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The New York Times bestselling author of Before I Fall and the Delirium trilogy makes her brilliant adult debut with this mesmerizing story in the tradition of The Lovely Bones, Her Fearful Symmetry, and The Ocean at the End of the Laneâ??a tale of family, ghosts, secrets, and mystery, in which the lives of the living and the dead intersect in shocking, surprising, and moving ways.
Wealthy Richard Walker has just died, leaving behind his country house full of rooms packed with the detritus of a lifetime. His estranged familyâ??bitter ex-wife Caroline, troubled teenage son Trenton, and unforgiving daughter Minnaâ??have arrived for their inheritance.
But the Walkers are not alone. Prim Alice and the cynical Sandra, long dead former residents bound to the house, linger within its claustrophobic walls. Jostling for space, memory, and supremacy, they observe the family, trading barbs and reminiscences about their past lives. Though their voices cannot be heard, Alice and Sandra speak through the house itselfâ??in the hiss of the radiator, a creak in the stairs, the dimming of a light bulb.
The living and dead are each haunted by painful truths that will soon surface with explosive force. When a new ghost appears, and Trenton begins to communicate with her, the spirit and human worlds collideâ??with cataclysmic results.
Elegantly constructed and brilliantly paced, Rooms is an enticing and imaginative ghost story and a searing family drama that is as haunting as it is… (more)
When Richard Walker dies (in a hospital), his ex-wife, 2 kids, and granddaughter come to clean out the house. This is the house that Caroline, Minna, and Trenton once had a life in.... until the divorce. But they're not the only ones there. As they sift through the memories, waiting on revelations about their inheritance, they are accompanied by Alice and Sandra, 2 women who died in the house and remained with the house.... almost becoming one with the structure. Everyone (the living and the dead) are dealing with deep issues that get deeper the longer they remain in the house.
My Thoughts: This is a tough one. I'd like to explain so much about this book, but it's complicated... my feelings for it and what it's about are equally complicated. This book is nothing if not complicated, unique, and imaginative. It's also quite depressing and the characters aren't the most likable. It's my first Lauren Oliver book, and I definitely want to read more. Her writing is very captivating, so I can see why people love her so much.
In this house you have people (alive and dead) of multiple generations and eras. The dead include Alice and Sandra, two opposites who bicker and tolerate each other, but are forced to share the same space. They both have had mysterious deaths, which get explained as you learn more about their lives. I really liked reading about these two. It was the most interesting part of the story, seeing how they grew up and how they ended up in the house, and finding out their darkest secrets. The Walker family was messed up. Utterly and truly. They all had these glaring issues, and really it just made me sad. They were all miserable human beings, and while I felt sorry for them, I also didn't like them very much, so it didn't matter to me what happened to them. If I liked anyone it was Trenton. He was a teenage boy (imagine that, I read an adult book and end up rooting for the teenager) who was in a car accident that nearly killed him. He doesn't have friends, is severely depressed, and just wants to die. I felt like of all the characters, this one was written with the most truthful feel. I felt his pain and knew that deep down he didn't really want to die. He wanted his pain to go away, and he wanted someone to stop him.
I thought the ghosts and the people were going to have much more of a connection than they really did. Also, I wanted more for the ending. It gave closure, but it felt rushed. There was a 3rd story-line that included a missing girl from Boston and a mysterious ghost that shows up in the house that I really could have done without. I didn't think either part fully worked or added what the author was intending it to add.
OVERALL: I don't read much Adult, but this one was unique and interesting. I loved Lauren Oliver's writing, and I'll definitely be reading more books by her. It's about ghosts but it's definitely not horror. It's more of a depressing character study. I enjoyed reading it, but I didn't LIKE any of the people I was reading about, and that's hard to pull off. It didn't 100% work for me, but I would still recommend.
It's a potato chip book; like it or no, you CANNOT read just a few pages. Oliver's best known for YA stuff, and she knows how to keep the action riveting, the characters compelling, and the chapters short.
As indulgent, snow-day, fairly mindless fare goes (which is not necessarily pejorative), it was an enjoyable book with an interesting premise. ( )
I quite enjoyed this book. I think it's one that would be good to read a couple of times through to really understand what's going on as there are so many different stories that come together. That being said, I think reading it multiple times, focusing and empathising with the different characters each time would give you so many different reading experiences.
Definitely recommend this book if you enjoy learning about people's lives, deaths and secrets. It's a nice and settled ending as well, everything finishes up really cleanly so you're not left unsatisfied. ( )
Rooms I (I will not say worked in) once heard in. Â Words my mouth heard then-be with me. Â Rooms, you oppen onto one another: still house this life, be in me when I leave
-Franz Wright
Dedication
To the brilliant Lexa Hillyer, for her support, friendship, and many glasses of wine
The New York Times bestselling author of Before I Fall and the Delirium trilogy makes her brilliant adult debut with this mesmerizing story in the tradition of The Lovely Bones, Her Fearful Symmetry, and The Ocean at the End of the Laneâ??a tale of family, ghosts, secrets, and mystery, in which the lives of the living and the dead intersect in shocking, surprising, and moving ways.
Wealthy Richard Walker has just died, leaving behind his country house full of rooms packed with the detritus of a lifetime. His estranged familyâ??bitter ex-wife Caroline, troubled teenage son Trenton, and unforgiving daughter Minnaâ??have arrived for their inheritance.
But the Walkers are not alone. Prim Alice and the cynical Sandra, long dead former residents bound to the house, linger within its claustrophobic walls. Jostling for space, memory, and supremacy, they observe the family, trading barbs and reminiscences about their past lives. Though their voices cannot be heard, Alice and Sandra speak through the house itselfâ??in the hiss of the radiator, a creak in the stairs, the dimming of a light bulb.
The living and dead are each haunted by painful truths that will soon surface with explosive force. When a new ghost appears, and Trenton begins to communicate with her, the spirit and human worlds collideâ??with cataclysmic results.
Elegantly constructed and brilliantly paced, Rooms is an enticing and imaginative ghost story and a searing family drama that is as haunting as it is
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Book description
Wealthy Richard Walker has just died, leaving behind his country house full of rooms packed with the detritus of a lifetime. His estranged family—bitter ex-wife Caroline, troubled teenage son Trenton, and unforgiving daughter Minna—have arrived for their inheritance.
But the Walkers are not alone. Prim Alice and the cynical Sandra, long dead former residents bound to the house, linger within its claustrophobic walls. Jostling for space, memory, and supremacy, they observe the family, trading barbs and reminiscences about their past lives. Though their voices cannot be heard, Alice and Sandra speak through the house itself—in the hiss of the radiator, a creak in the stairs, the dimming of a light bulb.
The living and dead are each haunted by painful truths that will soon surface with explosive force. When a new ghost appears, and Trenton begins to communicate with her, the spirit and human worlds collide—with cataclysmic results.
Haiku summary
As we move from room to room, the living and the dead reveal secrets. (passion4reading)
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Wikipedia in English
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My Thoughts:
This is a tough one. I'd like to explain so much about this book, but it's complicated... my feelings for it and what it's about are equally complicated. This book is nothing if not complicated, unique, and imaginative. It's also quite depressing and the characters aren't the most likable. It's my first Lauren Oliver book, and I definitely want to read more. Her writing is very captivating, so I can see why people love her so much.
In this house you have people (alive and dead) of multiple generations and eras. The dead include Alice and Sandra, two opposites who bicker and tolerate each other, but are forced to share the same space. They both have had mysterious deaths, which get explained as you learn more about their lives. I really liked reading about these two. It was the most interesting part of the story, seeing how they grew up and how they ended up in the house, and finding out their darkest secrets. The Walker family was messed up. Utterly and truly. They all had these glaring issues, and really it just made me sad. They were all miserable human beings, and while I felt sorry for them, I also didn't like them very much, so it didn't matter to me what happened to them. If I liked anyone it was Trenton. He was a teenage boy (imagine that, I read an adult book and end up rooting for the teenager) who was in a car accident that nearly killed him. He doesn't have friends, is severely depressed, and just wants to die. I felt like of all the characters, this one was written with the most truthful feel. I felt his pain and knew that deep down he didn't really want to die. He wanted his pain to go away, and he wanted someone to stop him.
I thought the ghosts and the people were going to have much more of a connection than they really did. Also, I wanted more for the ending. It gave closure, but it felt rushed. There was a 3rd story-line that included a missing girl from Boston and a mysterious ghost that shows up in the house that I really could have done without. I didn't think either part fully worked or added what the author was intending it to add.
OVERALL: I don't read much Adult, but this one was unique and interesting. I loved Lauren Oliver's writing, and I'll definitely be reading more books by her. It's about ghosts but it's definitely not horror. It's more of a depressing character study. I enjoyed reading it, but I didn't LIKE any of the people I was reading about, and that's hard to pull off. It didn't 100% work for me, but I would still recommend.
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