Book Review: This is Where We Talk Things Out by Caitlin Marceau
Goodreads Description: After Miller's father dies, she agrees to a girls' vacation away from the city to reconnect with the only family she has left. Although she’s eager to make things work, Miller can’t help but worry that her mother is seeing their countryside retreat as a fun weekend getaway instead of what it really is: a last-ditch effort to repair their relationship.
Unfortunately, that quickly becomes the least of Miller’s problems.
Sylvie's trapped in the past and if Miller's not careful, she will be too. A cross between Stephen King's Misery and Stephanie Wrobel's Darling Rose Gold, This Is Where We Talk Things Out explores the horror of familial trauma, mother-daughter relationships, and what happens when we don't let go.
My Review: Oh man, I knew I had to review this one. This novella has its flaws, but it's clear that Caitlin Marceau is a writer to watch. Her writing style combines elements of Shirley Jackson's domestic horror with Stephen King's thriller-esque tension, which allows her to redress the home as a site of unsettling evil. Marceau has an excellent sense for what makes horror horrific, which allows her to craft images that stay with you long after the book is over. I have no doubt that Marceau will make waves in the horror genre in the years to come.
If I had to sum up this book in a single word, it would be: claustrophobic. Every aspect of the book feels suffocating -- the setting is small, the snow keeps the characters trapped inside, the relationship between mother and daughter is painfully enmeshed. As Miller tries to pull away, her mother clings harder to her and an imagined past that ignores the reality of their troubled relationship. This push-pull tension between mother and daughter is so deliciously fraught that it makes it hard to stop reading-- until that very last scene, when Marceau shows us the result of this unchecked, obsessive relationship. I finished this book a long time ago, and that final scene still gives me the creeps.
Overall, my concerns with the book are fairly minimal. My biggest issue is that Marceau reveals the mother's instability far too early by showing her stalking Miller at the beginning of the story. Some of the writing is a bit clunky, with description serving little purpose outside describing appearances, and the pacing feels a bit off for the first third of the book. Yet these issues are quite small, and I can see Marceau quickly improving in these areas in future books. If you're a fan of domestic horror, this story is definitely worth checking out.
TL;DR: The horrors of the home are never ending. 3/5 stars.
