Rate: 4.5/5
Medium: Audiobook
Overview (No Spoilers):
Any fellow reader who frequents The Critiquing Chemist knows that I’m a huge fan of Harrow and everything she’s written. Needless to say, The Starling House has been on my most anticipated list for the past two years. Originally named, The Underland, Starling House is the unlikely pairing of a gothic fairytale set in rural Kentucky.
Eden is a small town inundated with chronic bad luck. Permeated with pollutants from the nearby power plant and old mining operations, odd deaths seem to plague the area and occur far more often than would be normal. For siblings, Opal and Jasper, they’ve been barely scraping by ever since they were orphaned. Opal especially has been forced to skirt the wrong side of the law to give her younger brother the chance to survive. For her own mental survival, Opal has firmly narrowed her life to a list of needs, rejecting anything that falls on the want list, especially hope. Since her childhood Opal has been plagued by dreams of the mysterious property in town called Starling House that has been the focus of local legends for generations. On one especially cold evening, Opal takes a shortcut that draws her close to the house, changing her life in ways that she could never imagine.
As one comes to expect from Harrow’s stories, her characters are delightfully complex. While the poverty to riches trope is popular to explore in the fantasy genre, Opal’s plight is a unique twist. Specifically, with this story set in modern Kentucky, Opal’s suffering and survival take on a much more dire and real feel for the reader. Harrow shapes Opal’s daily existence in such a desperate and hopeless way that the reader could feel the oppression leaking through the pages. It didn’t help that Opal’s stubborn streak is steeled to the point of refusing to ask for help. This is two fold because she is also so blinded by her own suffering that she is not able to see the help being given. This blindness to the obvious is a theme throughout for both her and Arthur. And while Opal is not all that likable as a character, Harrow manages to make her relatable and entice the reader to become invested despite her prickliness and pathological lying. Arthur is equally reserved and abrasive, though it highlights how much both of these protagonists have endured and how far their loneliness has taken root.
A favorite aspect of this novel is the Starling House itself. I couldn’t help but draw parallels to Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic and sometimes even Disney’s Encanto as the house is more than meets the eye and even displays a measure of personality and humor. The Moreno-Garcia comparison is especially applicable due to both novels being gothic, though the former’s house is much more dark and sinister, while Starling House has a more playful feel.
Overall, an absolute must read, Starling House explores generational pain and suffering with the backdrop of a magical house that holds back the nightmares of another world.
Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound):
- Having read this around Halloween, I couldn’t help but reflect that this is a highly appropriate read for the season.
- How ironic of a name for Eden, Kentucky.
- My least favorite aspect of this read is how much Opal lied throughout, especially to her brother Jasper.
- I wish we knew more about Jewell, Opal’s mother. Who was Jasper’s father really? How did the kids survive so long in the town that was out to get them?
- Ugh. I cried (and laughed) so much in the end when it came to light how much Bev and Charlotte had helped.
- How did the house pick Wardens?
- Loved the addition of the Hell Cat! Who doesn’t love a complicated furry companion in the mix.
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