
CATHERINE HOUSE by Elisabeth Thomas
★★★☆☆
Custom House, May 2020
Whenever I read a book with a suspiciously low Goodreads rating I’m always all the more determined to love it – there’s something kind of fun about being in the minority in really ‘getting’ a book that goes over so many heads. Sadly not the case here. While I didn’t find this objectively terrible in any way, neither did I find it particularly special or pleasurable to read.
Following 18-year-old Ines who goes off to an experimental college, Catherine House subverts a lot of campus novel tropes. Ines isn’t characterized by a passion for academia or a thirst for belonging or a love for her school – she’s socially and academically dispassionate to a fault. Along with Ines’s lack of drive is a particularly conspicuous lack of atmosphere, and I think the Kazuo Ishiguro and Sarah Waters comparisons do this book a disservice if you go into it expecting a lush, indulgent, immersive setting.
While I did feel that Thomas did a great job of building suspense, to the point where I read this book in two sittings because there was something rather hypnotic about it, I also didn’t particularly care about what I was reading. There’s a mystery at the heart of the school’s scientific research department, and I’m not sure whether the twist fell flat or whether I just was never invested enough to be moved by it.
Again, I don’t think this was bad or even unsuccessful in what it set out to do, and I can see it working perfectly for a certain type of reader. Sadly it just wasn’t quite what I was looking for.
Thank you to Netgalley and Custom House for the advanced copy provided in exchange for an honest review.
Great review! I feel validated for DNFing it. The concept sounded so great but something about the execution just didn’t work for me at all.
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Ugh I know, this premise really is amazing. What a waste!
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I’ve been looking forward to this one but I’ve a feeling it might not be for me either…
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I’d definitely encourage you to give it a shot (it’s short!) but yeah, the low ratings are for a reason it would appear…
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Hmmm, I have an arc of this one as well, but I’ve been putting it off because of all the lukewarm (and outright bad) reviews 👀
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Honestly I’d recommend reading the first 10% or so and see whether or not you vibe with it – I pretty much knew by then exactly how I’d feel about this book and INDEED my opinions didn’t really change by the end. But I know a small group of readers have really loved this so it’s worth a shot?! (Plus it’s short…)
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Short, you say? 👀😂
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😂😂😂
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I liked this more than you did – I felt it stood out among a sea of books with similar premises – but when I reviewed it I did suspect that it wouldn’t be to a lot of readers’ taste. I loved how it echoed the Lois Duncan books I read as a teenager, but without that specific cultural reference, I might have enjoyed it less!
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I re-read your review after I finished, I’m glad it did end up working for you! It does seem very beloved among a small group of readers. I wish I had gotten more out of it, perhaps the Lois Duncan would have helped!
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