What do you think?
Rate this book
Smithy
"This original haunted house tale, with a unique plot and compellingly vivid characters, moves from uneasy to creepy to all-out 'keep the lights on' terror." ― Library Journal , starred review.
In the tumultuous summer of 1974, in the shadowy rooms of a rundown mansion in Rhode Island, renowned psychologist Dr. Piers Preis-Herald brings together a group of seven collegiate researchers to study the inner lives of man’s closest relative―the primate. They set out to teach their subject, who would eventually be known to the world as Smithy, American Sign Language. But as the summer deepens and the history of the mansion manifests, the messages signed by their research subject become increasing spectral.
Nearly twenty-five years after the Smithy Project ended in tragedy at Trevor Hall, questions Was Smithy a hoax? A clever mimic? A Rorschach projection of humanity’s greatest hopes and fears? Or was he indeed what devotees of metaphysics have claimed for so a link between our world and the next?
In the tumultuous summer of 1974, in the shadowy rooms of a rundown mansion in Rhode Island, renowned psychologist Dr. Piers Preis-Herald brings together a group of seven collegiate researchers to study the inner lives of man’s closest relative―the primate. They set out to teach their subject, who would eventually be known to the world as Smithy, American Sign Language. But as the summer deepens and the history of the mansion manifests, the messages signed by their research subject become increasing spectral.
Nearly twenty-five years after the Smithy Project ended in tragedy at Trevor Hall, questions Was Smithy a hoax? A clever mimic? A Rorschach projection of humanity’s greatest hopes and fears? Or was he indeed what devotees of metaphysics have claimed for so a link between our world and the next?
520 pages, Paperback
First published April 13, 2021
22 people are currently reading
2959 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
September 19, 2023
3.5 "primatology meets gothic horror" stars !!
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Inkshares for an ecopy. This was released April 2021. I am providing an honest review.
So much of this book was four star excellent that I feel a little sheepish giving the book 3.5 stars but I will explain why later.
This author very skillfully constructs a most alluring tale through the use of letters, film footage descriptions, diary entries, memos, retrospective interviews and magazine/newspaper articles as well as excerpts from "published books". This is not easy to do at all but our author to did it both effectively and with great interest.
The tale takes place in mid 1970s over an eighteen month span in Newport RI in a decaying old grand house. There, a professor and group of psychology students are in the process of teaching sign language and human life skills to a young male chimpanzee named Webster aka Smithy.
The author has done her research around primatology, language acquisition and experimental psychology to a most proficient degree and this lends not only deep authenticity but also a great deal of fascination for this reader. We are also introduced to a host of college age people and their developing collegiality and friendships. There are strange happenings in the house that leads the reader to questioning not only human/chimp behavior but the possibility of very frightening supernatural elements. Some of this was bloody scary and I mean bloody bejezus scary and I am quite frightened of primates (despite their cuteness) to begin with....
The huge trouble I had with this book is the length. This was unforgivable to me. Way too fuckin long and could easily have been cut down by 50 percent. This is not a literary work where every sentence is a work of art but a horror novel. Cut the book down and you have at least a four star novel but for now we will leave it at a very very good 3.5 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Inkshares for an ecopy. This was released April 2021. I am providing an honest review.
So much of this book was four star excellent that I feel a little sheepish giving the book 3.5 stars but I will explain why later.
This author very skillfully constructs a most alluring tale through the use of letters, film footage descriptions, diary entries, memos, retrospective interviews and magazine/newspaper articles as well as excerpts from "published books". This is not easy to do at all but our author to did it both effectively and with great interest.
The tale takes place in mid 1970s over an eighteen month span in Newport RI in a decaying old grand house. There, a professor and group of psychology students are in the process of teaching sign language and human life skills to a young male chimpanzee named Webster aka Smithy.
The author has done her research around primatology, language acquisition and experimental psychology to a most proficient degree and this lends not only deep authenticity but also a great deal of fascination for this reader. We are also introduced to a host of college age people and their developing collegiality and friendships. There are strange happenings in the house that leads the reader to questioning not only human/chimp behavior but the possibility of very frightening supernatural elements. Some of this was bloody scary and I mean bloody bejezus scary and I am quite frightened of primates (despite their cuteness) to begin with....
The huge trouble I had with this book is the length. This was unforgivable to me. Way too fuckin long and could easily have been cut down by 50 percent. This is not a literary work where every sentence is a work of art but a horror novel. Cut the book down and you have at least a four star novel but for now we will leave it at a very very good 3.5 stars.
March 9, 2025
3.5 rounded down for a sad and frustrating ending.
My reading experience with Smithy started off great and went slowly but steadily downhill (with some hopeful spikes along that way that ultimately went nowhere). I love an epistolary format for a horror story and novel and think it can work really well to deliver some serious creep factor. Unfortunately, the few and far between brushes with ghostly goings-on in this book did not really deliver any scares, because they were watered down by boring digressions. A majority of the book is made up of diary entries of the study participants, and two out of the three of the most frequent contributors to these sections skewed very YA. Tammy's was the only perspective I enjoyed, and I have to wonder why we are not given any POV from any of the three men in the study.
Smithy is longer than it needed to be, but the format makes it go along a lot quicker than a traditional novel, and the story did wrap me up and carry me along. I kept expecting that all of the build-up would lead to some fantastic reveal of a supernatural nature behind the sightings of the researchers and Smithy's unpredictable behavior, but the book never gets there. It's just a series of stops and starts that eventually peters out into a sad and unsatisfying conclusion.
My reading experience with Smithy started off great and went slowly but steadily downhill (with some hopeful spikes along that way that ultimately went nowhere). I love an epistolary format for a horror story and novel and think it can work really well to deliver some serious creep factor. Unfortunately, the few and far between brushes with ghostly goings-on in this book did not really deliver any scares, because they were watered down by boring digressions. A majority of the book is made up of diary entries of the study participants, and two out of the three of the most frequent contributors to these sections skewed very YA. Tammy's was the only perspective I enjoyed, and I have to wonder why we are not given any POV from any of the three men in the study.
Smithy is longer than it needed to be, but the format makes it go along a lot quicker than a traditional novel, and the story did wrap me up and carry me along. I kept expecting that all of the build-up would lead to some fantastic reveal of a supernatural nature behind the sightings of the researchers and Smithy's unpredictable behavior, but the book never gets there. It's just a series of stops and starts that eventually peters out into a sad and unsatisfying conclusion.
May 23, 2021
I enjoyed reading this novel, and I thought the epistolary style worked well for this particular tale. However, I was left wanting more. As far as a horror book goes, this one was a little lacking in horror. There are a number of creepy or uneasy moments, but I kept waiting for this story to build to a crescendo, and instead it would build and then deflate. I don't need everything wrapped up nicely for an ending, I even enjoy some ambiguity, but unfortunately this story did not live up to its potential.
September 17, 2022
I have finished this about a week ago but still feel infuriated and sad, so I'll wait a little to calm down before writing a real review.
But four stars for being able to do that.
But four stars for being able to do that.
April 2, 2021
STAR review in the April 2021 issue of Library Journal: https://www.libraryjournal.com/?revie...
And on the blog [blog link live 4/5/21]: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2021/04...
Three Words That Describe This Book: epistolary, extreme unease, realistic frame
Draft review:
The year is 1974 and a group of students join their infamous psychology professor for a groundbreaking study to see if Smithy, a chimp can be taught to have spontaneous communication through sign-language. Housed in a run down mansion in otherwise glamorous Newport, RI, the crew is focused but isolated. When strange and dangerous things start happening, is it that house is haunted by nefarious ghosts who only Smithy can see or are the humans paying a price for the consequences of their animal experimentation? Told in an extremely effective, epistolary style that allows multiple points of view and formats to deliver the details, Smithy begins at a place of extreme unease and never allows the reader to get comfortable, even before a supernatural possibility is revealed. A realistic and unsettling frame, combined with a perfect horror ending that resolves the conflict but leaves the fear open enough that it spills out of the pages of the novel and follows the reader after completion, this is a debut novel that demands attention.
Verdict: An original haunted house tale that confidently moves from uneasy to creepy to all out, “keep the lights blaring” terror with an utterly unique plot and compelling and vivid characters. For fans of the space where true crime, paranormal phenomenons and Horror overlap like in the fiction of Clay McLeodd Chapman and Emily M. Danforth.
Notes:
Great haunted house story with a unique frame-- the Chimp in the study can see the ghost. Starts creepy and unsettlingly and gets all out terrifying by the end.
Promising debut!
The epistolary style never allows the reader to be comfortable even before the supernatural threat comes. Also the whole experiment on a animal from the 1970s is super uneasy to readers today. Well employed frame.
Great overlap for readers who like parapsychology and even true stories of haunted places.
Three Words That Describe This Book: epistolary, extreme unease, realistic frame
And on the blog [blog link live 4/5/21]: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2021/04...
Three Words That Describe This Book: epistolary, extreme unease, realistic frame
Draft review:
The year is 1974 and a group of students join their infamous psychology professor for a groundbreaking study to see if Smithy, a chimp can be taught to have spontaneous communication through sign-language. Housed in a run down mansion in otherwise glamorous Newport, RI, the crew is focused but isolated. When strange and dangerous things start happening, is it that house is haunted by nefarious ghosts who only Smithy can see or are the humans paying a price for the consequences of their animal experimentation? Told in an extremely effective, epistolary style that allows multiple points of view and formats to deliver the details, Smithy begins at a place of extreme unease and never allows the reader to get comfortable, even before a supernatural possibility is revealed. A realistic and unsettling frame, combined with a perfect horror ending that resolves the conflict but leaves the fear open enough that it spills out of the pages of the novel and follows the reader after completion, this is a debut novel that demands attention.
Verdict: An original haunted house tale that confidently moves from uneasy to creepy to all out, “keep the lights blaring” terror with an utterly unique plot and compelling and vivid characters. For fans of the space where true crime, paranormal phenomenons and Horror overlap like in the fiction of Clay McLeodd Chapman and Emily M. Danforth.
Notes:
Great haunted house story with a unique frame-- the Chimp in the study can see the ghost. Starts creepy and unsettlingly and gets all out terrifying by the end.
Promising debut!
The epistolary style never allows the reader to be comfortable even before the supernatural threat comes. Also the whole experiment on a animal from the 1970s is super uneasy to readers today. Well employed frame.
Great overlap for readers who like parapsychology and even true stories of haunted places.
Three Words That Describe This Book: epistolary, extreme unease, realistic frame
March 6, 2021
Believe me when I tell you that this book was so much more than I expected (in all the best ways)! We begin with our highly respected researcher, Dr. Piers Preis-Harold as he recruits students with varying skill sets to observe and teach sign language to a chimpanzee named Webster/Smithy. This group will live together in an old, rundown mansion as to provide a more family-like setting to hopefully allow Webster proper stability. What follows is one of the best slow burning stories I’ve read in a long while.
We all know old mansions have history. We also have been told that animals are often aware of things well before humans, be it storms or spirits. We will follow our group via journals, diary entries, and video logs as they deal with increasingly scary situations. I really enjoyed this format and thought it was a perfect way to tell this story. There are a few characters that I absolutely loathed, but the author was great about showing different facets of why they might behave a certain way. I would 100% recommend this book.
Thank you to Inkshares, Amanda Desiree, and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in return for an honest review!
We all know old mansions have history. We also have been told that animals are often aware of things well before humans, be it storms or spirits. We will follow our group via journals, diary entries, and video logs as they deal with increasingly scary situations. I really enjoyed this format and thought it was a perfect way to tell this story. There are a few characters that I absolutely loathed, but the author was great about showing different facets of why they might behave a certain way. I would 100% recommend this book.
Thank you to Inkshares, Amanda Desiree, and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in return for an honest review!
November 5, 2021
I expected not to like Smithy by Amanda Desiree simply because I hate monkeys and apes. They just weird me out for no good reason other than how similar they are to humans. But my aversion to this book's subject matter is also what drew me to it. Nothing much scares me anymore, so I thought hell, maybe reading a book about a chimp would scare or, at least, unsettle me.
Spoiler Alert: It did not.
BUT, I did find this book to be very interesting and I enjoyed the majority of it.
I really liked the framing device and set up here. This is an epistolary novel set in the 1970's. I thought the author did a great job telling this story through diaries, letters, journals, and descriptions of video footage. I've read a number of modern books like this that use email, texting, and messaging apps and it was refreshing to return to a time where the overbearing, all-seeing presence of technology doesn't exist.
I don't think Smithy's story would have worked in a modern setting, so the author made a good call taking us back 50 years. Modern technology brings modern problems and I don't know that enough of them could have been solved with enough believability to make this work. Also, it was cute to read and think about a time when people actually hand wrote letters on paper and mailed them to people.
However, it is worth noting that an epistolary structure is a rather tedious way to tell a story and this is where I think a lot of people (including myself) will struggle with this one. It takes FOREVER for this story to get going. And if I'm being honest, once it seems like we are finally getting somewhere, things basically stall.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
This story is also set in the 1970's because it follows a group of researchers who are studying primate language acquisition. They aren't the subject's pioneers, but they are early enough in the game for it to be very new and exciting. This was my favorite part of this book!
So our team of researchers have this chimp named Webster (cause, you know, language), but everyone calls him Smithy (short for "wordsmith") and they are teaching him sign language in a controlled environment.
The premise of this book is really cool. Because unbeknownst to the researchers, the controlled environment they chose, a dusty, old vacant mansion called Trevor Hall, might be haunted. Dun dun dunnnn!!
I do want to warn people that this aspect of the story is the part of this story I found to be incredibly lacking. It takes a VERY long time for "spooky" things to start happening here and when they do, it is very few and very far between.
This is my biggest issue with Smithy. I wanted more creeps and scares and this story just doesn't deliver those. What it does deliver is a cool exploration of language and the relationship between Smithy and his teachers.
Before picking this book up, I think people should know that FAR more of this story is about the researchers interacting with and teaching Smithy sign language than it is about a haunted house. I really wish the haunting had been the priority here, but it isn't.
Personally, I did enjoy the teaching and language exploration in this book, but I think people going in for the haunted haunted house story that the cover insinuates will be very disappointed.
Also, the way the haunted history of Trevor Hall is revealed is one of the weakest things in this book. Mostly because not much is revealed at all. The house had so much potential, but not very much of it is tapped. And what is revealed about the house is... not interesting in the slightest. It was very disappointing.
And speaking of disappointment, I need to say that the end of this book was a struggle for me to get to. Even though I liked the story, this was a tedious read because of its epistolary nature, so when not enough scary or exciting things happened, my attention was easily drawn elsewhere.
I also want to mention that the characters were rather unlikable, which isn't always a bad thing and I actually didn't mind it too much. The bad thing comes from their characterization being a bit lacking. The team of researchers were... serviceable. However, I need to admit that I got them mixed up ALL THE TIME because their defining qualities just weren't very interesting. Smithy had more personality than the lot of them.
I was about to get in to the characters a little bit, but I feel like not only is there not much to talk about, but I also don't desire to spend any more time with those people. So I'm just not.
I do want to return to the end of the book, which left me wanting SO much more. Someone in a review commented on how crazy and frightening this book was, but I found it to be more like sad and incomplete. Even though I really liked the first half where they were setting up the study and teaching Smithy, the end just didn't deliver.
I rated Smithy by Amanda Desiree 3.25 out of 5 stars. It is unique, interesting, and for the most part, compelling, but it lacks character, scares, and horror.
Spoiler Alert: It did not.
BUT, I did find this book to be very interesting and I enjoyed the majority of it.
I really liked the framing device and set up here. This is an epistolary novel set in the 1970's. I thought the author did a great job telling this story through diaries, letters, journals, and descriptions of video footage. I've read a number of modern books like this that use email, texting, and messaging apps and it was refreshing to return to a time where the overbearing, all-seeing presence of technology doesn't exist.
I don't think Smithy's story would have worked in a modern setting, so the author made a good call taking us back 50 years. Modern technology brings modern problems and I don't know that enough of them could have been solved with enough believability to make this work. Also, it was cute to read and think about a time when people actually hand wrote letters on paper and mailed them to people.
However, it is worth noting that an epistolary structure is a rather tedious way to tell a story and this is where I think a lot of people (including myself) will struggle with this one. It takes FOREVER for this story to get going. And if I'm being honest, once it seems like we are finally getting somewhere, things basically stall.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
This story is also set in the 1970's because it follows a group of researchers who are studying primate language acquisition. They aren't the subject's pioneers, but they are early enough in the game for it to be very new and exciting. This was my favorite part of this book!
So our team of researchers have this chimp named Webster (cause, you know, language), but everyone calls him Smithy (short for "wordsmith") and they are teaching him sign language in a controlled environment.
The premise of this book is really cool. Because unbeknownst to the researchers, the controlled environment they chose, a dusty, old vacant mansion called Trevor Hall, might be haunted. Dun dun dunnnn!!
I do want to warn people that this aspect of the story is the part of this story I found to be incredibly lacking. It takes a VERY long time for "spooky" things to start happening here and when they do, it is very few and very far between.
This is my biggest issue with Smithy. I wanted more creeps and scares and this story just doesn't deliver those. What it does deliver is a cool exploration of language and the relationship between Smithy and his teachers.
Before picking this book up, I think people should know that FAR more of this story is about the researchers interacting with and teaching Smithy sign language than it is about a haunted house. I really wish the haunting had been the priority here, but it isn't.
Personally, I did enjoy the teaching and language exploration in this book, but I think people going in for the haunted haunted house story that the cover insinuates will be very disappointed.
Also, the way the haunted history of Trevor Hall is revealed is one of the weakest things in this book. Mostly because not much is revealed at all. The house had so much potential, but not very much of it is tapped. And what is revealed about the house is... not interesting in the slightest. It was very disappointing.
And speaking of disappointment, I need to say that the end of this book was a struggle for me to get to. Even though I liked the story, this was a tedious read because of its epistolary nature, so when not enough scary or exciting things happened, my attention was easily drawn elsewhere.
I also want to mention that the characters were rather unlikable, which isn't always a bad thing and I actually didn't mind it too much. The bad thing comes from their characterization being a bit lacking. The team of researchers were... serviceable. However, I need to admit that I got them mixed up ALL THE TIME because their defining qualities just weren't very interesting. Smithy had more personality than the lot of them.
I was about to get in to the characters a little bit, but I feel like not only is there not much to talk about, but I also don't desire to spend any more time with those people. So I'm just not.
I do want to return to the end of the book, which left me wanting SO much more. Someone in a review commented on how crazy and frightening this book was, but I found it to be more like sad and incomplete. Even though I really liked the first half where they were setting up the study and teaching Smithy, the end just didn't deliver.
I rated Smithy by Amanda Desiree 3.25 out of 5 stars. It is unique, interesting, and for the most part, compelling, but it lacks character, scares, and horror.
January 18, 2023
Honestly, this novel wasn’t even on my radar until Clay McLeod Chapman posted about it maybe a month or so ago? I’m not sure why I’d never seen it or heard about it, but when he posted that it was about a group of research students trying to teach a Chimpanzee sign language, only for the Chimpanzee to begin using the sign language to communicate with the ghost in the house, I was hooked. LIKE COME THE FREAKING HELL ON! HOW COOL IS THAT! I’m not sure (I suspect it has been done before) I’ve ever heard of this concept being put down on paper for a horror novel before! SIGN LANGUAGE! WITH A GHOST!!
Now, I will say, my biggest reservation about going into this novel is I am not a fan AT ALL of Epistolary story telling. For those who don’t know what that is – it’s a way of telling a story by only using letters/journals/diary entries and sometimes other mediums such as notes or descriptions of film footage and interviews. I always find it falls flat and isn’t as engaging. And the only reason I pushed through my trepidation over that aspect, was because recently I read AND LOVED Craig DiLouie’s newest novel ‘Episode Thirteen’ which was told through the Epistolary method.
What I liked: The story is set in the early 1970’s. A professor has secured funding to do a research experiment where they attempt to teach sign language to a primate to show they have the ability and intelligence to communicate. To do so, the research group moves into an old, neglected mansion, where they won’t have any outside interference and can freely work with Webster the Chimpanzee. Webster is very intelligent and because of his ability to pick up words, he’s been given the nickname Smithy.
Throughout the story, we get to see how the rational, science based students miss/ignore or mistake Smithy’s odd moments and unexpected interactions, until strange things begin to happen. Things go missing. Fires start. Smithy escapes from locked rooms. As all of this add up, Desiree does a great job of showcasing how those who don’t believe in the paranormal continue to find answers for what has happened, even if it doesn’t seem like a possibility. I loved the character of Smithy, even when things take a turn, Desiree does a great job of never anthropomorphizing him, even when the characters themselves do.
The story relies on building dread throughout the journal entries and memo’s between the characters and when a few of them have sightings of the ghost and learn more about who this haunting figure might be, Desiree continues to reel them back in and not let their rational mind completely go off the railings.
What I didn’t like: I didn’t like the means of how this story was told. This is a prime example of when Epistolary just doesn’t work. I wanted to love this one so much, but time and time again, the events fell flat because it was told through a journal entry or a random video and then it would simply end and we would move on to another entry. And the ending was the biggest bust for me because it alludes to something and literally just ends. I turned the page and flipped back, unsure if I’d actually got to the end or not. There was so much potential here to be a page-turning, compulsive story, but ultimately for me, the way it was told didn’t work.
Why you should buy this: Look, I fell hard for the hook. ASL, Chimpanzee, ghost communication. If that sounds like something you want to read, do it! Dive in! If you like or love Epistolary, then this one will absolutely be your cup of tea, it just didn’t get the job done for me.
Now, I will say, my biggest reservation about going into this novel is I am not a fan AT ALL of Epistolary story telling. For those who don’t know what that is – it’s a way of telling a story by only using letters/journals/diary entries and sometimes other mediums such as notes or descriptions of film footage and interviews. I always find it falls flat and isn’t as engaging. And the only reason I pushed through my trepidation over that aspect, was because recently I read AND LOVED Craig DiLouie’s newest novel ‘Episode Thirteen’ which was told through the Epistolary method.
What I liked: The story is set in the early 1970’s. A professor has secured funding to do a research experiment where they attempt to teach sign language to a primate to show they have the ability and intelligence to communicate. To do so, the research group moves into an old, neglected mansion, where they won’t have any outside interference and can freely work with Webster the Chimpanzee. Webster is very intelligent and because of his ability to pick up words, he’s been given the nickname Smithy.
Throughout the story, we get to see how the rational, science based students miss/ignore or mistake Smithy’s odd moments and unexpected interactions, until strange things begin to happen. Things go missing. Fires start. Smithy escapes from locked rooms. As all of this add up, Desiree does a great job of showcasing how those who don’t believe in the paranormal continue to find answers for what has happened, even if it doesn’t seem like a possibility. I loved the character of Smithy, even when things take a turn, Desiree does a great job of never anthropomorphizing him, even when the characters themselves do.
The story relies on building dread throughout the journal entries and memo’s between the characters and when a few of them have sightings of the ghost and learn more about who this haunting figure might be, Desiree continues to reel them back in and not let their rational mind completely go off the railings.
What I didn’t like: I didn’t like the means of how this story was told. This is a prime example of when Epistolary just doesn’t work. I wanted to love this one so much, but time and time again, the events fell flat because it was told through a journal entry or a random video and then it would simply end and we would move on to another entry. And the ending was the biggest bust for me because it alludes to something and literally just ends. I turned the page and flipped back, unsure if I’d actually got to the end or not. There was so much potential here to be a page-turning, compulsive story, but ultimately for me, the way it was told didn’t work.
Why you should buy this: Look, I fell hard for the hook. ASL, Chimpanzee, ghost communication. If that sounds like something you want to read, do it! Dive in! If you like or love Epistolary, then this one will absolutely be your cup of tea, it just didn’t get the job done for me.
October 14, 2021
Gah! So. Frustrating.
I must start this review by saying that this book could have been a 5-star read. Not only is the premise super interesting but Ms. Desiree is a great writer. I loved telling people the plot of what I was reading, and there's really no other book out there quite like it. I mean, I'm a sucker for a group of people doing research in a haunted house, but add a chimpanzee into the mix and I'm there!
I honestly didn't know what I was in for with this one, and at first, I was happy I hadn't known. For instance, I'm not always the biggest fan of the epistolary style ("Smithy" is written with letters, "found" footage, and excerpts from a book and interviews based on events). I like this style in the short form, but normally it doesn't hold up as well when it's an entire novel. But somehow this author made it work. I am also not always a big fan of numerous main characters. While this can be done right (and it WAS done right in "Smithy"), it can make it too easy to get lost in who is talking and whatnot. Here we have seven researchers and a chimpanzee with distinct personalities, and again the author does a great job of mastering each of those personalities. All of this reminded me of "World War Z" in the way that Brooks took a style of writing that should have been boring but just wasn't.
Unfortunately, my issue came with the horror aspect. After all, this book is marketed as horror. There's just too much of the same that happens, and not enough feeling of unease. Almost the entire book is about their research with Smithy, and talking about their day-to-day lives with him. Which, don't get me wrong, is interesting, but it's not enough when you're reading a horror book. The only horrific things that happen in the first half are just Smithy, obviously seeing the ghost and then getting punished for acknowledging it. At first, these acknowledgments were creepy, but after 250 pages of it, I wanted more and I never really got it.
Fluff. So much fluff. This, I don't actually blame the author for. I blame the editor. A LOT needed to be chopped out to get through to the creepy. I figured if things did speed up at the halfway point, as other reviewers had said it would, I would still rate "Smithy" 4-stars because I do enjoy the writing style so much. But, I guess my definition of speed up and others are very different. Along with their definition of terrifying and mine, because it just never quite got there for me.
Again. Frustrating.
**I was given an ARC of "Smithy" in exchange for an honest review**
I must start this review by saying that this book could have been a 5-star read. Not only is the premise super interesting but Ms. Desiree is a great writer. I loved telling people the plot of what I was reading, and there's really no other book out there quite like it. I mean, I'm a sucker for a group of people doing research in a haunted house, but add a chimpanzee into the mix and I'm there!
I honestly didn't know what I was in for with this one, and at first, I was happy I hadn't known. For instance, I'm not always the biggest fan of the epistolary style ("Smithy" is written with letters, "found" footage, and excerpts from a book and interviews based on events). I like this style in the short form, but normally it doesn't hold up as well when it's an entire novel. But somehow this author made it work. I am also not always a big fan of numerous main characters. While this can be done right (and it WAS done right in "Smithy"), it can make it too easy to get lost in who is talking and whatnot. Here we have seven researchers and a chimpanzee with distinct personalities, and again the author does a great job of mastering each of those personalities. All of this reminded me of "World War Z" in the way that Brooks took a style of writing that should have been boring but just wasn't.
Unfortunately, my issue came with the horror aspect. After all, this book is marketed as horror. There's just too much of the same that happens, and not enough feeling of unease. Almost the entire book is about their research with Smithy, and talking about their day-to-day lives with him. Which, don't get me wrong, is interesting, but it's not enough when you're reading a horror book. The only horrific things that happen in the first half are just Smithy, obviously seeing the ghost and then getting punished for acknowledging it. At first, these acknowledgments were creepy, but after 250 pages of it, I wanted more and I never really got it.
Fluff. So much fluff. This, I don't actually blame the author for. I blame the editor. A LOT needed to be chopped out to get through to the creepy. I figured if things did speed up at the halfway point, as other reviewers had said it would, I would still rate "Smithy" 4-stars because I do enjoy the writing style so much. But, I guess my definition of speed up and others are very different. Along with their definition of terrifying and mine, because it just never quite got there for me.
Again. Frustrating.
**I was given an ARC of "Smithy" in exchange for an honest review**
December 23, 2021
I am so glad Inkshares reached out and sent me a copy of this book. When I’d been informed that SMITHY by Amanda Desiree was going to be an epistolary haunted house novel starring a lovable chimpanzee, there was no way in hell I was going to pass on the opportunity to read it.
Our story is set in Newport, Rhode Island 1972 and six collegiate researchers have joined a very important study to teach a chimpanzee by the name of Webster/Smithy to communicate through American Sign Language. However, they are unaware that Trevor Hall, the home they’ve rented for the study, is haunted. Even more disturbing, Smithy is catching on to something dark and unsettling hiding in shadow, lurking in empty corners, something his human charges can’t seem to see with their skeptical human eyes.
This was such a unique haunted house story! Slow-simmering, creepy, and compelling. While some might become frustrated with the pages of study records outnumbering the accounts of paranormal activity, I was fascinated by both as a person who is intrigued by language acquisition and a lover of all things haunted. I personally appreciated getting acquainted with the young researchers as characters and having a chance to grow comfortable with the bonds formed amongst themselves.
I absolutely loved Smithy and readers will find themselves getting into a habit of anthropomorphizing him as if he were a sweet child. The fact that he was constantly frightened by chilling occurrences throughout this OBVIOUSLY haunted house, only to be chastised by his disbelieving owners was frustrating! (Pay attention to your animals when they start acting weird in creepy houses, people)!
Amanda Desiree succeeded in writing a story that was one of a kind and sure to capture animal-loving audiences with an equal love for the paranormal.
(Thank you so much to Inkshares and Amanda Desiree for this beautiful review copy!)
Our story is set in Newport, Rhode Island 1972 and six collegiate researchers have joined a very important study to teach a chimpanzee by the name of Webster/Smithy to communicate through American Sign Language. However, they are unaware that Trevor Hall, the home they’ve rented for the study, is haunted. Even more disturbing, Smithy is catching on to something dark and unsettling hiding in shadow, lurking in empty corners, something his human charges can’t seem to see with their skeptical human eyes.
This was such a unique haunted house story! Slow-simmering, creepy, and compelling. While some might become frustrated with the pages of study records outnumbering the accounts of paranormal activity, I was fascinated by both as a person who is intrigued by language acquisition and a lover of all things haunted. I personally appreciated getting acquainted with the young researchers as characters and having a chance to grow comfortable with the bonds formed amongst themselves.
I absolutely loved Smithy and readers will find themselves getting into a habit of anthropomorphizing him as if he were a sweet child. The fact that he was constantly frightened by chilling occurrences throughout this OBVIOUSLY haunted house, only to be chastised by his disbelieving owners was frustrating! (Pay attention to your animals when they start acting weird in creepy houses, people)!
Amanda Desiree succeeded in writing a story that was one of a kind and sure to capture animal-loving audiences with an equal love for the paranormal.
(Thank you so much to Inkshares and Amanda Desiree for this beautiful review copy!)
September 27, 2021
A book with a lot of promise but not much delivery.
This epistolary take on the haunted house novel attempts to follow in Shirley Jackson's footsteps. A group of experts take over an old, decrepit mansion that's subject to strange rumors with plans to live there for an extended period of time. Sounding Hill House-ish? But, the twist is that they are not there with the intention of exposing the paranormal but rather to study a chimpanzee nicknamed Smithy and how he acquires language. As someone who studied linguistics in college and has an unhealthy love for haunted houses, this book was right up my alley.
While this is an amazing idea and there was a strong setup, the book gave way to a plotline with uninspiring characters and way too much filler. The book could have easily been 300 pages instead of 500 and you wouldn't have missed any story. The book covers the same ground again and again, and I just kept waiting for the ghost story to really kick in. (Spoiler alert: it never does.) Perhaps the format with the interviews and diary entries and letters kept me at a distance; I never felt that I was experiencing what was going on. But to be honest, there also just wasn't that much going on to get invested in.
In addition, I was underwhelmed by the character development. There is one researcher named Eric who I kept forgetting was part of the story at all as his appearances are few and far between. He is the lone voice who believes in the possibility of a ghost, so I was really expecting his character to ramp up. Instead, it fizzles out. Tammy and Ruby were interchangeable for me until one of them starts dating another character. And Gail was especially confusing. She is pitched as this enthusiastic go-getter who isn't as experienced or smart as the others (in a cliched kind of dumb blonde way—sigh). It goes so far as she mixes up their/they're and your/you're in her letters. First, these are people who are in college and second, they are studying language. That doesn't make any sense.
On an aesthetic note, much of the book is written as letters and diary entries, and they are all typeset in ITALICS. Italic writing is notoriously taxing on the eyes to read, and it is probably half the book. I wish they could have designed those sections differently as it definitely impacted my enjoyment while I was reading.
My thanks to Inkshares for my copy of this one to read and review.
This epistolary take on the haunted house novel attempts to follow in Shirley Jackson's footsteps. A group of experts take over an old, decrepit mansion that's subject to strange rumors with plans to live there for an extended period of time. Sounding Hill House-ish? But, the twist is that they are not there with the intention of exposing the paranormal but rather to study a chimpanzee nicknamed Smithy and how he acquires language. As someone who studied linguistics in college and has an unhealthy love for haunted houses, this book was right up my alley.
While this is an amazing idea and there was a strong setup, the book gave way to a plotline with uninspiring characters and way too much filler. The book could have easily been 300 pages instead of 500 and you wouldn't have missed any story. The book covers the same ground again and again, and I just kept waiting for the ghost story to really kick in. (Spoiler alert: it never does.) Perhaps the format with the interviews and diary entries and letters kept me at a distance; I never felt that I was experiencing what was going on. But to be honest, there also just wasn't that much going on to get invested in.
In addition, I was underwhelmed by the character development. There is one researcher named Eric who I kept forgetting was part of the story at all as his appearances are few and far between. He is the lone voice who believes in the possibility of a ghost, so I was really expecting his character to ramp up. Instead, it fizzles out. Tammy and Ruby were interchangeable for me until one of them starts dating another character. And Gail was especially confusing. She is pitched as this enthusiastic go-getter who isn't as experienced or smart as the others (in a cliched kind of dumb blonde way—sigh). It goes so far as she mixes up their/they're and your/you're in her letters. First, these are people who are in college and second, they are studying language. That doesn't make any sense.
On an aesthetic note, much of the book is written as letters and diary entries, and they are all typeset in ITALICS. Italic writing is notoriously taxing on the eyes to read, and it is probably half the book. I wish they could have designed those sections differently as it definitely impacted my enjoyment while I was reading.
My thanks to Inkshares for my copy of this one to read and review.
May 7, 2021
Thank you to Net Galley and Inkshares for this advanced readers copy.
If you know me you know I LOVE a haunted house. There is something about uncanny spaces that just hits all the pleasure centers in my brain. I will read any haunted house book you put in front of me (so give me some haunted house books, please!)
A group of grad and university students, from different academic backgrounds, are brought to Trevor Hall to work on a project to determine a chimpanzees (Webster/Smithy) capability for complex communication through sign language. Learning as they go themselves, they are noticing quick progress. Which is good as they need to have proof of success to maintain their funding.
Smithy can identify objects, and is picking up the signs. However he is struggling with "woman" and "black/darkness" often signing these two words in place of others, or in places where it just doesn't make sense. Often this is the precursor of Smithy acting up, breaking out of his room, and leading to violent behaviour and mood swings.
While enjoying a trip into town, the students meet some locals, who want to talk about their experiences at Trevor Hall, and regale them with stories of accidental deaths, a history of unexplained fires, and disappearing objects. They all agree on one thing: Nobody lives in Trevor Hall for long.
Is Smithy to blame for the weird things happening in Trevor Hall, or is he communicating with something from beyond the grave?
I really enjoyed this one, but it really does feels horror-lite. There is definitely a haunting happening and a couple of visceral scenes, but I think this is pretty approachable for people who scare easily. I think the epistolary style works really well at building tension throughout.
3.5 Stars rounded up to 4
If you know me you know I LOVE a haunted house. There is something about uncanny spaces that just hits all the pleasure centers in my brain. I will read any haunted house book you put in front of me (so give me some haunted house books, please!)
A group of grad and university students, from different academic backgrounds, are brought to Trevor Hall to work on a project to determine a chimpanzees (Webster/Smithy) capability for complex communication through sign language. Learning as they go themselves, they are noticing quick progress. Which is good as they need to have proof of success to maintain their funding.
Smithy can identify objects, and is picking up the signs. However he is struggling with "woman" and "black/darkness" often signing these two words in place of others, or in places where it just doesn't make sense. Often this is the precursor of Smithy acting up, breaking out of his room, and leading to violent behaviour and mood swings.
While enjoying a trip into town, the students meet some locals, who want to talk about their experiences at Trevor Hall, and regale them with stories of accidental deaths, a history of unexplained fires, and disappearing objects. They all agree on one thing: Nobody lives in Trevor Hall for long.
Is Smithy to blame for the weird things happening in Trevor Hall, or is he communicating with something from beyond the grave?
I really enjoyed this one, but it really does feels horror-lite. There is definitely a haunting happening and a couple of visceral scenes, but I think this is pretty approachable for people who scare easily. I think the epistolary style works really well at building tension throughout.
3.5 Stars rounded up to 4
February 24, 2021
I received an ARC from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Smithy is a haunted house tale like no other. It follows the journey of a chimpanzee and a group of college students’ as they navigate sign language and ghosts.
The genre of found footage horror in books is fairly new to me, however I love it so far. The jumping between journal entries, interviews, memos and diaries kept the reader engaged and alert.
The character building was wonderful. I felt invested in Smithy, in Ruby and Jeff’s budding romance, in Wanda’s power plays and in Gail’s naïveté. I felt myself cringe every time Wanda would try to insert her opinion, awkwardly, into the group. I felt happiness when Ruby finally got to move in with Jeff even if it was under terrifying circumstances.
Where this fell a little flat for me was in the amount of detail in regards to the scientific study on Smithy. Some may find this intriguing, but I was more interested in the haunted house and the “dark woman”. It is a horror story after all.
I would have loved to see the story of the ghost and the history of the house fleshed out a bit more. The scenes of horror were terrifying and led the reader to down many avenues of thought regarding the ghost. That storyline never quite played out and the reader was left wondering.
Overall, it was a really unique take on an old horror trope. The “found footage” writing style fit the story perfectly. Read if you’re a fan of parapsychology, science and a spooky haunted house setting thrown in!
Smithy is a haunted house tale like no other. It follows the journey of a chimpanzee and a group of college students’ as they navigate sign language and ghosts.
The genre of found footage horror in books is fairly new to me, however I love it so far. The jumping between journal entries, interviews, memos and diaries kept the reader engaged and alert.
The character building was wonderful. I felt invested in Smithy, in Ruby and Jeff’s budding romance, in Wanda’s power plays and in Gail’s naïveté. I felt myself cringe every time Wanda would try to insert her opinion, awkwardly, into the group. I felt happiness when Ruby finally got to move in with Jeff even if it was under terrifying circumstances.
Where this fell a little flat for me was in the amount of detail in regards to the scientific study on Smithy. Some may find this intriguing, but I was more interested in the haunted house and the “dark woman”. It is a horror story after all.
I would have loved to see the story of the ghost and the history of the house fleshed out a bit more. The scenes of horror were terrifying and led the reader to down many avenues of thought regarding the ghost. That storyline never quite played out and the reader was left wondering.
Overall, it was a really unique take on an old horror trope. The “found footage” writing style fit the story perfectly. Read if you’re a fan of parapsychology, science and a spooky haunted house setting thrown in!
June 14, 2021
Newport, Rhode Island. I’ve been told it’s a place of wonderment. A beauteous getaway where the Haves once embellished the periphery of the Have-nots. But that was then, and things change. Newport is where Amanda Desiree’s Smithy brings us, amongst decrepit renditions of a once-bountiful time. Where the richest of the rich had been able to erect whimsical mansions by the water. But as even the most beautiful flowers are wont to wilt, Smithy takes us to the same mansions in the 20th century, where we are met instead with abundance’s rotting corpses. It’s also the mid-‘70s, a time when some aspects of youthful culture have begun to notice that life doesn’t always resemble its goals.
You can read Sean's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
You can read Sean's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
dnf
July 8, 2021DNF at 40%. The premise is amazing, but the story progression is just too slow.
March 3, 2021
I've Gone Ape Over This Book!
But, first of all, I need to say that I am extremely POd at some reviewers who included spoilers without warning that they were doing so. --- Bad, bad, bad! Don't do that! --- If there is a twist, do your best to hide what it is, especially if the synopsis has done so.
Fortunately, I didn't read these ahead of time and so the sense of dread was allowed to grow until I read about 40% of the book, when things exploded into full-blown terror. This book is exactly the sort of intellectual horror I like best. Like the late Michael Crichton, the author has crafted a book with a technical framework that allows the educated layman an estimation of scientific validity, instead of the more familiar creature or haunted house story that could be scary and thrilling, but usually not surprising or original. I wish I could give it ten stars!
Amanda Desiree's use of journal entries, diaries, letters, media articles, and interview transcripts to reveal the characters' interplay of egos, flirtations, and in some cases, limerence, was distinctly effective and revelatory in combination. I couldn't help but sympathise with all of the young researchers. The contrast of their emotional and action-driven chapters with the drier, clinical material served to heighten this reader's emotional involvement while the cleverly camouflaged foreshadowing drove up the creep factor to fever strength.
I suspect that this author has another pen name, and I'm curious about what else she's (or he's or they've) written. The dramatic and feminine-sounding last name seems as deliberately misleading as the plot and, partly because of it, I seriously underestimated this book's impact. The very last page was like a punch in the gut.
Thank you, NetGalley, Inkshares, and especially Amanda Desiree, for giving me the opportunity to read this advance reader copy. The honest, wholehearted, and enthusiastic recommendation I'm giving is more passionate than usual: I feel honored to endorse this book!
But, first of all, I need to say that I am extremely POd at some reviewers who included spoilers without warning that they were doing so. --- Bad, bad, bad! Don't do that! --- If there is a twist, do your best to hide what it is, especially if the synopsis has done so.
Fortunately, I didn't read these ahead of time and so the sense of dread was allowed to grow until I read about 40% of the book, when things exploded into full-blown terror. This book is exactly the sort of intellectual horror I like best. Like the late Michael Crichton, the author has crafted a book with a technical framework that allows the educated layman an estimation of scientific validity, instead of the more familiar creature or haunted house story that could be scary and thrilling, but usually not surprising or original. I wish I could give it ten stars!
Amanda Desiree's use of journal entries, diaries, letters, media articles, and interview transcripts to reveal the characters' interplay of egos, flirtations, and in some cases, limerence, was distinctly effective and revelatory in combination. I couldn't help but sympathise with all of the young researchers. The contrast of their emotional and action-driven chapters with the drier, clinical material served to heighten this reader's emotional involvement while the cleverly camouflaged foreshadowing drove up the creep factor to fever strength.
I suspect that this author has another pen name, and I'm curious about what else she's (or he's or they've) written. The dramatic and feminine-sounding last name seems as deliberately misleading as the plot and, partly because of it, I seriously underestimated this book's impact. The very last page was like a punch in the gut.
Thank you, NetGalley, Inkshares, and especially Amanda Desiree, for giving me the opportunity to read this advance reader copy. The honest, wholehearted, and enthusiastic recommendation I'm giving is more passionate than usual: I feel honored to endorse this book!
March 18, 2021
2.5 stars I received an arc copy of this from Net Galley.
When I read the premise of this horror book, I was very intrigued.
A chimp study, a possibly haunted house, an epistolary format (diary entries, letters, video transcripts), sign me up!
I started off enjoying this slow burn but then it fizzled out for me.
There were a couple of chilling moments and some episodes which could have been quite scary, but it didn't come across like that because of the epistolary format. In fact, the major occurrences aren't related by the people who experienced them, but by observers, so they aren't as impactful.
I was expecting the tension to keep on building and for things to get crazier but after each unusual event, things would settle down, and weeks or months would pass by without incident.
I didn't really care for the characters either. Many were either despicable or annoying and despite the fact that the research assistants were young (undergraduate/graduate students), they seemed quite immature to me. Some of their actions could maybe be explained by the fact that this takes place in the 1970s. I don't think that this is being marketed as a young adult book, but I feel that it could appeal more to a younger audience.
Despite the fact that this is a fairly long book and is a slow burn, it was a quick and easy read and I enjoyed some of the moments. If you want a cozier horror/mystery, you might enjoy this one.
When I read the premise of this horror book, I was very intrigued.
A chimp study, a possibly haunted house, an epistolary format (diary entries, letters, video transcripts), sign me up!
I started off enjoying this slow burn but then it fizzled out for me.
There were a couple of chilling moments and some episodes which could have been quite scary, but it didn't come across like that because of the epistolary format. In fact, the major occurrences aren't related by the people who experienced them, but by observers, so they aren't as impactful.
I was expecting the tension to keep on building and for things to get crazier but after each unusual event, things would settle down, and weeks or months would pass by without incident.
I didn't really care for the characters either. Many were either despicable or annoying and despite the fact that the research assistants were young (undergraduate/graduate students), they seemed quite immature to me. Some of their actions could maybe be explained by the fact that this takes place in the 1970s. I don't think that this is being marketed as a young adult book, but I feel that it could appeal more to a younger audience.
Despite the fact that this is a fairly long book and is a slow burn, it was a quick and easy read and I enjoyed some of the moments. If you want a cozier horror/mystery, you might enjoy this one.
September 7, 2021
"...I see our lives at Trevor Hall in a new context. At first, when Eric told us about seeing the Dark Woman, and we realized that’s what Smithy might have been trying to describe, I was excited. It gave me a rush to think there could be a world beyond, and Smithy could reach it. But when I really considered the implications, all I could think was, ‘There’s a ghost in this house. This is our house, and it’s haunted.’ Because Tammy’s right: we do have to sleep here—and wake up to find the bedrooms on fire and our lives possibly in peril."
I loved this book. Loved it! It has everything:
1. It's set in the '70s in an old New England mansion.
2. The title character is a chimpanzee that communicates with ghosts.
3. It appears to be incredibly well-researched. Cheers to author Amanda Desiree for the effort.
4. It's written in epistolary style, and no, I won't go on about Dracula here even though I want to.
I enjoyed every moment of this book, even though some might find it overly long at 500 pages. I was eight years old in 1974. Ghosts, haunted mansions, Dark Shadows, and Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp were my life. I feel like this book was written specifically for me. Check out Smithy, one of my favorite reads of the year.
I loved this book. Loved it! It has everything:
1. It's set in the '70s in an old New England mansion.
2. The title character is a chimpanzee that communicates with ghosts.
3. It appears to be incredibly well-researched. Cheers to author Amanda Desiree for the effort.
4. It's written in epistolary style, and no, I won't go on about Dracula here even though I want to.
I enjoyed every moment of this book, even though some might find it overly long at 500 pages. I was eight years old in 1974. Ghosts, haunted mansions, Dark Shadows, and Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp were my life. I feel like this book was written specifically for me. Check out Smithy, one of my favorite reads of the year.
January 16, 2023
The epistolary format/collection of fictitious primary sources really worked for me. It felt like a fast-paced way to tell the story and examine the situation from a number of angles. The distinct voices in some of the sources helped me differentiate the characters and enjoy spending time with them individually. Every scene has some degree of conflict or helpful piece of information, and this shunted me through the story very quickly, since I consistently felt rewarded. However, it never really arcs into something. It never meaningfully confronts the questions it sets up or leaves us with even a moderately satisfying resolution. For the long swaths of time we spend with these characters, it wraps up incredibly quickly and not very believably. It feels like it never really knew where it intended to end or what it wanted to tell us about the possibility of a haunting. Perhaps this was for the sake of realism, but it didn’t ultimately work for me.
May 22, 2021
What a fun book! Smithy is an original horror novel that toys with the age old trope of "Is there a ghost or is there not?" but in a way that makes it feel like it hasn't been done 100 times before. I love the format of how everything is told through letters, journal entires, memos, interviews, etc. It was unique, and it really showed a separation of people's personalities and identities as characters. I kind of wish we'd gotten first person perspectives from Wanda since she was one of the more fascinating characters who could easily be written off as a one dimensional antagonist.
I don't like how the novel ends but just because I want ANSWERS! Was the house haunted? Was Smithy just giving in to his nature? I need to know!
I don't like how the novel ends but just because I want ANSWERS! Was the house haunted? Was Smithy just giving in to his nature? I need to know!
March 4, 2021
The story of smithy is so well crafted, it instilled a sense of rare terror and sadness in me: mostly because I am sensitive to the plight of animals, and know of many sad stories of human owned chimps.
There are different ways the book tells a story, through letters and transcripts. It is fleshed out spooky story, one that actually scared me and made me uncomfortable which is rare. I would suggest this to those who are more accustomed to serious horror, with little humor and more darkness.
I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an ARC to read, I will be buying this book when it releases!
There are different ways the book tells a story, through letters and transcripts. It is fleshed out spooky story, one that actually scared me and made me uncomfortable which is rare. I would suggest this to those who are more accustomed to serious horror, with little humor and more darkness.
I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an ARC to read, I will be buying this book when it releases!
June 8, 2021
Creepy and original, but I think it was just... denser than it needed to be. This just wasn't a story that needed to be 500 pages. The premise is fantastic, though. More horror books need to play on the inherent creepiness of chimpanzees.
March 6, 2021
This review is based on an ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Smithy by Amanda Desiree is a very subtle book. It is an epistolary novel, that is, it is composed of reports, diary entries, letters, interviews and transcripts which together provide the narrative. The subject matter of the novel is an experiment that took place at Trevor Hall, an old, sprawling dilapidated mansion where a group of grad students and a professor explored the possibilities of teaching sign language to a baby chimpanzee. The author ably constructs the intricate, daily routine of the house while weaving in a sense of unease through very small unusual elements. The subtlety lies in the ambiguity of the strangeness - accidents, or something else?
Smithy is the chimpanzee, though his real name is Webster, but the affectionate Smithy became the term of common usage in the novel. With him, we are introduced to a cast of students who live and work with him/. At first, things go well, as the characters are entranced by the huge mansion they are living in. A bit of time is spent on introducing the cast and indicating their different personalities. A significant portion of the first part of the book is spent in discussing the first phase of the experiment - sign language training and the mostly positive experience of the characters with Smithy. The epistolary style helps, as it presents the reader with a range of points of view - from the developments of the project through bulletin board entries, to the internal monologue of characters through letters and diary entries. Occasionally later interviews and book excerpts are spliced in to lend flashes of hindsight. As the book progresses, the daily routine is interrupted more and more, in unpredictable ways by a series of small incidents that range from being a bit strange, to unusual, to quite frightening. The scientific temper of the team is strained as these incidents help to open up incipient rifts. As personalities clash, and the inexplicable rears its head, the students and professor have to question their root assumptions.
This is a book about denial. Time and again, the characters are confronted with incidents that question their basic assumptions, including about their own safety. And repeatedly these are ignored. The author uses this element of denial to highlight how expectations about and investment in the project lead to a systematic neglect of basic investigations and precautions.
I really enjoyed this book. The pacing was fairly smooth, the epistolary style lent texture and depth to the story, and the subtlety and ambiguity of the uncanny elements leaves much to the fertile imagination of the reader. Ultimately, many questions are left unanswered, but this is by design. The author presents all the elements needed to pain the full picture, and leaves the brush lying in the open so we may fill in the grey spaces.
Smithy by Amanda Desiree is a very subtle book. It is an epistolary novel, that is, it is composed of reports, diary entries, letters, interviews and transcripts which together provide the narrative. The subject matter of the novel is an experiment that took place at Trevor Hall, an old, sprawling dilapidated mansion where a group of grad students and a professor explored the possibilities of teaching sign language to a baby chimpanzee. The author ably constructs the intricate, daily routine of the house while weaving in a sense of unease through very small unusual elements. The subtlety lies in the ambiguity of the strangeness - accidents, or something else?
Smithy is the chimpanzee, though his real name is Webster, but the affectionate Smithy became the term of common usage in the novel. With him, we are introduced to a cast of students who live and work with him/. At first, things go well, as the characters are entranced by the huge mansion they are living in. A bit of time is spent on introducing the cast and indicating their different personalities. A significant portion of the first part of the book is spent in discussing the first phase of the experiment - sign language training and the mostly positive experience of the characters with Smithy. The epistolary style helps, as it presents the reader with a range of points of view - from the developments of the project through bulletin board entries, to the internal monologue of characters through letters and diary entries. Occasionally later interviews and book excerpts are spliced in to lend flashes of hindsight. As the book progresses, the daily routine is interrupted more and more, in unpredictable ways by a series of small incidents that range from being a bit strange, to unusual, to quite frightening. The scientific temper of the team is strained as these incidents help to open up incipient rifts. As personalities clash, and the inexplicable rears its head, the students and professor have to question their root assumptions.
This is a book about denial. Time and again, the characters are confronted with incidents that question their basic assumptions, including about their own safety. And repeatedly these are ignored. The author uses this element of denial to highlight how expectations about and investment in the project lead to a systematic neglect of basic investigations and precautions.
I really enjoyed this book. The pacing was fairly smooth, the epistolary style lent texture and depth to the story, and the subtlety and ambiguity of the uncanny elements leaves much to the fertile imagination of the reader. Ultimately, many questions are left unanswered, but this is by design. The author presents all the elements needed to pain the full picture, and leaves the brush lying in the open so we may fill in the grey spaces.
February 26, 2021
Smithy is a slow-burning haunted house tale - told entirely through mixed media - featuring group tension, dread, and a young chimpanzee. We meet Webster (soon to be nicknamed “Smithy”) at the beginning of a psychological study. Dr. Piers Preis-Herald and a somewhat ragtag group of students will live with Smithy, and attempt to teach him ASL. They move into the dilapidated Trevor Hall in Newport, Rhode Island, and the study begins.
Through journals, diary entries, and transcripts, we see the day to day life in Trevor Hall. Smithy gets smarter (and stronger) by the day. Tensions rise over issues with the study, money, and the strange occurrences that begin happening around the house. Smithy starts acting out, signing strange words and reacting to something the handlers can’t see. This twist on the classic “child/pet seeing ghosts” is so well done and very refreshing.
This book really astounded me- I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did! Like all my favorite haunted house stories it moved slowly, but kept enough dread in the background to feel unsettling. Add in the ticking time clock of a growing chimp (seriously, chimps are scary!), and I didn’t want to put this book down. At the beginning I was afraid that all the characters would get confusing, or muddle the waters. They all come to have their own voices, and the author handled them all beautifully.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good haunted house story, especially if they’re looking for an interesting modern take on it. I read this as an ebook, and I’m thinking the experience of reading the physical book would be even better to really make the most of the mixed media aspects.
*I received this book as an eARC from netgalley in exchange for my honest review!
Through journals, diary entries, and transcripts, we see the day to day life in Trevor Hall. Smithy gets smarter (and stronger) by the day. Tensions rise over issues with the study, money, and the strange occurrences that begin happening around the house. Smithy starts acting out, signing strange words and reacting to something the handlers can’t see. This twist on the classic “child/pet seeing ghosts” is so well done and very refreshing.
This book really astounded me- I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did! Like all my favorite haunted house stories it moved slowly, but kept enough dread in the background to feel unsettling. Add in the ticking time clock of a growing chimp (seriously, chimps are scary!), and I didn’t want to put this book down. At the beginning I was afraid that all the characters would get confusing, or muddle the waters. They all come to have their own voices, and the author handled them all beautifully.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good haunted house story, especially if they’re looking for an interesting modern take on it. I read this as an ebook, and I’m thinking the experience of reading the physical book would be even better to really make the most of the mixed media aspects.
*I received this book as an eARC from netgalley in exchange for my honest review!
May 24, 2024
I LOVED this book! I loved the "found footage" feel to it. I loved the creepy ambience of the story. I loved the fact that I couldn't stand the human characters until suddenly they felt like annoying family members. I loved the mystery and the frustration of it all, which is so weird, because usually I hate it when a story doesn't just open up quickly (lack of patience). And last but not least, I loved Smithy!!! I bought this book a billion years ago and finally read it only to find out there is a sequel! I will definitely be purchasing the sequel and am hoping against hope that the current heartbreak I feel after finishing the first book is healed in the next!
February 26, 2021
While there was a lot to like in this book, all in all, it just never quite got anywhere.
The research is evident in the setting and plot. The ambiance of Newport in the 70s and the feeling of the mansions as odes to almost offensive wealth make you feel like you are there. The history of Smithy, how the researchers are working and interpreting his “speech” references Nim the Chimp and Koko the Gorilla with a critical eye to where that research failed. My favorite part was how well the author captures working in research. If you study doesnt feel like you are trapped in a house with the seven stupidest people you know pretending to be brilliant, you probably aren't doing science. (Just kidding, but not really.)
However, all this work just doesn't really make anything happen. The book spends so long building the big reveal that by the time the protagonists get there, the reader is already over it. Even when the story looks like it is coming together, there is no real resolution. All you are left with is a bunch of people who failed at the scientific method and an animal that acted, well, like an animal. This book always felt like it was heading somewhere good, but then...fin. Lastly, the epistolary format is interesting, but also makes it clear that this is a filtered version of events, so even if the reader suspends disbelief for the horror, it is hard to really engage with this as a scary story.
The research is evident in the setting and plot. The ambiance of Newport in the 70s and the feeling of the mansions as odes to almost offensive wealth make you feel like you are there. The history of Smithy, how the researchers are working and interpreting his “speech” references Nim the Chimp and Koko the Gorilla with a critical eye to where that research failed. My favorite part was how well the author captures working in research. If you study doesnt feel like you are trapped in a house with the seven stupidest people you know pretending to be brilliant, you probably aren't doing science. (Just kidding, but not really.)
However, all this work just doesn't really make anything happen. The book spends so long building the big reveal that by the time the protagonists get there, the reader is already over it. Even when the story looks like it is coming together, there is no real resolution. All you are left with is a bunch of people who failed at the scientific method and an animal that acted, well, like an animal. This book always felt like it was heading somewhere good, but then...fin. Lastly, the epistolary format is interesting, but also makes it clear that this is a filtered version of events, so even if the reader suspends disbelief for the horror, it is hard to really engage with this as a scary story.
June 30, 2022
What a trippy book! This is told through a series of journal entries, memos, audio and video scripts, interviews etc and it just adds to the story. Good reminder that although animals are adorable they are animals. The supernatural element was a nice addition.
April 12, 2022
While this wasn't perfect, I do have to say that a haunted house tale centered around a chimpanzee had no business being this good.
January 5, 2022
Very original take on the haunted house.
November 23, 2023
The intro was rather long compared to the rest of the book. The author did well creating an unsettling atmosphere as the book progressed. However, I was very disappointed with the ending.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews