Author: Tracy
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The Search for Joseph Tully (1974) by William H. Hallahan
The conclusion of The Search for Joseph Tully (1974) by William H. Hallahan hits like a thunderbolt. Unfortunately, its power to shock in the final pages comes at the expense of everything before it, which, at times, can feel as reserved and directionless as the genealogical search it describes. While I hesitate to say that…
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Piñata (2023) by Leopoldo Gout
Piñata (2023) by Leopoldo Gout relocates the subject of possession from a Catholic to an Aztec cosmology. While I enjoyed this original reinterpretation of a classic horror trope, I think that the novel is at its best when examining the characters’ more mundane problems. All of them grapple with the fractures and contradictions of post-colonial…
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Night’s Edge (2023) by Liz Kerin
Vampires have always been a device for probing cultural anxieties, and this tradition continues in Liz Kerin’s Night’s Edge (2023). Exploring pandemic paranoia, domestic abuse, and political violence, the novel uses bloodsuckers to exacerbate social problems and expose their dynamics. It’s clear and insightful but also depressing. Night’s Edge is like the music of Radiohead:…
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Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
In Monstrilio (2023) by Gerardo Sámano Córdova, a family experiences the death of a loved one. Yet the novel isn’t so much about a literal, biological death, as it is about the many symbolic ones that occur when we enter into language. Córdova shows us a fantastical case of linguistic violence to make the point…
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Burnt Offerings (1973) by Robert Marasco
Burnt Offerings (1973) by Robert Marasco is a quirky novel, full of things that might be interpreted as flaws: An ambiguous malevolent force, a lack of characterization, an element of tonal dissonance, and a series of loose ends. But Marasco is an alchemist who transforms this dross into literary gold. Or at least silver. While…
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Rosemary’s Baby (1967) by Ira Levin
During my week off, I revisited some of the genre’s modern classics, the novels that moved horror from the moors and the gothic mansion into the city apartment or suburban home. While all of my selections were fun to read, one of them really stood out for its continued relevance: Rosemary’s Baby (1967) by Ira…
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Live Girls (1987) by Ray Garton
Does it matter what part of the body a blood sucker bites? I asked myself this question after reading Ray Garton’s Live Girls (1987). If we consider the OG vampire, Dracula, the answer is a resounding “yes.” He leaves visible neck wounds to claim the women he wants and challenge the men who would stand…
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Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley
Here’s an embarrassing admission: Until this week, I had never read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818). The reason for this omission in my education is simple. Without having studied the novel, I already knew that it was an exploration of the existential questions raised by a hubristic and masculine science. Its plot and images are part…
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Lone Women (2023) by Victor LaValle
Lone Women (2023) by Victor LaValle explores how the extreme conditions of a frontier setting can foster more fluid and creative affiliations. Without an entrenched social order to govern interactions, a Montana homesteading community makes it possible for Adelaide Henry, a woman of color, to adopt new identities and participate in unlikely partnerships. While this…