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Mrs. God
A tale of an inspired literary sojourn that turns into something far more sinister. Esswood House. Home and estate of the Seneschal family, aristocratic patrons of the literary arts for well over a hundred years. D. H. Lawrence, T. S. Eliot, Ford Madox Ford, and Henry James were privileged to call themselves guests and Esswood Fellows. Even minor poets such as Isobel Standish found in Esswood a respite from the outer world and its refined atmosphere an inspiration for her work. There was always talk of a hidden secret in Esswood’s past, and the Seneschal children were often so pale and sickly, but don’t all English manor houses have a few ghost stories to call their own? When Professor William Standish receives the rare honor of an Esswood Fellowship, and the chance to study Isobel’s private manuscripts at close hand, he is thrilled beyond his wildest ambitions. But something seems slightly off at Esswood House. He hears faint laughter in the halls, the pitter-pattering of small feet in the night; strange faces appear in the windows of the library, and there are those giant dollhouses in the basement . . . Never before published as a separate volume, Mrs. God is a very different kind of ghost story from one of America’s most celebrated authors.
185 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1990
52 people are currently reading
590 people want to read
About the author
Peter Straub
259 books4,201 followersPeter Straub was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Gordon Anthony Straub and Elvena (Nilsestuen) Straub.
Straub read voraciously from an early age, but his literary interests did not please his parents; his father hoped that he would grow up to be a professional athlete, while his mother wanted him to be a Lutheran minister. He attended Milwaukee Country Day School on a scholarship, and, during his time there, began writing.
Straub earned an honors BA in English at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1965, and an MA at Columbia University a year later. He briefly taught English at Milwaukee Country Day, then moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 1969 to work on a PhD, and to start writing professionally
After mixed success with two attempts at literary mainstream novels in the mid-1970s ("Marriages" and "Under Venus"), Straub dabbled in the supernatural for the first time with "Julia" (1975). He then wrote "If You Could See Me Now" (1977), and came to widespread public attention with his fifth novel, "Ghost Story" (1979), which was a critical success and was later adapted into a 1981 film. Several horror novels followed, with growing success, including "The Talisman" and "Black House", two fantasy-horror collaborations with Straub's long-time friend and fellow author Stephen King.
In addition to his many novels, he published several works of poetry during his lifetime.
In 1966, Straub married Susan Bitker.They had two children; their daughter, Emma Straub, is also a novelist. The family lived in Dublin from 1969 to 1972, in London from 1972 to 1979, and in the New York City area from 1979 onwards.
Straub died on September 4, 2022, aged 79, from complications of a broken hip. At the time of his death, he and his wife lived in Brooklyn (New York City).
Straub read voraciously from an early age, but his literary interests did not please his parents; his father hoped that he would grow up to be a professional athlete, while his mother wanted him to be a Lutheran minister. He attended Milwaukee Country Day School on a scholarship, and, during his time there, began writing.
Straub earned an honors BA in English at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1965, and an MA at Columbia University a year later. He briefly taught English at Milwaukee Country Day, then moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 1969 to work on a PhD, and to start writing professionally
After mixed success with two attempts at literary mainstream novels in the mid-1970s ("Marriages" and "Under Venus"), Straub dabbled in the supernatural for the first time with "Julia" (1975). He then wrote "If You Could See Me Now" (1977), and came to widespread public attention with his fifth novel, "Ghost Story" (1979), which was a critical success and was later adapted into a 1981 film. Several horror novels followed, with growing success, including "The Talisman" and "Black House", two fantasy-horror collaborations with Straub's long-time friend and fellow author Stephen King.
In addition to his many novels, he published several works of poetry during his lifetime.
In 1966, Straub married Susan Bitker.They had two children; their daughter, Emma Straub, is also a novelist. The family lived in Dublin from 1969 to 1972, in London from 1972 to 1979, and in the New York City area from 1979 onwards.
Straub died on September 4, 2022, aged 79, from complications of a broken hip. At the time of his death, he and his wife lived in Brooklyn (New York City).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 227 reviews
June 23, 2020
ugh - i don't know what this book is thinking.
it isn't so bad as to be unendurable, but it definitely is the kind of thing where you can see elements of it that make sense, but the overall effect is just not working.
i mean, i guess so. it is better than what i could make.
but when you are going up against:
you're pretty much screwed. and i don't know yet what the horror novel equivalent is to my little fashion gargoyle mondo, but someday my horror prince will come.
i read this one because it promised to be a literary-themed horror novel, about a haunted yaddo type of place where famous people like eliot and henry james and virginia woolf etc once did some work, contributing to some secret archive of unknown glory blah blah blah.
if you are reading this for the inclusion of literary greats, go find another book. the only place these people show up are in photographs. there is no attempt to write about them as characters or to discuss their "secret" work. there is a brief and completely unsatisfying laundry list of work that "may have been inspired by" their time here, but then it becomes a list of, "oh, here are some moderately creepy works by authors people know - i will pretend they once worked at this house for dramatic purposes! bang!! whimper!!"
so but this book is about someone who is chosen to come to this house to study the archives of his aunt; a poet who was either way ahead of her time or batshit crazy, and while he is there he discovers seeeecrets and horrrorrr...
only it's not, really. again, like poor mila's outfit - there are all these parts but nothing really comes together in a harmonious whole. things are not as they seem, and the man himself has a creepy backstory and is this drunkenness or madness and what is the deal with these tiny houses and this room full of newspapers and this stairway that goes on and on and on...why is this man yelling at me in a graveyard and who are these people i see thru the windows and what do my dreams mean?
it gets messy.
i was talking to someone about this at work, and he suggested that it was because straub is old and can't cut it. which, maybe, but after i used the internet - he is only 69!! leonard cohen is about ten years older and just released his best album in 20 years.
ageists...
i was hoping for a short horror novel about literary personalities.
instead i got kind of a mess.
it might just be that my own expectations were not met except for the "short" part, and i am just being cranky, but i really think this is an unsuccessful exercise. there are too many placeholders for things that should be scary and interesting, and not enough actual cohesive story.
straub - you can leave the runway. and please clean up your workspace
come to my blog!
it isn't so bad as to be unendurable, but it definitely is the kind of thing where you can see elements of it that make sense, but the overall effect is just not working.
i mean, i guess so. it is better than what i could make.
but when you are going up against:
you're pretty much screwed. and i don't know yet what the horror novel equivalent is to my little fashion gargoyle mondo, but someday my horror prince will come.
i read this one because it promised to be a literary-themed horror novel, about a haunted yaddo type of place where famous people like eliot and henry james and virginia woolf etc once did some work, contributing to some secret archive of unknown glory blah blah blah.
if you are reading this for the inclusion of literary greats, go find another book. the only place these people show up are in photographs. there is no attempt to write about them as characters or to discuss their "secret" work. there is a brief and completely unsatisfying laundry list of work that "may have been inspired by" their time here, but then it becomes a list of, "oh, here are some moderately creepy works by authors people know - i will pretend they once worked at this house for dramatic purposes! bang!! whimper!!"
so but this book is about someone who is chosen to come to this house to study the archives of his aunt; a poet who was either way ahead of her time or batshit crazy, and while he is there he discovers seeeecrets and horrrorrr...
only it's not, really. again, like poor mila's outfit - there are all these parts but nothing really comes together in a harmonious whole. things are not as they seem, and the man himself has a creepy backstory and is this drunkenness or madness and what is the deal with these tiny houses and this room full of newspapers and this stairway that goes on and on and on...why is this man yelling at me in a graveyard and who are these people i see thru the windows and what do my dreams mean?
it gets messy.
i was talking to someone about this at work, and he suggested that it was because straub is old and can't cut it. which, maybe, but after i used the internet - he is only 69!! leonard cohen is about ten years older and just released his best album in 20 years.
ageists...
i was hoping for a short horror novel about literary personalities.
instead i got kind of a mess.
it might just be that my own expectations were not met except for the "short" part, and i am just being cranky, but i really think this is an unsuccessful exercise. there are too many placeholders for things that should be scary and interesting, and not enough actual cohesive story.
straub - you can leave the runway. and please clean up your workspace
come to my blog!
June 23, 2012
Blah blah blah this thing looks like a fetus, oh hey I see that rock over there and reflect on whether it does or does not look like my wife engaging in coitus with a friend of mine.
That thing looks kind of bloody and resembles an aborted fetus again.
Hey, you know that poem I'm reading? It might be about my wife cuckolding me. Or maybe it's about fetuses.
That thing looks kind of bloody and resembles an aborted fetus again.
Hey, you know that poem I'm reading? It might be about my wife cuckolding me. Or maybe it's about fetuses.
March 5, 2012
WHAT was this book about.
I know three things.
1. the guy drank a lot
2. he masturbated in the bathroom a few times.
3. he was an American in England.
Finis.
I know three things.
1. the guy drank a lot
2. he masturbated in the bathroom a few times.
3. he was an American in England.
Finis.
March 19, 2013
Esswood House is the dream of all literary types. Housing rare manuscripts from some of the literary elite. Henry James, T.S. Eliot, Ford Madox Ford are just some of the luminaries that not only stayed in the house, but left work to the great library. Yet, for researchers, there is a road block to this holy grail. Unlike many country estates in England, this house and it's contents aren't part of The National Trust or even open to the public. Oh no, the Seneschal family not only still reside within it's walls, but are recluses as well. Every year they invite scholars to come and research there, with the coveted Esswood Fellowship. But in all Professor William Standish's life, he has never seen anyone make it to Esswood. Sure, they get the fellowship and are all excited, but then something always happens. A letter appears saying something has arisen, some secret in the candidate's past that invalidates the arrangement.
William Standish has never really thought about applying himself. He's never had a reason. But now, well, now, his standing at his university is in jeopardy, and he needs to be published. He has always had a connection to the work of the minor and virtually unknown poet Isobel Standish. She was the first wife of his grandfather and William has always felt her work deserved a wider audience. Against his wildest imaginings, he is accepted as the Esswood Fellow and waits daily to get the letter saying the offer has been revoked. Yet the letter never comes and he is shortly on a plane to England, leaving behind his very pregnant wife and entering a world of his dreams. Though some dreams quickly become nightmares.
I so wanted to like this short book. Mrs. God has the elements that I so love and long for in my readings, forgotten English Country Houses, literati, ghosts... and yet, this book is the biggest failed attempt to emulate Shirley Jackson that I have ever read. It wanted so much to be of the caliber of The Haunting of Hill House, but Peter Straub is no Shirley Jackson. Firstly their is the crudeness of William Standish. He has dark thoughts and really is a misogynistic bastard. The feelings towards his wife I'm surprised haven't resulted in murder. Not only that but there are constant references to his erections and a rather odd and very disgusting masturbation scene. Also, his eventual breakdown seems not to be because of the unearthly whatever is going on, but because of women all being unfaithful. Yes, because instead of being an adult about things, when women are unfaithful, even if they are pregnant, why not just decapitate them. Say what? I'm dearly hoping that Standish's views on women are nothing more then fiction for Straub, because they are disturbing in the extreme. I kept wishing that at every meal of veal (was it really veal?) and Morel Mushrooms that Standish sat down to that some False Morel's would slip in there and that would be the end of Standish.
Yet this lack of a likable character isn't the only flaw... yes, it is the big flaw, but you can have anti heroes and still have a redeemable book. Though there really was no way to redeem Standish. The lack of any cohesiveness to the "haunting" was a big problem. We see "things" but we get no answers. There are possible immortals that still have aged a bit, witchcraft, aka magick, maybe vampires, maybe little people trapped inside dollhouses, maybe disfigured children that have cold white hard skin, maybe just incest, maybe, maybe, maybe. Yes, ok, there are the great ghost stories, by the likes of Henry James, that have no concrete answers. In The Turn of the Screw was it ghosts or was the governess insane. But see there, it's one or the other... not fifty million possibilities! We have a choice as to what to believe and can create an ending for ourselves. Not be left with the feeling that the author himself obviously had no idea where he was going either so everything will just fall apart, (even his grasp on the English language with the almost incoherent writing the book devolves into), while William Standish feverishly declares that he knows what's going on. Does he really? Because if he does, could he let me in on it... oh wait, he can't... he burned the whole freaking place down and ran off into the woods after some ax murdering, because obviously this is The Shinning now...
Gaw. Give me back my money and my time Straub, you owe me! Also, your graphic designer obviously didn't bother to read the book, because while the cover is suitably Gothic, the house is supposed to be Palladian... so, fail on you Michael Fusco. Shame on you. You give Graphic Designers a bad name!
William Standish has never really thought about applying himself. He's never had a reason. But now, well, now, his standing at his university is in jeopardy, and he needs to be published. He has always had a connection to the work of the minor and virtually unknown poet Isobel Standish. She was the first wife of his grandfather and William has always felt her work deserved a wider audience. Against his wildest imaginings, he is accepted as the Esswood Fellow and waits daily to get the letter saying the offer has been revoked. Yet the letter never comes and he is shortly on a plane to England, leaving behind his very pregnant wife and entering a world of his dreams. Though some dreams quickly become nightmares.
I so wanted to like this short book. Mrs. God has the elements that I so love and long for in my readings, forgotten English Country Houses, literati, ghosts... and yet, this book is the biggest failed attempt to emulate Shirley Jackson that I have ever read. It wanted so much to be of the caliber of The Haunting of Hill House, but Peter Straub is no Shirley Jackson. Firstly their is the crudeness of William Standish. He has dark thoughts and really is a misogynistic bastard. The feelings towards his wife I'm surprised haven't resulted in murder. Not only that but there are constant references to his erections and a rather odd and very disgusting masturbation scene. Also, his eventual breakdown seems not to be because of the unearthly whatever is going on, but because of women all being unfaithful. Yes, because instead of being an adult about things, when women are unfaithful, even if they are pregnant, why not just decapitate them. Say what? I'm dearly hoping that Standish's views on women are nothing more then fiction for Straub, because they are disturbing in the extreme. I kept wishing that at every meal of veal (was it really veal?) and Morel Mushrooms that Standish sat down to that some False Morel's would slip in there and that would be the end of Standish.
Yet this lack of a likable character isn't the only flaw... yes, it is the big flaw, but you can have anti heroes and still have a redeemable book. Though there really was no way to redeem Standish. The lack of any cohesiveness to the "haunting" was a big problem. We see "things" but we get no answers. There are possible immortals that still have aged a bit, witchcraft, aka magick, maybe vampires, maybe little people trapped inside dollhouses, maybe disfigured children that have cold white hard skin, maybe just incest, maybe, maybe, maybe. Yes, ok, there are the great ghost stories, by the likes of Henry James, that have no concrete answers. In The Turn of the Screw was it ghosts or was the governess insane. But see there, it's one or the other... not fifty million possibilities! We have a choice as to what to believe and can create an ending for ourselves. Not be left with the feeling that the author himself obviously had no idea where he was going either so everything will just fall apart, (even his grasp on the English language with the almost incoherent writing the book devolves into), while William Standish feverishly declares that he knows what's going on. Does he really? Because if he does, could he let me in on it... oh wait, he can't... he burned the whole freaking place down and ran off into the woods after some ax murdering, because obviously this is The Shinning now...
Gaw. Give me back my money and my time Straub, you owe me! Also, your graphic designer obviously didn't bother to read the book, because while the cover is suitably Gothic, the house is supposed to be Palladian... so, fail on you Michael Fusco. Shame on you. You give Graphic Designers a bad name!
March 20, 2016
Ok first.
Holy shit. Peter Straub is not an author I would normally pick up, even though he writes the horror genre. I only know Straub through Black House, and I was unhappy with it. So I vowed not to read his stuff, even Ghost Story which apparently is his best one? Maybe it was Floating Dragon, I don't care either way. I just knew that his stuff wasn't my thing. Years later, I'm at a massive book sale and everything was a dollar, I picked up anything and everything that I thought would be good to read, and Mrs.God was one of them. I briefly read the synopsis and figured it was only a dollar? Why not.
It was genuinely good! I couldn't believe it - shit - I could hardly put it down! I saw the rating before reading it here on goodreads, and it only got two stars! I almost put it down right there, but I stuck with it. It was a genuinely good story right to the end. I had my doubts but at no point did I want to stop reading it. Let's just say it passed the fifty page rule... well, my rule anyway.
Holy shit. Peter Straub is not an author I would normally pick up, even though he writes the horror genre. I only know Straub through Black House, and I was unhappy with it. So I vowed not to read his stuff, even Ghost Story which apparently is his best one? Maybe it was Floating Dragon, I don't care either way. I just knew that his stuff wasn't my thing. Years later, I'm at a massive book sale and everything was a dollar, I picked up anything and everything that I thought would be good to read, and Mrs.God was one of them. I briefly read the synopsis and figured it was only a dollar? Why not.
It was genuinely good! I couldn't believe it - shit - I could hardly put it down! I saw the rating before reading it here on goodreads, and it only got two stars! I almost put it down right there, but I stuck with it. It was a genuinely good story right to the end. I had my doubts but at no point did I want to stop reading it. Let's just say it passed the fifty page rule... well, my rule anyway.
February 22, 2019
A masterful creation by a masterful storyteller!
Peter Straub’s Mrs. God is an unconventional ghost story. In the beginning, the middle, and even as we near the end, the puzzle begins to unravel as we slowly learn the real identity of William Standish, the main character. At the onset, Standish is well drawn, easy to identify and sympathize with.
He’s emotionally traumatized by his wife’s infidelity, the loss of a child from an abortion, and the new pregnancy of his wife; the result, Standish believes, of her stray from monogamy with an academic rival.
When Standish, an American professor, receives an invitation to study the poems of his grandmother Isobel Standish at Esswood House, an English manor described in gothic and haunting detail, he is beside himself with joy at the opportunity to take leave of his dissatisfying life. After all, Esswood House has seen the likes of such greats as D.H. Lawrence, T.S. Eliot, Henry James, and Ford Madox Ford.
Arriving at the manor, however, is a different story. Talk of hidden secrets at Esswood surfaces and mysterious events begin occurring. Creepy laughter can be heard echoing throughout the antiquated home. Frightening apparitions appear. The pitter-patter of feet running around begins to assault Standish’s senses and he discovers bones and strange oversized doll houses in a dungeon-like basement. He learns that Isobel Standish used Esswood as a respite from the real world and during this insular existence her creativity flourished. However, as he studies her words, he realizes they become more and more incoherent with each passing day. It begs the question: What did Esswood House really do to Isabel?
Events get weirder. Standish is served by invisible servants, he begins having terrifying nightmares, and learns that the original owners, the Seneschal family, may have taken horrifying secrets with them to their graves. Their children, for example, were always pale, hungry, and sickly, and Standish can find no tombstones in the small English community marking their graves.
As he gets closer to the terrifying truth within the spider-webbed, creaking halls of Esswood House, he suffers a complete mental and emotional breakdown, striking out on a path of vengeance and destruction.
The writing style is crisp, clean, and clear. It draws you right into the story. Plot and character development are top-notch. The suspense and fright building are spine-tingling.
The unconventionality of Mrs. God is refreshing and rare. The shock ending leads us to question the very nature of existence. A riveting journey into madness, mayhem, and mystery from one of the best horror writers of all time.
As Stephen King says, “When Peter Straub turns on all his jets, no one in the scream factory can equal him.”
Peter Straub’s Mrs. God is an unconventional ghost story. In the beginning, the middle, and even as we near the end, the puzzle begins to unravel as we slowly learn the real identity of William Standish, the main character. At the onset, Standish is well drawn, easy to identify and sympathize with.
He’s emotionally traumatized by his wife’s infidelity, the loss of a child from an abortion, and the new pregnancy of his wife; the result, Standish believes, of her stray from monogamy with an academic rival.
When Standish, an American professor, receives an invitation to study the poems of his grandmother Isobel Standish at Esswood House, an English manor described in gothic and haunting detail, he is beside himself with joy at the opportunity to take leave of his dissatisfying life. After all, Esswood House has seen the likes of such greats as D.H. Lawrence, T.S. Eliot, Henry James, and Ford Madox Ford.
Arriving at the manor, however, is a different story. Talk of hidden secrets at Esswood surfaces and mysterious events begin occurring. Creepy laughter can be heard echoing throughout the antiquated home. Frightening apparitions appear. The pitter-patter of feet running around begins to assault Standish’s senses and he discovers bones and strange oversized doll houses in a dungeon-like basement. He learns that Isobel Standish used Esswood as a respite from the real world and during this insular existence her creativity flourished. However, as he studies her words, he realizes they become more and more incoherent with each passing day. It begs the question: What did Esswood House really do to Isabel?
Events get weirder. Standish is served by invisible servants, he begins having terrifying nightmares, and learns that the original owners, the Seneschal family, may have taken horrifying secrets with them to their graves. Their children, for example, were always pale, hungry, and sickly, and Standish can find no tombstones in the small English community marking their graves.
As he gets closer to the terrifying truth within the spider-webbed, creaking halls of Esswood House, he suffers a complete mental and emotional breakdown, striking out on a path of vengeance and destruction.
The writing style is crisp, clean, and clear. It draws you right into the story. Plot and character development are top-notch. The suspense and fright building are spine-tingling.
The unconventionality of Mrs. God is refreshing and rare. The shock ending leads us to question the very nature of existence. A riveting journey into madness, mayhem, and mystery from one of the best horror writers of all time.
As Stephen King says, “When Peter Straub turns on all his jets, no one in the scream factory can equal him.”
June 24, 2015
I'm giving it two solely for the author ...
I read this in a day, was looking for something short and quick to read between two longer books. Maybe I should have skipped it altogether.
The MC, Standish, goes to Esswood House, an ancient and secluded English estate to do some research on a little-known writer. He's been chosen from 600 candidates, he's told, to do this work. The estate is gorgeous; the food and drink sublime; the accommodations, though outstandingly creepy, are also five-star hotel worthy. He only meets two people, who slowly sort of fade away and eventually he's left alone on this estate with its magnificent grounds and amazing library to do his research.
This part was great. I kept waiting for something truly awfully terribly weird to happen. And it almost does! Standish meets an old vicar in a churchyard who reveals 'secrets' about the family who owns the estate. Standish doesn't believe him, of course, and returns to Esswood to continue his research. This is where everything falls apart...
What happens next is overly confusing. Nightmares? Real events? The house changing - is the house a living thing? A product of Standish's overworked imagination? Are there real people in the house with him, or ghosts? Who knows! The writing just falls apart as if the writer kind of slumped over his typewriter in a daze and typed out random words. I was so disappointed! Crestfallen, even. From such a great beginning...
To a lackluster, pitiful end.
:(
I read this in a day, was looking for something short and quick to read between two longer books. Maybe I should have skipped it altogether.
The MC, Standish, goes to Esswood House, an ancient and secluded English estate to do some research on a little-known writer. He's been chosen from 600 candidates, he's told, to do this work. The estate is gorgeous; the food and drink sublime; the accommodations, though outstandingly creepy, are also five-star hotel worthy. He only meets two people, who slowly sort of fade away and eventually he's left alone on this estate with its magnificent grounds and amazing library to do his research.
This part was great. I kept waiting for something truly awfully terribly weird to happen. And it almost does! Standish meets an old vicar in a churchyard who reveals 'secrets' about the family who owns the estate. Standish doesn't believe him, of course, and returns to Esswood to continue his research. This is where everything falls apart...
What happens next is overly confusing. Nightmares? Real events? The house changing - is the house a living thing? A product of Standish's overworked imagination? Are there real people in the house with him, or ghosts? Who knows! The writing just falls apart as if the writer kind of slumped over his typewriter in a daze and typed out random words. I was so disappointed! Crestfallen, even. From such a great beginning...
To a lackluster, pitiful end.
:(
February 8, 2016
An eerie book, exquisitely written. Must be read carefully to discover all the subtle layers of meanings...
August 12, 2013
Oh sweet Lord does this book suck! After pushing myself through yet another chapter I have decided to give up 3/4 of the way in. No book, albeit even a short one, is worth the pain this story is causing. You know, it's not even the plot that's killing me, though Mr. Straub did stick to EVERY STEP in the formula to create an average but predictable outcome. And no, it wasn't the pace, though snails get to their destination faster. No, it was Mr. Straub's style of writing that made this read excruciating. He's clearly trying SO HARD to be "literary", to be seen as above his station (poor horror writers always seem to reach that particular plateau at one time or another) that his writing becomes clumsy and unbearable. Save yourself the headache, Mr. Straub the look of disappointment, and just skip this one entirely. Trust me.
March 28, 2013
I like to listen to audiobooks in the car and I usually think, "Not every book gets made into an audiobook. If the publisher thinks this is good enough to BE an audiobook, I can give it a go." Unfortunately, I think the publishers made a mistake here. After 4 CDs, I still didn't know what in the heck was going on, but I kept going to the end because I only had one more disc to go (what the heck?). Whew, I was glad when it was over! It was sweet relief to be done with the book, but I still have absolutely no idea what happened, how it ended or what ANYTHING meant in the story.
June 17, 2015
OK, I read the book and I STILL don't know if I liked it or not. I didn't NOT like it but.............a VERY odd book. This is a hard cover with illustrations (odd illustrations.
Standish has a very pregnant wife; they have had some issues in the past. He is invited to go to England to a very prestigious place called Esswood, where writers have been meeting for years for a kind of retreat. He plans to write about one of his relatives, Isobel, who spent some time there. Her writings took a totally different bend after staying there. She returned and ended up dying there, while still young. What he finds there is..........well, I'm not sure! LOL..........you would have to read this yourself and determine if you think it is worth it. All in all, an odd book, a dark book, and the end does leave you questioning.
Standish has a very pregnant wife; they have had some issues in the past. He is invited to go to England to a very prestigious place called Esswood, where writers have been meeting for years for a kind of retreat. He plans to write about one of his relatives, Isobel, who spent some time there. Her writings took a totally different bend after staying there. She returned and ended up dying there, while still young. What he finds there is..........well, I'm not sure! LOL..........you would have to read this yourself and determine if you think it is worth it. All in all, an odd book, a dark book, and the end does leave you questioning.
August 4, 2012
I'm disappointed; I didn't realize when I got this from the library that it's actually a reprint of a novella from Houses Without Doors, and I've actually read it twice before. I always forget that this story starts out amazingly strong, but gets confusing and frustrating and eventually leaves the reader going "huh?"
I THINK I understood it a lot better this time through. Straub has a real fondness for unreliable narrators, and Standish is a prime example. In this case, though, Straub takes things far enough that the story becomes unrewarding and bewildering.
I THINK I understood it a lot better this time through. Straub has a real fondness for unreliable narrators, and Standish is a prime example. In this case, though, Straub takes things far enough that the story becomes unrewarding and bewildering.
March 15, 2017
Total insanity. Peter Straub is a master wordsmith.
June 25, 2018
Creepy.
April 13, 2014
MRS. GOD by Peter Straub has been waiting for me for a long time. I bought HOUSES WITHOUT DOORS in the original Dutton hardcover when it came out in 1990, and was already aware of MRS. GOD anyway because it had previously been published in a limited edition by Donald M. Grant. But I don't ever like to read collections of short fiction all the way through in a gulp, and at some point I set aside HOUSES WITHOUT DOORS leaving MRS. GOD (the final tale) for a rainy day. That day finally came 24 years later, and I've thoroughly enjoyed myself. Some stories are best left for when we are older and better able to appreciate them. I'm not sure I would have praised MRS. GOD so highly if I'd read it when I was 23. Now, at 47, it hit me just right. By coincidence, I have recently been catching up as well with my Robert Aickman (who inspired MRS. GOD, according to Straub) and also with E. F. Benson's strange stories -- both of which I see strongly reflected/warped in the mirror here. Apparently, the Grant edition of MRS. GOD is longer and is rumoured by some to be the far superior incarnation. Perhaps I would like it even better, but I don't own the Grant edition, so unless I track down a copy I'm unlikely ever to find out. At any rate, I enjoyed the present version immensely. As a strange story it succeeds wickedly well. Echoes, as I've said, of Aickman and E. F. Benson, but also echoes of the oddness of Ramsey Campbell, and of course successful allusions to THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE by Shirley Jackson and THE TURN OF THE SCREW by Henry James. (Readers here who have rated this only one or two stars must be out of their minds.)
July 21, 2012
i like a ghost story. with shades of some of the best ever written (the haunting of hill house comes to mind, as well as stephen king's the shining), mrs. god paints a vaguely terrifying scene in the english countryside. almost immediately the reader questions exactly what standish is agreeing to when he travels to england to study in a famed library, supposedly overflowing with rare and wonderful literary finds. the trip from the airport to the castle is lovecraftian, with strange characters tormenting standish to the point of confusion. while reading this short novel, i found myself lost in places (something about the language straub uses makes it hard to follow) and yet eager to keep reading to find out the mystery of the manor. along with the hints of jackson and king, i felt a definite connection of this tale to that of bram stoker's dracula, making this book more intriguing than perhaps the story warrants. towards the end of the book, a letter from standish's pregnant wife arrives at the castle. it is then that we learn that standish has experiences some sort of mental break in the past, which makes his visions and dreams questionable. is he really seeing these apparitions or is he losing his grip on reality? the most interesting part of this story was standish's trip into the local cemetery, searching for the graves of former residents who were supposedly deceased. his interaction with the graveyard caretaker is creepy as heck. the transformation of standish at the end of the novel. . . well, read it and then you tell me what you think.
April 12, 2017
First of all, I read the book, not the audiobook, but I couldn't find the regular book in the Goodreads library. It starts out okay-interesting premise, lots of promise. But it ends in 'What the hell?". The main character is not likable and in fact seems to be a misogynistic jerk. I hate how he talks about his "loathsome and treacherous wife". He ends up killing people (I'm not even sure who), destroying valuable artifacts, and burning down a beautiful English estate. I have very little idea why any of this happened. Is he crazy? Is he tormented by spirits? Is this all in his head? The biggest problem I had reading this is that I did not understand what was going on most of them time. I am a fairly well-educated and perceptive person, but had trouble even understanding the meaning of some sentences! Such as, "Isobel was awkward and willful, sensitive in all the wrong ways", with no lead-in or follow-up as to why he thinks this. All along he is revering Isobel as this unknown classic and all of sudden this is his response to seeing her ghost. Why? What does "sensitive in all the wrong ways" even mean? I read other reviews to see if they would give me insight and that helped a bit, but all in all this was a confusing mess. I understand trying to leave things up to the reader's perspective and wonder, but this was just too much. Maybe it was because it took so long for me to read it and I kept having to go back, thinking I had missed something or forgotten something. I am still looking for a decent ghost story!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2014
The story in and of it itself was not bad. The prose was excellently written, but I found I was constantly wrankled by the protagonist. His actions and observations would be hilariously misguided one moment and then certain things would come out of his mouth that just made me hate him. It's a good gothic ghost story and I very much enjoyed the sections of the book from Isabelle's poetry and autobiography. I was not bothered by what some have called a lack of resolution in terms of the ending. I just didn't like Standish. His way of thinking was so all over the place that it was like reading a transcript of someone's brain as they lost their mind, which very well may have been the author's intent and if so he succeeded splendidly.
In any case, it's not a bad story. It's is a well plotted gothic ghost story which reminded me vaguely of Haunted by James Herbert in terms of the story line. I think this story could be adapted into a really good ghost movie but there would need to be a little more likability added to Standish to make him not seem like a pompous ass.
In any case, it's not a bad story. It's is a well plotted gothic ghost story which reminded me vaguely of Haunted by James Herbert in terms of the story line. I think this story could be adapted into a really good ghost movie but there would need to be a little more likability added to Standish to make him not seem like a pompous ass.
July 30, 2014
Not one of Straub's better books. I can see what he was attempting to do with it, but I don't think he accomplished it, at all. There are a lot of horror themes that are being touched on in the books, too many actually. So many that it becomes difficult to know what the hell is going on, like genre ADHD. Is the guy crazy, is it the house, is it a past-life thing, the bleeding of time and space? Who the hell knows. I'm not even sure Straub does. That's the problem.
December 30, 2021
A quick, crazy gothic horror. I put it down unsure what had happened. I don't think I picked the best this popular author has to offer but it was fine for the length of the book.
This is my last book that wraps up 2021!.
This is my last book that wraps up 2021!.
November 23, 2019
I picked this book up at the library on the display of "spooky" books. Ummmmmm no.
August 13, 2023
Awful. Pretentious. Pointless. Trying to be a gothic ghost story but had no foot in reality at any time. Just a slog.
September 26, 2018
Everything happens so suddenly and you are left wondering what the hell just happened. This book could have used a bit more restraint.
January 6, 2026
I dunno.
The most disturbing part of this book was that someone was eating fish and not being more careful about the potential of swallowing the bones.
Other than that, I have no idea what has actually happened.
The most disturbing part of this book was that someone was eating fish and not being more careful about the potential of swallowing the bones.
Other than that, I have no idea what has actually happened.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 22, 2012
**spoilerspoilerspoiler**..because I spent about 10 minutes trying to figure this out myself and find the answer online when I couldn't so here it is for those who didn't immediately get the ending:
The couple he kills are the kids the vicar at the church talked about as watching over the place. I believe Straub's intention was that Standish, by visiting the grave site, somehow picked up the spirit of the evil and brought it back to the manor with him. Because of the little bones in the dollhouse room and the room with the drain in it this book could turn into another about the search for the undead children of Edith..if it was spun that way. More likely, Standish' post-/pre-fatherhood psychosis is the central theme and he is not a hero as some have suggested but a bystander-turned-insane man.
The couple he kills are the kids the vicar at the church talked about as watching over the place. I believe Straub's intention was that Standish, by visiting the grave site, somehow picked up the spirit of the evil and brought it back to the manor with him. Because of the little bones in the dollhouse room and the room with the drain in it this book could turn into another about the search for the undead children of Edith..if it was spun that way. More likely, Standish' post-/pre-fatherhood psychosis is the central theme and he is not a hero as some have suggested but a bystander-turned-insane man.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 27, 2012
I need time to think about this novella and possibly reread it. Too slow of an opening for me, but I had faith in Straub and was not disappointed once the MC reached his destination, the refined and subtly eerie English estate known as Esswood House. No doubt a high-bred cousin to Shirley Jackson's deranged Hill House, Esswood House reveals itself in stages as an intoxicating beauty with an illustrious literary past; a host of mazes and memories to trick the mind; a ghastly, ghostly maw that gorges itself on hidden doll houses and visiting researchers, . . . The mood of the story is wonderfully spooky, but I'm still a little foggy on some of the plot.
March 20, 2012
Brilliant, just brilliant. Mr. Straub sets up the information, and if you make the connections, appreciating the associations, you will get it. The writing was brilliant; the descriptions rich yet not overly wordy. I love the subtlety, and how Mr. Straub shows rather than tells. There was so much horror with so little gore. This story was far more frightening, and effective invoking horror compared to splatter punk or hackneyed horror attempts. Mr. Straub-BRILLIANT. This is one of my favorite books of all time. Absolutely incredible!!!
July 3, 2012
This is a..ghost story? vampire story? story about a crazy man? i really have no idea. Here is a horror novella by peter straub and a man goes to a house and then um. i have no idea what i read. it read like an old fashioned back in time horror story, only those usually make sense. i don't know what to make of this one. from other people's reviews, they were just as confused. at least the writing style flows..
February 14, 2015
Literary masterpiece! A novel that necessitates multiple readings to merely attempt to determine the reality of the occurrences. The setting of Esswood House with its abundantly wealthy library of scholarly rarities and meticulously manicured grounds is exquisite. The juxtaposition of a completely convincing, yet unreliable, narrator's descent into insanity amidst such opulence is complexly satiating.
April 27, 2012
I'm generally not a horror type reader but in the past I have read some very good Peter Straub books. This however, is not one of them. Since it only had 173 pages I read the whole thing but it actually was terrible. I can't remember reading a book that was so bad since I read a Baldacci Christmas story. Straub should be ashamed of himself. YUCK. It gets a 0 on my 10 scale.
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