The Night House by Jo Nesbo. Translated by Neil Smith. Narrated by Michael Crouch. Books on Tape, 2023. 6 hours (approx.).
The Night House by Jo Nesbo punches the gas and doesn’t let up until the end. It begins with a boy named Tom getting eaten by a telephone! Slurped up by the receiver as his body turns to mush.
Richard Elauved is the new kid, troubled and a bit of a bully. He was with Tom when the latter went missing, but no one is believing his carnivorous telephone story, so many suspect Richard pushed the boy into the nearby river. Karen - the main love interest - is the single exception. She encourages Richard to pursue his own theories and leads. This eventually brings Richard to the titular house in Mirror Forest, which appears to be the epicenter of some dark magic.
It is difficult to continue the plot review, as Nesbo makes heavy use of the unreliable narrator. It is later revealed that some events reported by Richard either happened differently or not at all. It’s all handled well by Nesbo, who is a skilled storyteller, but it does make the book hard to discuss.
The only complaint is the reveal in part three. Readers familiar with Robert Cormier’s I am the Cheese, will likely think the ending derived - dare I say, hackneyed? More to the point, I am not sure why Nesbo decided to conclude his novel this way, that is, undoing the supernatural element and finishing the book in the fashion of Dallas’ ninth season.
To his credit, Nesbo adds his unique touch to the trope. Whereas Cormier relied on government corruption that was never fully explained, Nesbo brings the drama home. Literally. It is stated early that Richard’s family died in a fire, but the slowly divulged details of that fire are heart wrenching … and dark. As these details come to light, it colors (or, re-colors) the reader’s perception of characters and events. Also, if Nesbo had cut the third part, or changed it radically, the novel would lose much of its emotional power.
Where Nesbo truly excels is in his ability to keep his foot on the gas. Starting strong with the man-eating telephone scene, he takes us through hair-raising pin turns of mysteries, clues, answers and red hearings. There is an FBI agent, a naked man flying on insect wings, another man serving his own dismembered arm at a dinner party; then there are killer trees, magic blind men, serial killer twins and so much more. While this list may seem disjointed, Nesbo masterfully ties it all together. He knows how to keep the pages turning.
In conclusion, Jo Nesbo’s denouement is a blemish, but some may regard it as a beauty mark that accentuates the work’s perfection, while others (me included) will see it as a hairy distraction. Whatever you think, do not miss The Night House.
I might have to add this to my TBR pile. Though I've quite a list to tackle on my library app already haha it sounds like something I'd never be into, but something I should absolutely check it!