Christopher Ransom’s The Birthing House
was our latest book club selection, which was supposed to branch myself and Anna of Diary of an Eccentric out into the world of horror, etc. I started off with an audio book I purchased from the bookstore, but finished up with a borrowed copy of the hardcover from the library. OK, let’s get to the review.
Conrad Harrison and his wife Jo are having severe marital problems in The Birthing House, and as a way to rebuild his marriage away from the pressures of Los Angeles, Calif., Conrad buys a home in Black Earth, Wisconsin, following the death of his father. Jo isn’t exactly thrilled with the birthing house or the fact that it was in a small town in the middle of nowhere, but she has little choice after Conrad gives her an ultimatum.
Readers will find moments of suspense and confusion in this novel, which could be traced back to the ability of the writer to properly sequence certain events. Ransom has a knack for writing internal dialogue that adequately reveals characters’ true emotions and faults. But in terms of creating a sense of fear in the reader, Ransom’s writing is hit or miss.
“He was starting to doubt that he had actually seen it move when the doll took another step — click — and then another after that one, moving with renewed purpose, as if it had just found what it was looking for.
But that’s crazy, because it has no eyes.
Conrad was splayed crooked on the bed, immobilized as the absurd stick figure doll, no wider than a scarecrow Barbie, came at him in rapid steps — click, click, click, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK! — and raised its pipe cleaner arms to attack.” (Page 76)
It is clear that as the book moves on that Conrad is losing his mind, but how far has he lost it and how much of the haunting is real, and what is the history of this birthing house? Ransom waits too long to reveal anything of substance about the birthing house, and readers will grow frustrated as Conrad wanders about, bumbling over the teen next door and her voluptuous, pregnant curves, while his wife is out of town for sales training. In fact, the absence of Jo and her odd behavior on the phone leaves her character underdeveloped and almost pointless to the story until the final chapters.
“He wanted to touch the ghost, if that’s what it was, maybe even help it. Her. He was terrified, repulsed, and drawn to it as he was drawn to the girl and the destruction she would bring down.” (Page 189)
There are many instances where The Birthing House reads like a bad horror movie in which the characters willingly put themselves in harm’s way and refuse to contact the police or outsiders fail to intervene. Ransom is a good writer, but this novel falls flat. The narrator of the audio book was good at differentiating characters’ voices, but the material in the novel made some of the scenes very comical when read out loud. As a book club selection there is a great deal to talk about, but is it really worth the time spent?
To enter to win a copy of The Birthing House and/or Ravens (click for my review) on audiobook (GLOBAL):
1. Leave a comment on this post about what horror book you’ve enjoyed.
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Deadline is March 30, 2010, 11:59 PM EST
This is my 4th book for the 2010 Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge, and I’m counting this as a horror thriller.
This is my 18th book for the 2010 New Authors Reading Challenge.
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is another fun volume of loose-form haiku, like his recent publication 
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by Michael P. Spradlin and illustrated by Jeff Weigel is the perfect collection of remastered Christmas Carols to liven up the holidays. There’s even an introduction by the witty and dark humored Christopher Moore.
is well assembled mixture of interviews with Hilda Stern Cohen’s essays, stories and poems. While the collection does illustrate one Jewish woman’s journey during WWII and the Holocaust, it stands as a testament — a record — of how inexcusably these humans were treated and how their debasement impacted their lives, their relationships, their faith, and their souls. Through well tuned description and controlled emotions, Cohen takes the time to record everything she saw during the war and the Holocaust to ensure that it becomes a warning to others. A powerful collection and a must read for anyone learning about this time period and the horrors that should never have happened.
compiled by and introduced by Hilda Schiff is a collection of poetry dealing with World War II and the Holocaust. The compilation is divided into six sections: Alienation; Persecution; Rescuers, Bystanders, Perpetrators; Afterwards; Second Generation; and Lessons. There are well-known poems in this collection and poems from young children. A few of the poems in this collection already have been featured on the blog as part of the Virtual Poetry Circle; check out 
by 
, is an excellent book club selection for adults given the regime that makes up Panem and the inner workings of the Capitol itself. From democracy run amok in the Capitol to a dictatorship or totalitarian regime in control of Panem and its districts. While the totalitarian/dictatorship of the Capitol may not be precise in that President Snow’s manipulative actions run contrary to traditional totalitarian/dictatorship reactions of crushing the enemy and rebellion with an iron fist, readers will have a number of issues to discuss. However, Collins may not be intentionally shedding light on these political structures, but simply writing dystopian fiction.
Brunonia Barry’s 
Mary-Ann Tirone Smith and 
