Author: Michael Barsa
Publisher: Underland Press
Date of publication: April 2018
Ominous, fantastic, and wonderfully malevolent…. I felt
the spirits of Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allan Poe, and Albert Camus’ Meursault,
whispering to join the fun.”– ALICE SEBOLD, #1 best-selling and award-winning
author of The Lovely Bones
A car lies at the bottom of an icy ravine. Slumped over the
steering wheel, dead, is the most critically acclaimed horror writer of his
time. Was it an accident? His son Milo doesn’t care. For the first time in his
life, he’s free. No more nightmarish readings, spooky animal rites, or moonlit
visions of his father in the woods with a notebook and vampire make-up.
Or so he thinks.
Milo settles into a quiet routine–constructing model Greek
warships and at last building a relationship with his sister Klara, who’s home
after a failed marriage and brief career as an English teacher. Then Klara
hires a gardener to breathe new life into their overgrown estate. There’s
something odd about him–something eerily reminiscent of their father’s most
violent villain. Or is Milo imagining things? He’s not sure. That all changes
the day the gardener discovers something startling in the woods. Suddenly Milo
is fighting for his life, forced to confront the power of fictional identity as
he uncovers the shocking truth about his own dysfunctional family–and the
supposed accident that claimed his parents’ lives.
It's been a while since I have read a Gothic story. I was intrigued by the synopsis for The Garden of Blue Roses. After finishing it, I am not sure whether I loved it or not. I'll say I fall somewhere in the middle between love and hate.
I will admit to having been confused as to what was happening through most of the story. I chalk that up to Milo being a very unreliable narrator. Since the entire story is told through his perspective, I was left to muddle through along with him. At about the 2/3 mark, I finally started "getting it". There were a few disturbing revelations that made the events make sense. I also did like the ending.
I think Gothic story fans will enjoy this book.. It did have a dark and creepy feel most times. I also got the sense that it could take place at any time period since the house seems to be stuck in time. Do they make rotary phones anymore? I'm not sure this book was totally for me, but I was glad I tried it out. I think it was a well written debut and I look forward to more from this author.
Purchase Links
About Michael Barsa
Michael Barsa grew up in a German-speaking household in New
Jersey and spoke no English until he went to school. So began an epic struggle
to master the American “R” and a lifelong fascination with language. He’s lived
on three continents and spent many summers in southern Germany and southern
Vermont.
He’s worked as an award-winning grant writer, an English
teacher, and an environmental lawyer. He now teaches environmental and natural
resources law. His scholarly articles have appeared in several major law
reviews, and his writing on environmental policy has appeared in The Chicago
Tribune and The Chicago Sun-Times. His short fiction has appeared in Sequoia.
The Garden of Blue Roses is his first novel.
Connect with Michael
Michael Barsa’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:
Tuesday, May 29th: SJ2B
House of Books
Monday, June 4th: Bewitched
Bookworms
Tuesday, June 5th: Sweet
Southern Home
Wednesday, June 6th: Write Read
Life
Friday, June 8th: Thoughts
from a Highly Caffeinated Mind
Monday, June 11th: Diary
of a Stay at Home Mom
Thursday, June 14th: Broken
Teepee
Monday, June 18th: Midwest Ladies Who Lit
Friday, June 22nd: From the TBR Pile
Monday, June 25th: @tbretc
Wednesday, June 27th: Books and Bindings
Tuesday, July 3rd: Kahakai Kitchen
Monday, July 9th: Patricia’s
Wisdom
1 comment:
Thanks for being a part of the tour.
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