And I think I have whiplash from all the twists! Her desperation drove her to the edge of sanity, and I guess thats what she paid for in the end. Some say the concept has been done to death, but you could argue the same thing about everything ever created (movies, tv shows, books, whatever). We see into the depths of their lives through their memories and find the darkest corners of their existence. Get help and learn more about the design. Thank you to Macmillan Audio for an ALC of this incredible audiobook. Descriptions of his love of nature reveal his complex character: he takes joy in feeding birds, and the nearby forest is a source of comfort to him; at times he feels he is 'in its . Privacy Policy. It made me think of an online friend I had a couple of years ago, who as she confessed to me at one point has DID. The reader has to hunt them out, reflect on what theyve already read to find out where the story is going to take us. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Topics. I knew what was happening in this story. To nie tak, e ta ksika bya dla mnie neutralna - ale miaa moim zdaniem tyle samo zalet, co (niestety) wad. A division of The Kreisau Circle LLC. This was a book about DID. In the most basic sense, The Last House on Needless Street follows the story of Ted, a lonely man who lives in a boarded up house (on Needless Street, naturally) with his 12 year old daughter, Lauren, and his cat, Olivia. Suspending belief and use of tropey twists is par for the course for horror/thriller books but this book seemed intent on piling them all into one. But I kept going because I was confused and felt that I might still be right. The Last House on the Street: Directed by Adam Berardi. A twenty-year mystery. I really liked Little Eve. Just finished this after being recommended it by my SIL. Ted is an odd sort of a fellow. The story is narrated by Ted, Oliva, Dee and Lauren with some characters in third person and some in first person, a technical that allows a rounded tale, told from limited but different viewpoints. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. In a place that echoes with lost boys, 11 years ago, the haunted Dee lost her little 6 year old sister, Lulu, the Popsicle Girl, disappearing, never to be seen again. Couple of things you got wrong. To comply with FTC guidelines, I receive no compensation for the reviews or promotional content posted. Thanks for the great review! I figure I might as well share it with you! All commissions go toward supporting this blog. The main character experiences severe childhood trauma and the story we get is the effect of that trauma. The Last House on Needless Street is complex and multilayered, but more like a multiverse than an onion. An Own Voices review of The Last House on Needless Street can be found on the channel The Chaotic Little Book Corner htt. Time is iffy and everyone is erratic. And a house cat who loves napping and reading the Bible. Bravo and a round of applause to Catriona Ward!!! Then as the story progressed, I started thinking of DID until it got confirmed that DID indeed got the drivers seat in the story. In the present-day Ted Bannerman lives on Needless Street in a house where all windows are bordered up with planks while the gardens are filled with various treats for the birds . The first few chapters are disorientating. His mother apparently used to experiment on him surgically, which caused his scars and is what her tapes were about.Teds therapist was also abusing him and making his condition worse. I wanted a horror story. "The Last House on Needless Street" has had rave reviews all round and I was a little apprehensive in case it didn't live up the hype but, my god, I didn't need to worry! Sounds like some people just expect too much from books these days. The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward is one of those books that is difficult to describe without giving away spoilers. The worst kinds of monsters, after all, are those that we can find evidence for in the real world. While Im talking about spoilers, one of the most chilling things about this book was how the mother treated Ted. Because, although Needless Street has no real factual content in the plot at all, there are echoes of a real-life tragedy built into its bones, the kind that could certainly encourage readers to draw specific conclusions about the things theyre watching unfold. It sure left me with thoughts. The Last House on Needless Street moves away from the historical to the contemporary gothic, but deserves just as much praise and attention. The Last House on Needless Street: The Last House on Needless Street follows Ted, who lives with his daughter Lauren and his cat Olivia in an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street. *, The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward (Author), Christopher Ragland (Narrator). Overall, not a win for me. So, just a heads up. Its pretty heartbreaking. Its pretty heartbreaking. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. September 29, 2021. The chapters alternate between Ted, Olivia, Lauren, and Dee, and none of them can be trusted. But when a book has a mildly interesting plot with characters that fail to make you have strong feelings towards them, being occasionally appalled is just not enough. Baby snake bites Lulu who falls and hits head against rock. She wasn't out of the car before an exhilarated voice said two words she had learned that Chifuyu would think were her most beloved words . I loved Ward's Rawblood a few years ago but The Last House on Needless Street is such a disappointment, just a cheap series of narrative cheats whose only purpose is to support the oldest and most cliched 'twist' ending in horror fictionwe are seriously supposed to believe that not only does the murder suspect have multiple personalities, but that the dominant one has a name coincidentally similar to the name of a girl who went missing years ago, who was killed by his mother, but not really, she was actually killed by her own sister, who has stalked the suspect and moved in next door, but has repressed memories so she doesn't remember killing her sister, and who gets written out of the narrative by dying of a snakebite, because her greatest fear is snakes, based on a childhood experience which is actually a false memory, and the suspect acts so weirdly throughout because his psychiatrist is mis-prescribing him outdated medication, and who vanishes without explanation once he's exposed, and all of the other child disappearances around the area are just coincidence. In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three. She lives in London and Devon. 7. But its not what you think. Catriona Ward's The Last House on Needless Street is a shocking and immersive read perfect for fans of Gone Girl and The Haunting of Hill House. A teenage girl who isnt allowed outside, not after last time. The determined and watchful Dee takes up residence next to Ted's dilapidated home, intent on locating Lulu, convinced of Ted's involvement. The last house on Needless Street is a boarded-up, run-down shell of its former self. I dont know, I felt like all those big reveals thrown at us in the last parts were too muchI mean come on, too much going on with such a narrow character list. Because in my opinion, this is not even close to a gothic thriller. It releases on September 28th! Revenge. But I just could not get into this book. A teenage girl who isn't allowed outside, not after last time. Thats not to say I wasnt appalled by some of the events because, hell, I was. Transgender journalist and musician from Grand Rapids, Michigan. In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three. I think what I wanted to do with this [story] was destabilize that a little bit.. How did that book end? Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. The Last House On Needless Street is the latest work from award-winning horror author, Catriona Ward. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. She is determined to figure out what happened and is ready to lay the blame on Ted. Really good summing up of the book's flaws here: https://medium.com/wayward-magazine/im-so-mad-about-the-last-house-on-needless-street-57a2f9b16f88. The mothers coldness should have been a big red flag. Couldn't handle the lukewarm purple prose and near total absence of suspense. 'The Last House on Needless Street' (Viper Books, Tor Nightfire) was a Times Book of the Month, Observer Book of the Month, March Editor's Pick on Open Book, a Between the Covers BBC2 book club selection, a Times bestseller, and is being developed for film by Andy Serkis's production company, The Imaginarium. A teenage girl who isn't allowed outside, not after last time. Readers are left unbalanced by sequences they dont entirely understand and cant completely trust, armed only with partial and imperfect knowledge., One of my great loves is the Gothic, the fragmented narrative. Its futile to resist it. A teenage girl who isn't allowed outside, not after last time. The pretension practically rolls off the page in that one. Press J to jump to the feed. Margaret M - Hiatus - I will respond when I can. Every little bit helps, and with so many tenants running around in the corridors, the Asylum would appreciate if you could help us keep running everything smoothly. PAGES: 352pg. Just in time for October's spooky reading season. 13.9 miles away from Hero Towing. It's also useless, because nothing in The Last House on Needless Street is what it seems. This book is the exact reason why I rarely read reviews before picking up a book. It was different and kept me interested and may I even say, Im slightly SHOOK. 'The Last House on Needless Street' is complex and multilayered, but more like a multiverse than an onion. An unspeakable secret binds them together, and when a new neighbor moves in next door, what is buried out among the birch trees behind their house will come back to haunt them all. Her desperation drove her to the edge of sanity, and I guess thats what she paid for in the end. Lulu had followed Dee while she hit on Trevor, and while Dee and Trevor were fooling around, Lulu slipped on some rocks and hit her head and died. This is the story of a serial killer. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Thank you, Catriona Ward, NetGalley, and Viper books for the opportunity to read this book. The therapist doesn't play a huge role in The Last House on Needless Street, but he certainly didn't help things! There is also a skill to taking difficult and horrific situations and diffuse care and feeling into the writing, so that the issues raised arent dealt with gratuitously. This is a great example of the skill of showing and not telling. Both novels are critical darlings & both are horror-adjacent . THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET is psychological horror of the highest order, disguised as a Russian doll of a novel, with layer within layer holding new characters and secrets. What's worse, she adds the further cliche of repressed memories/unreliable narrator to the protagonist in order to further obfuscate the narrative. That might sound confusing, but it's all part of the dark, strange world Ward created for this unsettling story, and it all makes sense. But his love is for his cat, Olivia. out of By Catriona Ward. Fuck this book and every author who blurbed it. I loved Ward's Rawblood a few years ago but The Last House on Needless Street is such a disappointment, just a cheap series of narrative cheats whose only purpose is to support the oldest and most cliched 'twist' ending in horror fictionwe are seriously supposed to believe that not only does the murder suspect have multiple personalities, but that the dominant one has a name coincidentally . Im not sure I make any sense, so lets move on. It releases on September 28th! The mothers coldness should have been a big red flag. Ted lives in the last house on Needless Street. Not very successfully. He's unemployed and drinks a lot. Copyright 2020 by Bookends. 05/04/2021 15:11. Some are more disturbing than others. Twice in the same day. Ward is a talented storyteller, and she shows that here. You think youve read this story before. At the end of the street are the eerie Woods where the gods are buried. The second time I tried, you came out of my mind'" but the experience is unlike anything else out there, and that makes it a must-read for those who like the kind of labyrinthine narratives that pull the rug out from under you, sending you tumbling into a dark, dark room. So, when I read about Teds story, the abuse he went through at the hands of his mom, I just couldnt help thinking what might have happened to cause DID and create the person I called a friend. The conclusion is somehow so predictable, while also being entirely chaotic in its execution. I think everything I read for the rest of this year will pale in comparison. 'The buzz building around Catriona Ward's The Last House on Needless Street is real. I thought long and hard because at first, I wasnt sure if portraying DID in a horror setting was something I was comfortable with. As for the story itself, in The Last House on Needless Street is nothing as it seems. For more information, please see our I don`t even want to try and review it, because I won`t do it justice. To me it is a tightly woven tale, full of tension and intrigue, with the truth just dangled tantalisingly out of reach. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Once I found out about Olivia though, I did start to think that Lauren was an alter as well. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Each character has their own distinctive voice, each one giving a slightly different viewpoint of the story. I didnt find it horrifying or terrifying, though it is thrilling to read. I think thats something that horror and the darker side of fiction do very naturally anyway. In the dark forest at the end of Needless Street, lies something buried. Your thoughts are echoed in a very good review by Wayward Magazine. DAS LETZTE HAUS in der Needless Street, Catriona Ward - EUR 22,99. Ted lives on Needless Street. This is the story of a murderer. His daughter Lauren comes to visit from time to time, but they never go out when she does, and their relationship is always tense and often violent. What cat understands English and speaks in slang? Your perceptions change every instant and quite often no two people remember the same event the same way. Dee finds herself focused on Ted as the possible kidnapper. For Ward, part of writing Needless Street necessarily involved processing heartbreaking and often quite upsetting things. Children have been going missing at a nearby lake for some time and a woman named Dee, whose sister disappeared there some years prior, has convinced herself that Ted had something to do with it. I thought long and hard because at first, I wasnt sure if portraying DID in a horror setting was something I was comfortable with. Change). That synopsis is short and covers just the basics. Possible Spoilers Ahead. Thanks! And an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street. That was my first encounter with this particular mental disorder so I had no understanding of what it really meant. This is smart! A spoiler free 1st half of the thrilling, chilling and heart pounding "Last House on Needless Street" What was her role in everything?! There isnt a page where the story lags. I could hardly bear to let go of her, even for a moment. The creepy dilapidation of the outside world mirrors their mental state. The Last House on Needless Street. I read some reviews after I finished the book that spoiled the main twist, so beware! A teenage girl who isn't allowed outside, not after last time. To me, everything is as it seems. In a house that has seen better days lives Ted, his daughter Lauren and Olivia. Ok But on Saturday (the day we". What kind of parent says they dont love their child? No one is who they appear to be, a fact that is lost on them. An unspeakable secret binds them together, but when a new neighbor moves in next door, what is buried out among the birch trees may come back to haunt them all. She pushed down her own guilt and focused that guilt on trying to find her sister and the person who eventually took her away from the scene. I am overwhelmed. Here is what Im afraid of. But thisthis is a whole new level. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. I felt that this book could have gone in a different direction or at least have the ending executed in a different way. GENRE: Thriller. He drinks but there are other issues as well. Required fields are marked *. However, upon finishing the book, I appreciate how the author didnt make Ted the villain of the story after all even if it seemed like it for a long time and that she showed how Teds life was improved with the right medication, professional help, and genuine friendship maybe even love. The Last House on Needless Street is out September 28th. However, it gave me plenty of things to think about, and one thing I cant take away from Ward: she clearly put a lot of research into the main mental health problem featured in this book, and handled her characters with care. Like, holy shit, talk about psychopaths At first when they were in the forest and his mother revealed her fathers history and told Ted she never loved him I thought her coldness for her son was, if not natural, kinda understandable. Thats not to say I didnt get caught by surprise here or there, though. And an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street. Ted lives in his childhood home with his daughter Lauren and his cat, Olivia. Catriona Ward's The Last House on Needless Street is a shocking and immersive read perfect for fans of Gone Girl and The Haunting of Hill House. Ive seen some true crime shows where parents talk about their children who turn out psychopaths and how it was to raise them, but even if they saw the signs and denied it as long as possible, every parent has at least a bit of love for their offspring.