Sunday, January 13, 2019

A chilling read...

For our first buddy read of the year, Melody and I chose to read The Hunger. In this novel, Alma Katsu relates the haunting history of the Donner Party but with a supernatural twist. She also explores the evil that lies within men ... and without. All of her characters, from Tamsen Donner, to James Reed, to Charles Stanton, carry their own dark secrets. But there's another kind of darkness stalking them along the trail. One that hungers. And kills. And as they near Lake Truckee high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, that awful darkness closes in on them.
"...evil was only an arm's length away, waiting to swoop down on them, whether animal or spirit--or man."

There's a lot to like about this novel: Katsu's compelling prose, her attention to historic detail, the authentic voices of her various characters, and her quiet building of suspense. Then there's the tension and horror she creates as the party gets trapped and the number of deaths starts to mount. I really liked the combination of historical fiction and horror in this novel. The one flaw for me was that I felt Katsu tried to juggle too many characters. Some of her characters showed up once at the beginning only to then disappear for the rest of the book except for one brief mention at the end; and a few other times, a character wouldn't be mentioned for several chapters in a row and then they'd suddenly show up again in the narrative. It was a little jarring. But all in all, The Hunger is an atmospheric and gripping novel, and I liked it a lot. And did I mention that I really appreciated the lyrical way Katsu writes? Here's just one example:
"The children were turning into strange, stalking insects, all eyes and spikes and desperate twitches. Stanton, in comparison, looked like a man in color among a wash of wraiths."
Reading this book with Melody made it even more fun. She always has such good insights and comments. And she asks some great questions, too. Here they are, along with my answers. And be sure to check out her excellent review. 

Happy Reading!

Melody's questions:

Q. Many of these characters become unlikable as the story progresses. However, there are still one or two characters whom we sympathized with. Who do you think is the most pathetic?
A. I think all of my sympathies were with some of the younger characters like Elitha Donner and Mary Graves, who had no choice or voice in any of the decisions that were made concerning the Donner Party, but who then had to live with the tragic consequences of those choices. I also sympathized with the young Paiute guide, Thomas, who also got caught up in something he didn't choose or deserve. I had a lot of sympathy for Charles Stanton, too. Of the many adults in this book, he was by far the most likable. 

Q. What mistakes do you think the Donner Party made that can account for the tragedy? You may choose to answer this question based from the true event or the fiction aspect of the story.
A. Where do I begin with this one? So many mistakes were made! Starting too late. Loading their wagons with unnecessary weight. Not heeding the advice of others who told them to turn back or take another route. And not traveling faster. Fighting among themselves. It's like a domino effect how all these seemingly small decisions led to one large and unforgettable disaster. 

Thanks, Melody!

36 comments:

  1. Great review, Lark! As always, I enjoyed our buddy reads and thanks so much for suggesting this title (a great time to pull this book out from my to-read pile). Also enjoyed our email exchanges regarding this book (and for that last segment of Chapter 46, you know what I mean) :P

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    1. It was as fun as always, Melody! Thanks for suggesting we do a buddy read together in the first place. :D

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  2. Oh, the Donner party! I can imagine this was a chilling read, even with some of the issues that you mention.

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  3. I haven't read this one, but I feel like it's a great pick for a buddy read.

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    1. It was a fun one to discuss back and forth as we went along!

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  4. The quote you shared is wonderful -- very vivid writing. But I find the Donner Party story quite horrifying enough without adding to it... and I tend to avoid horror like the plague anyway. So while I'm glad you enjoyed the novel, this is one I will be giving a very wide berth.

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  5. I love reading yours and Melody's buddy read posts. You make a great team. :-) Growing up, my family often would go camping in the Donner summit, and so I know the history well. It's a horror story all on its own. The added element of fictional horror must make this an even more gripping story. I am glad you both liked it.

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    1. I thought it was a good combination of actual history and horror. :)

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  6. This sounds so interesting, and chilling as well. I'm seriously thinking of getting this, I'm so curious now!

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  7. I've seen very mixed reviews of this book so I'm glad that you liked it!

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    1. Katsu's writing worked for me. I thought it was a good and compelling read. :)

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  8. Hi Lark, thanks to you and Melody for your great reviews and alerting us to this book. The Donner Party is one of those historical events that people don't know as much about as they once did. I have a very vague idea about what happened so this historical novel would clue me in regarding who the people were who set forth on this tragic story of heading west.

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    1. Katsu does give great historical detail. Another good historical fiction book about the Donner Party is Impatient With Desire by Gabrielle Burton. That one doesn't have the supernatural element in it, just the horror of the actual tragedy.

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  9. I'm glad you and Melody enjoyed this one. I would be interested in reading about what happened to the survivors of the party.

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    1. I wonder if anyone's written that book! Because it would be an interesting read. :)

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  10. Sounds like you enjoyed this one a lot more than I did and I'm glad. You are right, they made mistake after mistake. They were not the brightest expedition party!

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    1. I know you didn't like this one very much. And you're right, they weren't the brightest expedition. All their bad decisions made me cringe, especially knowing what was coming.

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  11. This sounds like an immensely compelling and scary read. I don't know a lot about the Donner Party, but what I do know gives me the chills. So glad to hear you enjoyed this one! :)

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    1. Hi, Ashley! This book is certainly a memorable read. But then, so is the Donner Party. :)

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  12. I've always been fascinated by this story--on our last road trip to CA, I made sure we stayed the night in Truckee. I think the book would be tough to read--in reading your answers to the prompts, it strikes me that the party's fatal flaw was arrogance--it accounts for the starting late and disregard of the advice they were given. Excellent post.

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    1. Arrogance was a major character flaw for all parties involved, I think. I'd love to drive through Truckee sometime and see the pass and the lake...only in summer, not winter! ;)

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  13. This sounds like a great read! Karina Halle actually did a book based on The Donner party too with some supernatural elements and it was fantastic! I'll have to check this out. :)

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    1. And I'll have to look for the Karina Halle book. Thanks, Rachel! :D

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  14. It's quite a creepy cover -- and it sounds like a gripping read!

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  15. I remember hearing about this one, but don't think I've read any reviews of it. The Donner Party - such a tragic, creepy story, even without supernatural stuff. By the way, I love that you and Melody do these buddy reads. So fun for us to see two perspectives. Thanks!

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  16. Always enjoy your joint posts with Melody! I have been hesitant about this because it just seems so grim and of course based on real life events! But, you have me intrigued!

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    1. It is a bit grim because you know going in there isn't going to be any happy endings. But it's still good.

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  17. Oooh, this one does sound good. I think it's already on my TBR mountain chain somewhere, but I might just have to move it up. Glad you enjoyed it!

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  18. I think this one could go either way for me. I love atmospheric stories so I'm going to give it a go one of these days.

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    1. I'd love to know what you think of this one. :)

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