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Heap House The Iremonger Trilogy (2014)

by Edward Carey(Favorite Author)

3.82 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1443424226 (ISBN13: 9781443424226)

languge

English

genre

Horror

publisher

HarperCollins Canada

series

The Iremonger Trilogy

review 1: When I read the description of this book, I couldn't wait to read it. The combination of interesting illustrations and an off-beat story were irresistible. However, after finishing the book, I think I only want to give it 3.5 stars. The book starts off rather slowly, introducing the reader to Heap House, the Iremonger family (and servants), and the Heaps. I found the author's writing style a bit difficult at first, and had a hard time getting the rhythm of the writing. It made me think that if I had read this when I was much younger, I may have just given up on it. I stayed with the book because the concept was interesting, and I wasn't sure where the story was leading. The cast of characters was interesting, but they did seem to be some lacking depth. The story pick... moreed up about midway through, with a rather exciting finish. But after I was done, I didn't feel excited about the fact that this is a series, nor did I feel very strongly about what happens to Lucy and Clod. I would recommend this book to older kids who are interested in things that are odd or against the mainstream, and that have an excellent vocabulary. Although this book is classified juvenile fiction in my library, I think that elementary and some younger middle school kids might find this book beyond their interest.
review 2: I greatly enjoyed reading this very peculiar book! The story is super weird and darkly imaginative (surprisingly dark actually, though maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised in retrospect). Edward Carey has somehow managed to create a world that is both horrific and fascinating. Iremongers seem to be just awful people, whether they are upstairs or downstairs Iremongers (think Downton Abbey in this regard - a drama about the upper class and serving class, but existing in a magical, horrible landfill that goes on for miles and miles, and where the family members are terrible and selfish not beautiful and magnanimous). Somehow, among all these terrible people (and wouldn't you be terrible too if you ruled over a never ending and ever growing trash heap?), Clod Iremonger (an UpIremonger, yes, but an outcast among his family members) somehow is able to maintain some kind of decency. The story is about him and his unlikely relationship with a servant named Lucy Pennant, who serves as our window into the Iremonger world, herself just being introduced to the madness of Heap House. That madness includes not only crazy relatives and mysterious happenings, but talking objects with potentially supernatural abilities. I also found that the voices of the two main characters, Clod and Lucy, are very distinctive and stay true to the time period, which could not have been easy to do. At times it does make for some difficult reading, as it's a first person narrative with internal dialogue from people I would consider certifiable. But at the same time it's so much fun! Overall this is an incredibly unique book that I highly recommend to both adults and adolescents alike!Disclosure: I was provided an Advance Reader copy of this book by the publisher less

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