My New Friend "DEVIL HOUSE" by John Darnielle

 

Here's the cover of my new friend. I like retro feel. But don't let this cover convince you this is a horror story--- it is not. 

Hello. My name is Bobby Keniston, and my only friends are books. Don't feel sorry for me. Though if you can't help being sorry for me, at least pronounce "sorry" like Canadians do, so that it will rhyme with "story."  I love a good story. That's why books are my only friends. 

I know that all of the readers following this blog... wait... I need a break for laughter....it's just funny imagining that there are any people actually following this blog....Sorry.  

I know that all of readers following this blog are probably tired of my little project consisting only of Maine authors, so I thought I would talk about my friend "Devil House" by John Darnielle, who is not a Maine author. "Devil House" is also the newest of my new friends. Its birthday was January 25th of 2022. I was happy to find it at my local library, where I meet many of my new friends. 

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

My new friend "Devil House" is the third novel from the multi-talented John Darnielle, following his second novel "Universal Harvester" (which I have read and enjoyed) and "Wolf In White Van" (which I have not read, but which was nominated for a National Book Award merely days after its publication date--- not bad, eh?). "Devil House" tells the story of Gage Chandler, a true crime writer who was always told by his mother that he was descended from kings. He wrote a very successful true crime book about "The White Witch of Morro Bay", which dealt with Diana Crane, a school teacher who killed two young men who broke into her house and then tried to dispose of the bodies. Chandler's book, much like "Devil House", deals with the mythology a community constructs around murders and tragedies, while the complexity of the truth seems to fade away. 

Gage Chandler, on a tip from his agent, moves into what the locals of Milptas  call "Devil House", the scene of a double homicide. Milpitas is also where the events depicted in the book and film  "River's Edge" took place, and that true crime story hangs over the book in some ways. Once in the "Devil House", Gage works meticulously to recreate the crime scene, to do his best to get into the nooks and crannies, every inch of the house, looking for the story... and the "truth". 

MY FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

My friend has many things going for it, not least of which is being written by John Darnielle. Darnielle is the songwriter and singer behind The Mountain Goats, and his songs are very creative, powerful and lyrical. His prose here is also impressive, and the way he writes the first section as a true crime book itself is intriguing and effective. Reading about Gage's methods keeps the pages turning. The second section about Diana Crane, the "White Witch" is also a page-turner. Darnielle does well humanizing not only the teacher, but the two young men who attack her. In fact, he is quite good with teenage characters, which serve him well for the sections about the "Devil House." 

I also appreciate how Darnielle touches upon the "Satanic Panic" of those days, and how the Devil House murders could have fallen into that hysteria had the folks of Milpitas not worked so hard to squash the story after the sensationalism of "River's Edge". 

CHALLENGES WITH MY NEW FRIEND

There is an interlude in the book about a medieval boy becoming king, complete in medieval font, which, while well-written and entertaining, did not fully convince me that it was necessary. Perhaps this is my failing and not my friend's, I don't know. The surprise twist ending is bold and brave (and something I wouldn't even think about spoiling here), but I am still not 100% sure how I feel about it. Still, in its defense, it makes Gage confront how, no matter how well-researched and well-intentioned, "true crime" is only ever partly true and never complete. 

FINAL TAKEAWAY

Readers, if they are like me, will want to make friends with "Devil House". But, I must reiterate my warning from the caption below the above picture: do not go into it expecting a horror novel, or you may well be disappointed. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts. Come on back to see who I make friends with next...