Starling House
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| Author | Alix E. Harrow |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | Natalie Naudus |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy Gothic fiction |
| Set in | Kentucky |
| Publisher | Tor Books (US) |
Publication date | October 3, 2023 (US) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 308 pp. |
| ISBN | 9781250799050 (hardcover 1st ed.) |
| OCLC | 1355028589 |
| 813 | |
| LC Class | PS3608.A783854 S73 2023 |
Starling House is a 2023 gothic fantasy novel by American author Alix E. Harrow published by Tor Books. It notably received nominations for the World Fantasy Award—Novel and the Locus Award for Best Horror Novel. Its audiobook version, narrated by Natalie Naudus, was shortlisted for the Audie Award for Fantasy.
Premise
[edit]Set in a fictional coal town called Eden, Kentucky, life unfolds amidst hardship for Opal, a young woman struggling to escape poverty. She becomes entangled with the mysterious Starling House, a crumbling Gothic mansion with a dark reputation tied to its history and its reclusive caretaker, Arthur Starling. As Opal takes a job at the house, she begins uncovering secrets about the house's connection to the town's violent past, the mysterious death of its original owner, and the hidden power it holds—all of which are tied to her own family history.
Characters
[edit] |
- Opal McCoy – a 26-year-old woman, born and raised in the town; she grew up in poverty with her mother and is attempting to establish a better life as she transitions into adulthood
- Jasper McCoy
- Arthur Starling – the reclusive caretaker of Starling House who has a mysterious connection to the house and its dark history
- Edgar Starling – Arthur's brother, whose tragic death is central to the house's mystery
Setting
[edit]The town's economy, history, and societal struggles are deeply tied to coal mining, which adds layers of industrial decay, environmental damage, and class disparity to the narrative. Gravely Power, a coal plant company located in the town, acts a stand-in for the corporate greed in the real world and is a foil to impoverished community members like Opal opposing its exploitative practices.[1] The mine's oppression of the land and its workers serves as a backdrop to the story's diegesis.
Talking about finally making Kentucky, her home state, the locus of one of her books, Harrow said:
This is the first book that I set fully in, like committed to writing about Kentucky. One of the reasons that I had found that difficult to do before is because I find it to be a place of very mixed experiences that I love very, very, very much, and which has just an incredible violence and terror to it.
Themes
[edit]This novel is about income inequality and poverty. The power dynamics between wealthy companies and destitute workers operates in the background of a gothic story that also features spirits and the supernatural, and in writing so, Harrow expressed "that poverty is a form of violence and horror in and of itself and that those experiences do emotional and physical harm."
Reception
[edit]It was well-received by most critics, including a starred review from Bookpage, whose consensus was "Harrow's Starling House is a riveting Southern gothic fantasy with gorgeous prose and excellent social commentary."[1] Discussing how truth is perverted by those in power, Kirkus Reviews also gave it a starred review and called it "a spooky story about how hidden truths always come back to haunt you."[2] Library Journal's starred review states "Harrow's mash-up of twisted fairy tales and Southern gothic fiction is a haunting story of longing, lies, and generational curses."[3]
Southern Review of Books discussed more about the experience of the novel than the primary takeaways, including its immersive elements, saying the "details of Starling House, the small town of Eden, The Underland, the beasts, the landscape, and even the relationships of all the characters are brought to life so thoroughly and decisively that it’s hard not to be utterly engulfed in the story."[4] "Starling House will no doubt take its place alongside fiction's most memorable haunted houses," added the editorial team of Publishers Weekly in a starred review.[5]
Awards
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Goodreads Choice Awards | Fantasy | Nominated—9th | [6] |
| 2024 | Audie Awards | Fantasy | Shortlisted | [7] |
| Locus Award | Horror Novel | Nominated—3rd | [8] | |
| RUSA CODES Reading List | Fantasy | Shortlisted | [9] | |
| Southern Book Prize | Fiction | Shortlisted | [10] | |
| Virginia Literary Awards | People's Choice (Fiction) | Shortlisted | [11] | |
| World Fantasy Award | Novel | Shortlisted | [12] |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Cary, Alice (September 25, 2023). "Book review of Starling House by Alix E. Harrow". BookPage | Discover your next great book!. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
- ^ STARLING HOUSE | Kirkus Reviews.
- ^ "Starling House". Library Journal. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
- ^ Maattala, Jenny (November 20, 2023). ""Starling House": The Modern Gothic Fantasy You've Been Waiting For". Southern Review of Books. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
- ^ "Starling House by Alix E Harrow". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
- ^ "Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Best Fantasy!". Goodreads. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
- ^ "2024 Audie Awards Winners". Homepage. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
- ^ "2024 Locus Awards Winners". Locus Online. June 23, 2024. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
- ^ "2024 Reading List: Year's best in genre fiction for adult Readers". RUSA Update. January 20, 2024. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
- ^ "Southern Book Prize Finalists". Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance.
- ^ "Library of Virginia Annual Peoples Choice Awards". Library of Virginia. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
- ^ Armstrong, Vanessa (October 24, 2024). "Here Are the 2024 World Fantasy Award Winners". Reactor. Retrieved October 26, 2024.