Friday, January 7, 2011

Heart Shaped Box

I don’t know why I was expecting more from this book, but what I came away with was a sense that Joe Hill was just as bored with his characters as I was with reading about them. Long story made even longer, this would have made a good short story or even a novella, but trying to drag a reader to the end of a monotones narrative is a letdown for both the reader and the writer.

To take what has already been written, Judas Coyne, a middle-aged rock star collects morbid curios for fun, so doesn't think twice about buying a suit advertised at an online auction site as haunted by its dead owner's ghost. Only after it arrives does Judas discover that the suit belonged to Craddock McDermott, the stepfather of one of Coyne's discarded groupies, and that the old man's ghost is a malignant spirit determined to kill Judas in revenge for his stepdaughter's suicide.

I was bored, the climatic moments weren’t that stellar and overall the main characters soon became a caricature of themselves.

Will I read Joe Hill again, I do have 20th Century Ghosts on the shelf, but I can’t see myself making that a priority right now.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Bummer! I enjoyed 20th Century Ghosts and have this one at home to read (although I looked for it the other day and couldn't find it). I still say give 20th Century Ghosts a try, some of the stories are better than others, they are a bit weird, but for some reason I liked it.

Anonymous said...

Nancy, I really liked this when I read it a couple of years ago. But, as someone said, "No 2 persons read the same book."

Anonymous said...

I liked this book when I read it a couple of years ago. Sorry it didn't work out for you too.