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Still Life
Still Life is a darkly shining gem of mystery, terror, and Indian magic.
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
102 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 30, 2019
This review originally appeared on my blog, Books Without any Pictures: http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/20...
Still Life by E.E. Horlak is about a young woman named Sarah Chenowith. Sarah is trying to figure out her life. She lives with her mother, but is going to school. She knows she needs to move out and forge her own destiny, but she also is afraid of change. And so she clings to her childhood crush even though he’s since married and had a child, and she is still way more involved in his life (she’s the babysitter) than she should be. She narrates as someone who is trying to move on, but in practice, she very clearly can’t.
One day a mysterious woman shows up next door and begins to paint. And when she makes her paintings, people begin to die. People in her childhood crush’s family, in fact, which makes Sarah very uncomfortable.
Meanwhile, Sarah is in school, and is developing a much closer relationship with one of her professors. She’s having disturbing dreams and premonitions, and they seem to be tied to the murders. As an anthropologist, she hopes he’ll take her seriously, and perhaps have some insight. And Bob is a good listener, so as her own life becomes more and more chaotic, he becomes a rock for her. Today this would throw up a world of ethical red flags because of the power dynamic, but it was the 80s. What can I say?
The plot ebbs and flows as Sarah discovers the connections between the cursed paintings, Hopi magic, and her own heritage. And though the ending was predictable, it was also satisfying.
It was only after I started reading the book that I realized that E.E. Horlak was a pen name for Sherri S. Tepper, whose books I always enjoy, despite the fact that they are often so agressively feminist that the story feels forced and moralizing. Usually, my complaint with Tepper’s writing is that every man in the story doesn’t have to be a villain. So it was interesting to see Still Life, where the men in the story don’t seem to have much importance at all. I mean, sure, they exist, and Sarah struggles with her relationships to them, but in the grand scheme of things they don’t seem to matter much at all. They could almost be completely interchangeable. Sarah’s crush is boring and generic. Bob is boring and generic. The story instead chooses to focus on Sarah and her ability to move on, to grow up, and to step outside of her comfort zone so she can form a new relationship and be her own independent person outside of her mother’s shadow. And by the end of the book, she grows up. I guess it’s a horror story coming of age.
Still Life by E.E. Horlak is about a young woman named Sarah Chenowith. Sarah is trying to figure out her life. She lives with her mother, but is going to school. She knows she needs to move out and forge her own destiny, but she also is afraid of change. And so she clings to her childhood crush even though he’s since married and had a child, and she is still way more involved in his life (she’s the babysitter) than she should be. She narrates as someone who is trying to move on, but in practice, she very clearly can’t.
One day a mysterious woman shows up next door and begins to paint. And when she makes her paintings, people begin to die. People in her childhood crush’s family, in fact, which makes Sarah very uncomfortable.
Meanwhile, Sarah is in school, and is developing a much closer relationship with one of her professors. She’s having disturbing dreams and premonitions, and they seem to be tied to the murders. As an anthropologist, she hopes he’ll take her seriously, and perhaps have some insight. And Bob is a good listener, so as her own life becomes more and more chaotic, he becomes a rock for her. Today this would throw up a world of ethical red flags because of the power dynamic, but it was the 80s. What can I say?
The plot ebbs and flows as Sarah discovers the connections between the cursed paintings, Hopi magic, and her own heritage. And though the ending was predictable, it was also satisfying.
It was only after I started reading the book that I realized that E.E. Horlak was a pen name for Sherri S. Tepper, whose books I always enjoy, despite the fact that they are often so agressively feminist that the story feels forced and moralizing. Usually, my complaint with Tepper’s writing is that every man in the story doesn’t have to be a villain. So it was interesting to see Still Life, where the men in the story don’t seem to have much importance at all. I mean, sure, they exist, and Sarah struggles with her relationships to them, but in the grand scheme of things they don’t seem to matter much at all. They could almost be completely interchangeable. Sarah’s crush is boring and generic. Bob is boring and generic. The story instead chooses to focus on Sarah and her ability to move on, to grow up, and to step outside of her comfort zone so she can form a new relationship and be her own independent person outside of her mother’s shadow. And by the end of the book, she grows up. I guess it’s a horror story coming of age.
August 11, 2010
Before Ms. Tepper decided she was against the genre she wrote some of the best short horror novels. They had a huge amount of heart, and made the reader really care about the characters - no stereotypical dumb "let's go in the haunted house even though we're going to die" types. I miss her writing from before she went all heavy handed feminist/message/social commentary. She has an enormous imagination.
January 25, 2020
The twist completely caught me by surprise.
January 21, 2026
Parecía que sí, pero no, pero luego parecía que sí otra vez, pero no.
*Dos estrellitas y media
*Dos estrellitas y media
September 8, 2013
I think that I'd have realized this was a Tepper book when I got to the last quarter even if I'd not known E.E. Horlak was her pseudonym. It's got that characteristic far left turn many of her books take near the end.
There are a few chills in this book (though for me they are mostly of the what all this could imply kind, rather than what is on the page) and some cultural anthropology of the old kind. I enjoyed the relationships of some of the characters, though I think the central one in the book was a little creepy once we see things from his point of view. He was kind of an arrogant jerk, but to each their own I guess! Maybe arrogant jerk isn't quite right... The male lead feels like the kind of hero from a few generations ago. A little too brilliant and manly, etc. and I thought -- strangely for a Tepper novel -- that he kind of diminished the female lead a bit. She seemed much more interesting and stronger before he started inserting his point of view on things.
There's a little mystery, but most of it is easy to figure out. Still, I'm glad to have read this early Tepper experiment.
There are a few chills in this book (though for me they are mostly of the what all this could imply kind, rather than what is on the page) and some cultural anthropology of the old kind. I enjoyed the relationships of some of the characters, though I think the central one in the book was a little creepy once we see things from his point of view. He was kind of an arrogant jerk, but to each their own I guess! Maybe arrogant jerk isn't quite right... The male lead feels like the kind of hero from a few generations ago. A little too brilliant and manly, etc. and I thought -- strangely for a Tepper novel -- that he kind of diminished the female lead a bit. She seemed much more interesting and stronger before he started inserting his point of view on things.
There's a little mystery, but most of it is easy to figure out. Still, I'm glad to have read this early Tepper experiment.
March 12, 2011
Still Life is the book that started me on my quest to find and read more of Sheri S. Tepper.
On the surface, it is a paranormal fantasy with elements of horror. What set it apart for me was how it didn't give into the clichéd happy endings and romance. It is well thought out and executed with a palpable atmosphere of foreboding and magic. I must admit, each time I read it, I still have the smallest bit of hope that there will be a happier ending... one day.
On the surface, it is a paranormal fantasy with elements of horror. What set it apart for me was how it didn't give into the clichéd happy endings and romance. It is well thought out and executed with a palpable atmosphere of foreboding and magic. I must admit, each time I read it, I still have the smallest bit of hope that there will be a happier ending... one day.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 3, 2023
Sherri S. Tepper - one of my most favorite authors. This book does not disappoint.
March 12, 2016
A brilliant read. My edition has Sheri S. Tepper as the author. Engages you in peoples story. The horror builds and then fades. The american indian touch is through out.
August 27, 2019
This was easily my least favourite Sheri S Tepper ever! Usually she writes amazing feminist scifi and discovered this horror novel in a charity shop and decided to try it. It was not her best work. The characters were so unlikeable. The plot twists and turns made no sense and it took ages for something to happen, and then the ending felt very odd indeed. One of the main character's university professors had a crush on her, and it was super creepy. Especially when he was the POV character and was manipulating it into her dating him. And then they did fall in love and he got better? I don't think I would have stuck with this if it was anyone else but Sheri S Tepper. I kept waiting for something I liked to happen. And it didn't. I can't say i'd recommend it. Read pretty much anything else by her instead!
April 24, 2024
Sheri S. Tepper is my favourite author. She has my undying loyalty, and I re-read her books on a fairly regular rotation. So I'm going to be charitable here and say this was one of her early works, while she was still finding her voice.
I did not like this book. The main character Sarah is a doormat, the secondary POV character, Bob, is frankly creepy, and the story is weird and uneven.
But I'm one step closer to my goal of owning every word that Sheri S. Tepper ever wrote. That's something, I guess.
I did not like this book. The main character Sarah is a doormat, the secondary POV character, Bob, is frankly creepy, and the story is weird and uneven.
But I'm one step closer to my goal of owning every word that Sheri S. Tepper ever wrote. That's something, I guess.
July 3, 2024
La historia de terror quizá sea algo decepcionante, pero la narrativa es fascinante. En el fondo se trata de un libro más interesado en la experiencia humana que en hacer pasar miedo, y una vez asumes eso descubres la cantidad de cosas increíbles que la autora escribe sobre el papel.
Lejos de ser perfecto, si que me ha parecido algo fresco y original, con una voz creativa muy potente de fondo.
3 estrellas y media.
Lejos de ser perfecto, si que me ha parecido algo fresco y original, con una voz creativa muy potente de fondo.
3 estrellas y media.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews