• HOME
  • CONTACT / FEATURE
  • FEATURES
  • FICTION REVIEWS
  • FILM REVIEWS
  • INTERVIEWS
  • YOUNG BLOOD
  • MY LIFE IN HORROR
  • FILM GUTTER
  • ARCHIVES
    • SPLASHES OF DARKNESS
    • THE MASTERS OF HORROR
    • THE DEVL'S MUSIC
    • HORROR BOOK REVIEWS
    • Challenge Kayleigh
    • ALICE IN SUMMERLAND
    • 13 FOR HALLOWEEN
    • FILMS THAT MATTER
    • BOOKS THAT MATTER
    • THE SCARLET GOSPELS
GINGER NUTS OF HORROR
  • HOME
  • CONTACT / FEATURE
  • FEATURES
  • FICTION REVIEWS
  • FILM REVIEWS
  • INTERVIEWS
  • YOUNG BLOOD
  • MY LIFE IN HORROR
  • FILM GUTTER
  • ARCHIVES
    • SPLASHES OF DARKNESS
    • THE MASTERS OF HORROR
    • THE DEVL'S MUSIC
    • HORROR BOOK REVIEWS
    • Challenge Kayleigh
    • ALICE IN SUMMERLAND
    • 13 FOR HALLOWEEN
    • FILMS THAT MATTER
    • BOOKS THAT MATTER
    • THE SCARLET GOSPELS
GINGER NUTS OF HORROR
horror review website ginger nuts of horror website
Picture

SUCH PRETTY THINGS BY LISA HEATHFIELD ​(BOOK REVIEW)

13/5/2021
SUCH PRETTY THINGS BY LISA HEATHFIELD ​(BOOK REVIEW)
An established YA author heads into decidedly darker territory with her adult debut

Such Pretty Things by LISA HEATHFIELD
​(Book Review by Tony Jones)

Your opinion on Lisa Heathfield’s adult debut Such Pretty Things may well depend upon your expectations when starting the book. It features some elements of a traditional horror novel, but there are no ghosts except within the imaginations of the characters, so the comparisons in the blurbs to the classics The Haunting of Hill House and Turn of the Screw are slightly over-egged. Other more realistic contemporary comparisons might be CJ Tudor’s The Chalk Man or Alex North’s The Whisper Man which dance around ambiguity in a similar fashion to this. Even though it does have elements of the Gothic, Such Pretty Things is more of a powerful and complex character study of grief, loss and isolation. But if you are after a good scare look elsewhere, however, this remains a thoughtful and convincing read, which is a promising adult debut.


Heathfield has previously authored four YA novels, so it is no surprise that the main character in Such Pretty Things is a fourteen-year-old girl. Clara has been sent, along with her younger brother Stephen, to live with an aunt and her husband whom they have never met, residing in an isolated part of Scotland. There has been a tragedy in the family, with her mother seriously injured and in hospital, their struggling father has sent them to live (temporarily) with their aunt, dropping them off in the novel’s opening sequence. One of the most successful aspects of the story is the level of personal grief which bubbles below the surface, Clara, who has to mother her eight-year-old brother whilst trying to be grown-up herself, has nobody to lean on herself or talk to, except her strange aunt.


Such Pretty Things was supposed to be set in Scotland, but apart from the use of the word ‘loch’ there was nothing to distinguish it from anywhere else in the UK and not enough was made of the remote setting. Children are known for exploring, but apart from one occasion when they visit a nearby loch, they barely make it beyond the expansive garden. By way of comparison, Francine Toon’s Pine (2020) was an excellent example of a recent supernatural novel which made 110% of its rugged Scottish location, an aspect this story lacked. The early stages helped build atmosphere as the children explored the interiors of the musty house, in the opening sections there were clever references to the many little dolls, which seemed to change locations, but if you are expecting something of the ilk of Adam Nevill’s House of Small Shadows (2013) you are going to be disappointed. The early promise of a supernatural tale or ghost story quickly petered out and this might disappoint some readers, but fans of the psychological have much to look forward to.


Smaller parts of the story jump to ‘Aunty’, which are italicised, although it was interesting to have this other perspective, it also provided obvious spoilers for what lay ahead. The reader knows from the outset there is something odd about the aunt and all these sections do is blatantly spell it out for the reader, whilst Clara struggles to cope. This might work in a YA novel, which the author specialises it, but for an adult reader this was telegraphed. Connected to this, the aunt makes it clear early in proceedings what ‘Uncle’ Warren does not want them in the house and although he is rarely sighted, it put the kids on edge. This aspect of the story was also very obvious, but the italicised Aunty sequences made it even more easy to figure out much earlier than the author probably intended.


The core of the novel and one of the stronger aspects of Such Pretty Things was the dynamics between the three key characters and how they evolve dramatically as things move on. Right from the off it’s clear the Aunt is an odd fish, maybe too obviously so, but it was interesting seeing the power shift via a few key, but very subtle, scenes. When a novel, such as this, has so few characters the interactions need to be spot on and it was reminiscent of Susan Hill’s I’m the King of the Castle which also played out entirely in a remote house with only two principal characters.  At times Clara and Stephen deliberately antagonise their aunt by rejecting her food and instantly pick up on her agitation and on other occasions Clara feels that Stephen shows too much affection for the aunt and feels jealousy which changes the dynamics of the three-way relationship. This begins to boil deliciously as the aunt gives the children old-fashioned home-made clothes which Stephen accepts without question, but Clara rejects, leading to more friction which quickly escalates.


Even though Clara was an interesting main character there were times when she was both unlikable and annoying. The story was set in the 1950s, when food was in short supply, so I was surprised to see children continually stick their noses up at big meals and be such fussy eaters. Also, they made mistake after mistake, such as stupidly walking through the vegetable patch and other stuff which came across as either obnoxious or ungrateful, so there was little in the way of surprise when the aunt got spiky.


Such Pretty Things is a slow burner and although it lacked chills was a solid read about the trials of children, abandoned by their family, trying to negotiate the complexities of a very damaged adult world. This was a very melancholic reading experience and although there was a certain ambiguity to some of the story, my interpretation of the ending was rather shocking. The number of authors who can convincingly write both YA and adult fiction are few and far between and although Heathfield has previously written very dark fiction which tackles both cults and dystopias, she has not written a pure YA horror novel and continues this trend with this adult debut, a tasty dark thriller, with a topping of horror.


Tony Jones
Picture
A terrifying story of ghosts and grief, perfect for fans of Shirley Jackon's The Haunting of Hill House and Henry James The Turn of the Screw, in award-winning author Lisa Heathfield s first adult novel.

Following their mother’s accident, Clara and Stephen are sent to stay with their aunt and uncle. It’s a summer to explore the remote house, the walled garden and woods. Beyond it all the loch sits, silent and waiting.

Auntie has wanted them for so long - real children with hair to brush and arms to slip into the clothes made just for them. All those hours washing, polishing, preparing beds and pickling fruit and now Clara and Stephen are here, like a miracle, on her doorstep.
​
But as they explore their new home, the children uncover ghosts Auntie buried long ago. As their worlds collide, Clara and Auntie struggle for control. And every day they spend there, Clara can feel unknown forces changing her brother. Haunted and bewildered, this hastily formed family begins to tear itself apart.

TODAY ON THE GINGER NUTS OF HORROR WEBSITE ​

FILM GUTTER REVIEWS: THE BROOD (1979)

Picture

THE HEART AND SOUL OF HORROR FICTION REVIEW WEBSITES 


Comments are closed.
    Picture
    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    December 2012

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmybook.to%2Fdarkandlonelywater%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1f9y1sr9kcIJyMhYqcFxqB6Cli4rZgfK51zja2Jaj6t62LFlKq-KzWKM8&h=AT0xU_MRoj0eOPAHuX5qasqYqb7vOj4TCfqarfJ7LCaFMS2AhU5E4FVfbtBAIg_dd5L96daFa00eim8KbVHfZe9KXoh-Y7wUeoWNYAEyzzSQ7gY32KxxcOkQdfU2xtPirmNbE33ocPAvPSJJcKcTrQ7j-hg
Picture