Status Updates From The Grip of It

Why I love ghost stories is that they delve into the subconscious and how we deal with trauma. A good ghost story deals with the secrets of them who are involved. It’s what made the “reformatory” great, the trauma hidden in the historical record. “The Grip Of It” deals with marital trauma in our modern age. They want a new life and buying a house, moving to the suburbs will be their escape.

“ i know what it feels like to speak a lie to make it sound more true.” James thought.

What happens to the unity of marriage when the center is based on faulty logic? Does evil work to separate unity?

A husband wife but a home in the suburbs In the hopes of escaping the urban grind. They find themselves haunted by the home’s past, they begin to lose touch with reality and liminal space, and are haunted by the house’s human tragedy.

The way that each of us shapes the others reality is important in the expression of this book. James, the husband, is shaped by Julie, who are both shaped by Rolf!

Trick of the trade: I love the use of dialogue breaking into 1st person.
The author uses 1sr person narrative to force a pov. This pov is limited because you only see what the narrator sees. It’s far more moving when the pov is limited and the anxiety of the scene is amped. You can’t see outside the box you reading in.
But then the dialogue allows her to have both pov at the same time!

its kind of amazing how this book went from being bad, to tolerable, to kind of good, and back to being bad in only 200 pages