Happy Thanksgiving!
It’s Thanksgiving up here in the land of ice and snow that isn’t icy or snowy just yet. I’m really enjoying the longer fall weather and the extra saturated colours of the leaves. I’m also enjoying a quiet Thanksgiving after we were away last weekend. Travelling is getting easier, but I still find it hard to get back my equilibrium.
What makes it harder? We’ll be trying a new medication with Wesker on Tuesday and it’s one that shows great promise but also has the potential for some concerning side effects. Plus we’ve been struggling to coax her to eat. After being bribed with some babycat food, she’s doing better, but the new meds are still ominously hanging on the horizon.
On Family
Since a lot of us who celebrate Thanksgiving will be seeing extended family in some capacity this weekend, I decided to review a novel that is a tragicomic, gothic tale of family and their toxicity: Barbara Comyns’ Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead. The Willoweeds are experiencing a string of bad luck that starts with a flood, continues through a village going mad and self-destructing in gory ways, and ends with the eventual dissolution of the Willoweeds themselves. Comyns has constructed a tight narrative with multiple twists and turns that ultimately examines where family obligation begins and ends as a family matriarch desperately tries to hang on to control through waning health.
A Small Village Unwinding
Sometimes when a village becomes the centre of fast-moving events, the cast can get unwieldly very quickly. But Comyns manages to avoid this, carefully giving each character the right amount of time to interest the reader, without overwhelming them with details.
The idea of toxic bread causing destruction in a village, based on a real case in rural France, has experienced a bit of resurgence in recent years and is far from a plot that I haven’t seen before. However, Comyns’ novel stands out for all of the ways she accentuates the plot with notes of tragedy, comedy, and some coming-of-age aspects that carry you past anything that feels familiar or trite.
Spooky Vibes with Gothic Flair
Is there anything more Halloween than a good gothic narrative? Well, maybe, but gothic is definitely a staple at our house. Comyns is a master at atmosphere, and a master at describing a house that’s rotting both in terms of inhabitants and in terms of structure. Then she takes all of this and places it in the middle of a countryside that manages to be both idyllic and eerie. It hits exactly right, especially for this time of year. A light gothic read that packs a punch.
Neighbourhood Decorations
Finally the neighbourhood is getting to its maximal spookiness. I’m talking about twelve-foot skeletons. I’m talking reflective eyes in those skeletons that your headlights hit just right and scare the crap out of you on the way back from the theatre. It’s pretty magical when I see all of the stuff go up and I love sharing the love that this town has for the Halloween season with our big-city friends.
