Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Eight novels that explore the uncanny in fiction

Camilla Bruce was born in central Norway and grew up in an old forest, next to an Iron Age burial mound. She holds a master's degree in comparative literature, and has co-run a small press that published dark fairytales. Bruce currently lives in Trondheim with her son and cat.

You Let Me In is her first novel.

At CrimeReads, Bruce tagged eight novels to make you question reality, including:
The Red Tree by Caitlin R. Kiernan

Sarah Crowe, a struggling author, rents a remote house in order to battle writer’s block and work through the grief following her partner’s suicide. What she does not know when moving in is that the plot of land she is staying on also houses a large red oak that has been surrounded by rumors and folklore for centuries. This is a case of stories within stories, told through various manuscripts, but mainly Sarah’s journal. She is not the most reliable of narrators, though, and as the legacy of the oak is slowly being revealed, Sarah’s own world unravels. Toeing the line between psychological thriller and Lovecraftian horror, this makes for a deliciously unsettling read.
Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue