I remain in awe of Tom Piccirilli's command of the English language, and will likely return to his writings again at some point in the future, if only to boost my own IQ a few points from time to time.
There were quite a few cryptic passages and recurring themes that probably were chock-full of symbolism and life-changing meaning, but to someone of my limited capacity for enlightment and penchant for cracking open a horror novel solely for the purpose of having a good time, these brain-teasers and conundrums struck me as "full of sound and fury, yet signifying nothing."
Clearly a lot of work and love went into this book, and it shows on every page.
August 4, 2015
This book was something. It was one of the weirdest books I've ever read, but at the same time it was very compelling and interesting. I don't know how to start here, but I'll try.
At it's core this is a southern gothic novel. The main character has a brother, or brotherS rather. It's three brothers who share one brain. Then we have a witch that lives out in the bayou, who gives the MC her daughter as a gift. There's two documentary film makers who live with the MC with the idea of doing a movie about the brother. Then one of the film makers, the female, falls in love with one of the brothers (yes, one of the three conjoined brothers) and the brother falls in love with her as well.
Then we have the story of the MC's mother and father, which I wont get into here because it's one of the major revelations of the book. There's a young girl found in the swamp, the sex starved marm who takes her in, and the private detective who ends up in a sexual relationship with both of them (at the same time.) There's also the nearby monastery, The Order of the Flying Wallendas.
As I said earlier, I just don't know to review this book to do it justice, but I will say it's good. It's really just one weird twist after another. If you enjoy your horror on the unusual side, and would like to read a VERY original southern gothic novel, this one is definitely for you.
At it's core this is a southern gothic novel. The main character has a brother, or brotherS rather. It's three brothers who share one brain. Then we have a witch that lives out in the bayou, who gives the MC her daughter as a gift. There's two documentary film makers who live with the MC with the idea of doing a movie about the brother. Then one of the film makers, the female, falls in love with one of the brothers (yes, one of the three conjoined brothers) and the brother falls in love with her as well.
Then we have the story of the MC's mother and father, which I wont get into here because it's one of the major revelations of the book. There's a young girl found in the swamp, the sex starved marm who takes her in, and the private detective who ends up in a sexual relationship with both of them (at the same time.) There's also the nearby monastery, The Order of the Flying Wallendas.
As I said earlier, I just don't know to review this book to do it justice, but I will say it's good. It's really just one weird twist after another. If you enjoy your horror on the unusual side, and would like to read a VERY original southern gothic novel, this one is definitely for you.
June 29, 2018
I barely know what I've just read. This is Southern Gothic via Pasolini, James Lee Burke on acid. Family secrets, a vast mansion, witches, magicians, freaks, fanatics, a preacher, a private eye, love, sex, murder, kicked dogs, moonlight, moonshine, alligators...what is this phantasmagoria? Powerful, for sure, less plotty, less tethered yet more grounded in what the psychiatrists used to call id than anything in the genre. If it is of any genre.
July 15, 2010
A Choir of Ill Children is one of the best, most unique crime novels that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. A story of corruption, perversity and despair set in the Deep South featuring psychic triplets, hipster documentarians drawn into the heart of darkness, hedge magic, bikers and the Holy Order of the Flying Wallendas, this book never ceases to surprise. Highly recommended.
September 23, 2015
Bloody weird stuff goes on in Kingdom Come it seems. I have zero frame of reference for this bleak apparently Southern Gothic tale from Tom Piccirilli. Thomas is haunted by his past and his present, the skeletons in his family closet, with dreams like reality and reality like a dream, time flows at an unknown rate, people are drawn to our protagonist and then get forgotten about, their lives almost always spiralling out of control. It's been compared to the literature of O'Connor and Faulkner and yet it's published in a disposable paperback seemingly reserved exclusively for your James Patterson copycat airport novelists. Almost immediately I knew I would love the book, and that I would know many other people who would have a grand old time visiting the denizens of Piccirilli's Kingdom Come.
August 20, 2015
Strange and disturbing. Odd. Loved the emotionally detached narration. There's some really good writing here. Everyone defines horror differently; for me this is horror.
July 24, 2014
The language is poetic and the characters are well-developed but the story doesn't seem to go anywhere. I'll admit that I couldn't finish the book; I got about half-way through it and said to hell with it. It just meandered too much.
March 17, 2017
I struggled with this book because I really wasn't in the mood for a puzzle text. Haven't read all of Piccirilli's books yet, but this seems an anomaly because even with his most whacked out characters you have a sense of the journey and can go along for the ride. Here, I sensed a deliberate attempt to write a Barthian text (c.f. The Pleasure of the Text) and also a carnivalesque in the Bahktinian sense. The funny thing is that in in his author's blurb in the back he stated that he was spending a lot of his free time reading Gold Medal crime/noir books. Choir of Ill Children is nothing at all like the Gold Medal books.
Those critiques aside, Piccirili was a writer's writer, and on every page there are stunning examples of his sentence magic. So, even if I had difficulty following the story and staying in the pocket the book demanded, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this at the most elemental level of the words.
Those critiques aside, Piccirili was a writer's writer, and on every page there are stunning examples of his sentence magic. So, even if I had difficulty following the story and staying in the pocket the book demanded, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this at the most elemental level of the words.
Read
February 5, 2012Gotta say, the author's an impressive prose stylist, but I'm already getting the brain jits reading this. There's "bizarre," and then there's "OMFGWTF!" . . . with spoiled cherries on top.
I'm certainly intrigued enough to keep reading, though.
Okay, still reading. Murder and mayhem within kudzu vines of prose. It's slow going. I have to keep stopping because this book makes me queasy. In addition, I have little idea what's going on. Or if anything's going on.
This has been an odd reading experience for me. There was a time (probably when I was in my twenties) I would've relished this book. Now, as much as I admire the author's writing, I'm wussing out. Seriously, it's pretty distasteful.
(? Damn, I just realized I sound like a literary masochist!)
DONE. I did get into it . . . then fell out of it. The ending was regrettably lame.
I'm certainly intrigued enough to keep reading, though.
Okay, still reading. Murder and mayhem within kudzu vines of prose. It's slow going. I have to keep stopping because this book makes me queasy. In addition, I have little idea what's going on. Or if anything's going on.
This has been an odd reading experience for me. There was a time (probably when I was in my twenties) I would've relished this book. Now, as much as I admire the author's writing, I'm wussing out. Seriously, it's pretty distasteful.
(? Damn, I just realized I sound like a literary masochist!)
DONE. I did get into it . . . then fell out of it. The ending was regrettably lame.
October 11, 2015
What was that?
January 21, 2020
Eerie, but beautiful. I haven't read any fiction in a long time and never anything like this, but I loved it and can't wait to read more from Piccirilli.
February 27, 2019
That was weird. Like Faulkner meets McCarthy on acid weird. ACoIC has been on my TBR list for years, and now that I've gotten around to it I'm not sure what to make of the darned thing.
I was thrilled by the lush imagery in Piccirilli's tale; he excels at evoking the stormy, dangerous nature of the bayou, and of human suffering, too. (Sometimes he mixes them to delicious effect: "Rain claws for me through my windshield, flowing like arterial spray.") Gorgeous phrases jump off the page, as if illuminated from within despite their intrinsic darkness.
That mouthful being said, I think I'd have to read it again to make heads or tails of the twisted, tangled and hugely populous story. A wealthy but cursed family, "swamp granny" witches, man-eating gators, conjoined triplets, dog-kickers, half-a-dozen aging nymphettes and any number of other very strange / drunk / otherwise debased denizens of the town called Kingdom Come all pop up like jacks-in-a-box to complicate the life of Thomas, a man trying to . . . um. I'm not sure what? Come to terms with his family's tragic past? Protect his physically challenged brothers? Get in trouble (somehow) with every woman in town? Be hit by lightning? Avoid getting his "vinegar" stolen? Meet the geek? (All of these and more, methinks.)
Ahem. Sorry. Carried away.
I do not mean to give the impression I didn't enjoy ACoIC, because I did, thoroughly. It just wasn't at all the kind of horror I was expecting. Less straightforward and more fractured; more cerebral than visceral. Not that there aren't gore and grotesqueries aplenty, but somehow this book also flirts with existential absurdity often enough to elicit guffaws right through the shocks. Southern Gothic at its most hallucinogenic. Four stars. Could go higher on a re-read.
I was thrilled by the lush imagery in Piccirilli's tale; he excels at evoking the stormy, dangerous nature of the bayou, and of human suffering, too. (Sometimes he mixes them to delicious effect: "Rain claws for me through my windshield, flowing like arterial spray.") Gorgeous phrases jump off the page, as if illuminated from within despite their intrinsic darkness.
That mouthful being said, I think I'd have to read it again to make heads or tails of the twisted, tangled and hugely populous story. A wealthy but cursed family, "swamp granny" witches, man-eating gators, conjoined triplets, dog-kickers, half-a-dozen aging nymphettes and any number of other very strange / drunk / otherwise debased denizens of the town called Kingdom Come all pop up like jacks-in-a-box to complicate the life of Thomas, a man trying to . . . um. I'm not sure what? Come to terms with his family's tragic past? Protect his physically challenged brothers? Get in trouble (somehow) with every woman in town? Be hit by lightning? Avoid getting his "vinegar" stolen? Meet the geek? (All of these and more, methinks.)
Ahem. Sorry. Carried away.
I do not mean to give the impression I didn't enjoy ACoIC, because I did, thoroughly. It just wasn't at all the kind of horror I was expecting. Less straightforward and more fractured; more cerebral than visceral. Not that there aren't gore and grotesqueries aplenty, but somehow this book also flirts with existential absurdity often enough to elicit guffaws right through the shocks. Southern Gothic at its most hallucinogenic. Four stars. Could go higher on a re-read.
March 20, 2021
Review by Lindsey Ragsdale (@Leviathan15)
To read the full review including conclusion and HOWLer blurbs, visit HOWL Society!
Horror novels set in small, isolated towns are a dime a dozen. The idea of characters harboring their own dark secrets, while simultaneously wanting to know every bit of their neighbor’s business, is a familiar and successful trope in fiction. Perhaps this is because many readers are all-too-familiar with this setting, having experienced it in their daily lives.
Take this simple premise, set it in a swamp, sprinkle in a little witchcraft, stir in some very memorable characters and shocking imagery, and you get A Choir of Ill Children.
Discussion from this week was some of the most exciting and polarizing we’ve experienced for a single read this year. As the story drew readers further into the backwaters of Kingdom Come, reactions ranged from interested, to pleasantly horrified, to plain old horrified, to disgusted– whoops, almost gave away too much there.
Most HOWLers found the first third of the novel compelling. Virtual heads nodded in agreement during early days of discussion. Alas, we should’ve known, ‘twas but the calm before the storm. Many readers were attracted by Piccirilli’s prose and vibrant descriptions of Kingdom Come’s characters. The novel is told in a series of vignettes from the perspective of Thomas, the main character, which at times made the novel feel dream-like or disorienting. The grim starkness of the setting and characters were compared to The Cipher by Kathe Koja, a read from August. One of our members described their initial impression: “This reads like something Faulkner might write after eating an entire package of allergy medicine.” Other descriptions, such as “unique and bizarre,” “gritty,” and “problematic” were served up for comparison. A few readers made stylistic comparisons to Chuck Palahniuk’s prose. However, if anyone ever picks up the film rights to this novel, don’t expect a blockbuster smash starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton as two of the three triplets to hit the box office next year. The pack soldiered on, finding this book, in the words of one member, “weirdly irresistible.” So compelling was initial feedback, that some stray members hoping to skip this week considered quickly catching up. A Choir Of Ill Children has been on the shorter side of an average HOWLS read, clocking in at 240 pages.
As the plot moved along, it presented several fresh mysteries and a continued sense of disorientation. Most HOWLers arrived at a general consensus that, while Piccirilli creates a whole bevvy of characters, almost as if he were summoning clowns from a clown car with ease, he still manages to make them distinctive with their own unique backstories. However, our pack began to thin. We had a few members who finished well in advance, stating that the prose kept them flipping pages, but they weren’t sold by the end. (It is a testament to our spoiler-free dedication that our early finishers kept their lips sealed tightly!) Discussion soon heated up, drawing attention to the book’s use of shock value, offensive terminology, questionable sexualisation, and speculation about plot direction.
Our respected THOT Father, Lord Mordi, threw a wrench into the rigorous, roiling reviews, giving the pack a “Would You Rather” scenario: “Would you rather spend an entire day with Ned (protagonist from Harvest Home, a former read) or Thomas (from A Choir of Ill Children)?” Amidst the silence, one member piped up that Thomas was a more compelling option. Score one for Piccirilli.
Alas, Piccirilli’s point was quickly snatched away when our readers, advancing further into the book, began to realize there were so many characters at this point making up the tableau of Kingdom Come that it was hard to keep them apart. Our pack was flipping to earlier pages, keeping notes, and feverishly creating bulletin board diagrams into the wee hours in order to remember Who was the Witch, Where was the Private Investigator, and What Exactly Did The All-Day Lollipop Have To Do With The Teacher’s Daughter?
The floodgates were opened as the pack threw around speculations regarding character motivations and the answer to the “Whodunnit?” presented. Additional supernatural elements came into play, cementing this novel in a Southern Gothic framework and ensuring that no one reading this novel would ever be able to think of the word “vinegar” in the same way.
Yes, you there, reading this review. Are you still on the fence about joining the HOWL Society? Let me assure you that a sure-fire way to spice up a book club discussion is to read a novel that contains any semblance of a mystery, and then dive deep into a bunch of guesses, predictions, and very specific half-baked conspiracy theories put forth by people who are reading the same book. The obvious result is equal parts hilarity and revelation, creating a lively, animated reading experience. You get an entire pack of people agreeing, disagreeing, introducing pertinent background and historical information, including you in all the inside jokes, and just plain listening to what you have to say. Welcome to our world.
It is in this spirit that A Choir of Ill Children made for a very dynamic and memorable discussion, even if not everyone could wholeheartedly recommend it. However almost everyone who began the novel burned bright with the desire to finish despite all the book’s obstacles. Reader after reader chimed in before our last discussion to mention they had finished well in advance and couldn’t wait to throw their thoughts out on the last day. If anything, this spurred a general desire to finish the book instead of tossing it back on the heap, half-read and forgotten.
Wrapping up, opinions varied wildly. Some readers loved everything about this book, mentioning in particular the wild characterizations and dramatic reveals. Many lost the thread of the plot or found themselves, as they read, disconnecting from the main events. Piccirilli’s writing style was overall praised, but the book itself fell short for many HOWLers.
HOWLS Score: Snarl! (2/5)
Visit HOWL Society for the rest of the review!
To read the full review including conclusion and HOWLer blurbs, visit HOWL Society!
Horror novels set in small, isolated towns are a dime a dozen. The idea of characters harboring their own dark secrets, while simultaneously wanting to know every bit of their neighbor’s business, is a familiar and successful trope in fiction. Perhaps this is because many readers are all-too-familiar with this setting, having experienced it in their daily lives.
Take this simple premise, set it in a swamp, sprinkle in a little witchcraft, stir in some very memorable characters and shocking imagery, and you get A Choir of Ill Children.
Discussion from this week was some of the most exciting and polarizing we’ve experienced for a single read this year. As the story drew readers further into the backwaters of Kingdom Come, reactions ranged from interested, to pleasantly horrified, to plain old horrified, to disgusted– whoops, almost gave away too much there.
Most HOWLers found the first third of the novel compelling. Virtual heads nodded in agreement during early days of discussion. Alas, we should’ve known, ‘twas but the calm before the storm. Many readers were attracted by Piccirilli’s prose and vibrant descriptions of Kingdom Come’s characters. The novel is told in a series of vignettes from the perspective of Thomas, the main character, which at times made the novel feel dream-like or disorienting. The grim starkness of the setting and characters were compared to The Cipher by Kathe Koja, a read from August. One of our members described their initial impression: “This reads like something Faulkner might write after eating an entire package of allergy medicine.” Other descriptions, such as “unique and bizarre,” “gritty,” and “problematic” were served up for comparison. A few readers made stylistic comparisons to Chuck Palahniuk’s prose. However, if anyone ever picks up the film rights to this novel, don’t expect a blockbuster smash starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton as two of the three triplets to hit the box office next year. The pack soldiered on, finding this book, in the words of one member, “weirdly irresistible.” So compelling was initial feedback, that some stray members hoping to skip this week considered quickly catching up. A Choir Of Ill Children has been on the shorter side of an average HOWLS read, clocking in at 240 pages.
As the plot moved along, it presented several fresh mysteries and a continued sense of disorientation. Most HOWLers arrived at a general consensus that, while Piccirilli creates a whole bevvy of characters, almost as if he were summoning clowns from a clown car with ease, he still manages to make them distinctive with their own unique backstories. However, our pack began to thin. We had a few members who finished well in advance, stating that the prose kept them flipping pages, but they weren’t sold by the end. (It is a testament to our spoiler-free dedication that our early finishers kept their lips sealed tightly!) Discussion soon heated up, drawing attention to the book’s use of shock value, offensive terminology, questionable sexualisation, and speculation about plot direction.
Our respected THOT Father, Lord Mordi, threw a wrench into the rigorous, roiling reviews, giving the pack a “Would You Rather” scenario: “Would you rather spend an entire day with Ned (protagonist from Harvest Home, a former read) or Thomas (from A Choir of Ill Children)?” Amidst the silence, one member piped up that Thomas was a more compelling option. Score one for Piccirilli.
Alas, Piccirilli’s point was quickly snatched away when our readers, advancing further into the book, began to realize there were so many characters at this point making up the tableau of Kingdom Come that it was hard to keep them apart. Our pack was flipping to earlier pages, keeping notes, and feverishly creating bulletin board diagrams into the wee hours in order to remember Who was the Witch, Where was the Private Investigator, and What Exactly Did The All-Day Lollipop Have To Do With The Teacher’s Daughter?
The floodgates were opened as the pack threw around speculations regarding character motivations and the answer to the “Whodunnit?” presented. Additional supernatural elements came into play, cementing this novel in a Southern Gothic framework and ensuring that no one reading this novel would ever be able to think of the word “vinegar” in the same way.
Yes, you there, reading this review. Are you still on the fence about joining the HOWL Society? Let me assure you that a sure-fire way to spice up a book club discussion is to read a novel that contains any semblance of a mystery, and then dive deep into a bunch of guesses, predictions, and very specific half-baked conspiracy theories put forth by people who are reading the same book. The obvious result is equal parts hilarity and revelation, creating a lively, animated reading experience. You get an entire pack of people agreeing, disagreeing, introducing pertinent background and historical information, including you in all the inside jokes, and just plain listening to what you have to say. Welcome to our world.
It is in this spirit that A Choir of Ill Children made for a very dynamic and memorable discussion, even if not everyone could wholeheartedly recommend it. However almost everyone who began the novel burned bright with the desire to finish despite all the book’s obstacles. Reader after reader chimed in before our last discussion to mention they had finished well in advance and couldn’t wait to throw their thoughts out on the last day. If anything, this spurred a general desire to finish the book instead of tossing it back on the heap, half-read and forgotten.
Wrapping up, opinions varied wildly. Some readers loved everything about this book, mentioning in particular the wild characterizations and dramatic reveals. Many lost the thread of the plot or found themselves, as they read, disconnecting from the main events. Piccirilli’s writing style was overall praised, but the book itself fell short for many HOWLers.
HOWLS Score: Snarl! (2/5)
Visit HOWL Society for the rest of the review!
July 19, 2015
This is the first novel-length work by Tom Piccirilli I've read, though I have read quite a few of his shorter works and some of his poetry.
A Choir of Ill Children is a beautifully-written, disturbing and creepy gothic jambalaya of conjoined triplets sharing one brain, swamp whores and voodoo ritual that just misses the mark due to a narrator that is at the heart of this heady mash, but never seems too fearful of the madness and death that is descending upon his town. That lack of fearfulness makes the middle stretch of this book seem almost lifeless, but the book gets major points for a truly disturbing ending, that, even so, feels slightly anti-climatic.
Looking back, I think some of his shorter works might suffer similarly if expanded into a novel. As it is I prefer his short fictions where his characters don't have as much time to wear down the story. Before that happens, the story is over and it's time for the next one.
I haven't decided if there's to be another Piccirilli novel in my future or not.
A Choir of Ill Children is a beautifully-written, disturbing and creepy gothic jambalaya of conjoined triplets sharing one brain, swamp whores and voodoo ritual that just misses the mark due to a narrator that is at the heart of this heady mash, but never seems too fearful of the madness and death that is descending upon his town. That lack of fearfulness makes the middle stretch of this book seem almost lifeless, but the book gets major points for a truly disturbing ending, that, even so, feels slightly anti-climatic.
Looking back, I think some of his shorter works might suffer similarly if expanded into a novel. As it is I prefer his short fictions where his characters don't have as much time to wear down the story. Before that happens, the story is over and it's time for the next one.
I haven't decided if there's to be another Piccirilli novel in my future or not.
January 8, 2013
Piccirilli is a good writer, but this was just a little too kitchen-sink Southern gothic for my taste. Everyone in Kingdom Come is a horribly damaged or deranged freak and nothing makes much sense. Definitely Flannery O'Connor mixed with Twin Peaks territory here, but perhaps what bothered me most was the ending....I honestly have no idea why anything in the final chapter came to pass, while I get the climax, what was the purpose? Perhaps it's just supposed to be experienced without looking too deeply, or maybe I'm just not looking closely enough.
This review makes it sound as If I disliked the book, which isn't really the case. It held my interest and had vivid, interesting characters, but I am, maybe puzzled by the whole thing.
This review makes it sound as If I disliked the book, which isn't really the case. It held my interest and had vivid, interesting characters, but I am, maybe puzzled by the whole thing.
October 12, 2010
Wow! This book is crazy! Beautifully written, powerful read with a heavy impact, but still a nice, short book. It starts out like a punch to the face and doesn't let up. Piccirilli writes in a lyrical, blunt style that doesn't go for shock value exactly, the narrator is just telling you about his life with no sugar-coating. He's not trying to garner sympathy or horrify you, this is just what happened as he sees it. It just is. To see if you'd like this book's style, read the first 4 or 5 pages on Amazon first.
This was my first book by Tom Piccirilli, but it definitely isn't going to be the last. I was very impressed.
This was my first book by Tom Piccirilli, but it definitely isn't going to be the last. I was very impressed.
September 28, 2015
Haunting, beautiful, and horrific, I had no choice but to give this book 5 stars. This ranks up there with Suttree and The Long Home as a far out Southern tale steeped in a family's past. That is not to say this books is merely reminiscent of other Southern literature greats, as Tom Piccirilli brings his own voice in spades. With witchcraft, ghosts, and torments of the human variety, this book brought it all. Highly recommended to anyone with a strong stomach looking for a good time.
August 22, 2015
Like reading about someone's nightmare yet being left as unsettled as if it had been your own.
October 22, 2023
Thomas is the wealthiest guy in the county, as well as the mill-owner, carrier of family secrets, digger of screwworms and caretaker of his brothers, the conjoined triplets. He also looks after his buddy Drabs Speaks-In-Tongues Bibbler and keeps an eye on two New York hipster filmmakers who want to make a porno with the triplets. That's a lot of responsibility for one person, so it's no wonder Thomas releases tension with the help of young girls and the horny town librarian.
This daily routine is disrupted by the appearance of a mute girl in the swamp and a mysterious dog-kicker with a size twelve (you can actually see the boot prints on the dogs' asses, which I guess means they aren't the furry kind). The town witches correctly predict that evil is coming, and demand that Thomas take responsibility. This means nagging him about donating blood and semen for their dark rituals (for a guy so frequently orally pleasured, he is surprisingly stingy with the semen). Long story short: evil comes, blood flows, secrets are revealed.
The book has been compared to the works of Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner. I would love to see the looks on their faces if they were to rise from their graves and read this. (I would also love to read a book about the undead O'Connor & Faulkner). Sure, this is lyrical and um, Southern, but if you're expecting literary greatness you may be disappointed.
I quite liked it. It's grotesque and surreal and kind of goofy, which is usually not my cup of tea, but there is something amiable about it that won me over.
This daily routine is disrupted by the appearance of a mute girl in the swamp and a mysterious dog-kicker with a size twelve (you can actually see the boot prints on the dogs' asses, which I guess means they aren't the furry kind). The town witches correctly predict that evil is coming, and demand that Thomas take responsibility. This means nagging him about donating blood and semen for their dark rituals (for a guy so frequently orally pleasured, he is surprisingly stingy with the semen). Long story short: evil comes, blood flows, secrets are revealed.
The book has been compared to the works of Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner. I would love to see the looks on their faces if they were to rise from their graves and read this. (I would also love to read a book about the undead O'Connor & Faulkner). Sure, this is lyrical and um, Southern, but if you're expecting literary greatness you may be disappointed.
I quite liked it. It's grotesque and surreal and kind of goofy, which is usually not my cup of tea, but there is something amiable about it that won me over.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 248 reviews