The Book:
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
Published October 6th 2020 by Gallery / Saga Press
Date read: April 17, 2021
The Characters:
Kara
Her friend Simon
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
The Plot (from Goodreads):
A young woman discovers a strange portal in her uncle’s house, leading to madness and terror in this gripping new novel.
Pray they are hungry.
Kara finds these words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle’s house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring the peculiar bunker—only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts…and the more you fear them, the stronger they become.
The Ending:
The otter was causing the holes in the universe and all the mayhem. It was from the other world and was trying to get home. Once Kara helped it get home, the mayhem stopped. Kara and Simon were able to patch the hole in the museum.
The Review:
I’m going to start with the disclaimer that I don’t read a lot of horror, fantasy or magical realism, and I didn’t really know what this book was about going into it. I just saw a bunch of positive reviews on Bookstagram, and went with it!
I really enjoyed this story, but I wouldn’t really call it horror. I was never scared by it, despite a few creep scenes. I think I’d probably classify it as fantasy or magic.
That said, the descriptions are absolutely amazing. Kingfisher was able to craft an entirely new world in which I could easily imagine myself, and I could feel Kara’s tension as they searched for how to get home. Kara’s uncle’s museum seemed like an awesome place to visit. I loved the wit and humor throughout the book, which is not a common aspect of horror books.
Overall, this was a very interesting, well-developed book. I enjoyed the other world and Kara and Simon’s experiences in it. For lovers of magical realism, you will not be disappointed!
QOTD: What’s the weirdest museum you’ve ever been to?
There’s a museum of frog taxidermy in Split, Croatia called Froggyland. My friends and I stumbled upon it unknowingly while we were wandering around the city one day. It’s worth clicking that link, you won’t be disappointed.
