The Hollow Places - T. Kingfisher
The Hollow Places was my first T. Kingfisher novel, so I didn’t really know what to expect, other than that the premise sounded interesting. Basically, a woman named Kara - or Carrot - finds a portal to another world in her uncle’s museum, and then things get weird. Yah, weird. As a premise goes, that one is incredibly vague but intentionally so. If you are going into this novel expecting to find all the answers, then you’re going to be disappointed. The best way I can describe Kingfisher’s horror is that it is very abstract and very weird. I’m going to use that word a lot, but, trust me, it’s necessary.
The story, itself, isn’t anything particularly special as that isn’t the point of this novel. Instead, the focus is on the characters and the weirdness, mostly the weirdness. I liked Kara, but I didn’t love her. As with the majority of horror genre protagonists, she made quite a few stupid choices that really made her life a lot more difficult. This can be frustrating as a reader, but it didn’t ruin the experience for me. (Though, yes, I was shouting JUST LEAVE a few times.) Simon was even more interesting. There is a lot to his character that we learn over the course of the novel, some of which is just funny. He was definitely the “comic relief” figure but not in an annoying way. My absolute favorite character was obviously Uncle Earl. He is a treasure.
The entire point of the novel was the horror, and, like I’ve said, it was really weird. This isn’t the kind of horror that will keep you up at night - or maybe it will, I don’t know your tolerance for horror. But, for reference, I am a relative wuss when it comes to the genre, and it didn’t bother me. It was, however, fascinating. I really can’t say too much without spoiling the whole thing, but Kingfisher definitely has a powerful imagination. I suppose the scariest thing is that it could “technically” be true. Or at least be close to the truth. This was a nice change of pace for the horror genre. Instead of homicidal maniacs or sewer-dwelling clowns, these horrors are far more abstract. They are out of our realm of understanding, which is quite a philosophical thing to say about a horror novel, but it’s true.
Honestly, it was Kingfisher’s writing style that really made this novel for me. There is something so fun about the way she writes. She somehow manages to be incredibly funny one moment, then absolutely poignant the next. She’ll really call you out on some things, while also transporting you to another reality. I will say, though, that this writing style does probably make the novel less scary. She likes to include a lot of humor - and I mean a lot - which does a good job of breaking up moments of tension. This could be a good thing, if you don’t like to be scared, or a bad thing, if you’re looking for more intense horror. However, I did really enjoy it.
Overall, The Hollow Places is a 4 star read for me. I was very much engrossed the entire time and very much weirded out. The most interesting parts were Uncle Earl and the premise itself. If it weren’t for Kingfisher’s writing style, the rating would be 3 stars, but the way she told the story is what stood out to me. If you are looking for super scary, intense horror, then this novel won’t be for you, but if you’d like to read something different - and very, very weird- then give this one a shot.
