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What Moves the Dead
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March 2023 Group Read #1 - What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
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destiny ♡
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rated it 5 stars
Mar 07, 2023 12:01PM
I didn't mind the pronouns, either. I liked the back story regarding them and thought they were an interesting addition, plus I know people who use pronouns other than he/she/they and they don't get to see that reflected in books very often. ♥
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Finished this last night and I am torn. On the one hand, for my first Kingfisher novel, I really enjoyed it. She created a wonderfully creepy atmosphere, it was an easy read (and a quick read even with me being a notoriously slow reader lol), and a story that was overall well written. On the other hand, after just completing “Fall of the House of Usher” and this being marketed as a retelling of that story, I was a little let down with how it ended. I am glad that I read the Author’s notes at the end though because that gave some clarity as to why she went in the direction she did and I learned things about Poe that I didn’t know before reading this novel.
3.5 out of 5 stars for me and I am glad that I was able to get around to reading this!
Mod
With a "retelling", I never know how it will go for me ahead of time. I really enjoyed a couple of her original novels prior to this one, and I think that helped for myself. Whenever an author takes a new approach to a classic, it's bound to be "hit or miss" for a lot of readers.
just finished and now that I'm done, I realized that the pronouns really weren't that big of a deal. I I tried to show off some of the words I've to my vocabulary thanks to this book by telling my wife I think we should spend a weekend at the tarn once the weather warms up. She responded by looking at me like I had lobsters crawling out of my ears..
Theresa Wants to Read ALL the Books wrote: "Cujo wrote: "*Red Hill Mushrooms,( stupid autocorrect)"hahaha. I believe autocorrect got you again. We can only hope the spinach, tomatoes and feta would improve them."
In deed it did. One of the main reasons I dislike typing anything from my phone. I'm normally a huge fan of fried or stuffed mushrooms., but after reading this I might be turned off them for a few days. However I do plan on trying the ones I described as soon as my chickenism wears off
Kimberly wrote: With a "retelling", I never know how it will go for me ahead of time.Agreed. I think being familiar with the original premise is a disadvantage this this book (and in most other retellings) because you already have a sense of how it'll end and who will die/survive. I was able to enjoy the middle section (45-70% progress) the most because it introduced the most originality, and while I didn't feel surprised at any point in time, I could at least enjoy some suspense during those parts.
Seems like quite a few of us came into this book having read Fall of the House of Usher. Wondering if for those who had not, if you experienced any moments of surprise or an unexpected twist?
Mod
Agreed. I think being familiar with the original premise is a disadvantage this this book (and in most other r..."
Exactly! Normally, the "retellings" that I enjoy the most are ones I had never heard the original of, and go into "blindly". Without any preconceived notions, it's easier to just enjoy the author's style. At least with this one--as you pointed out--the middle section was the "author's own", and it showed.
Pat of Rocks wrote: "Kimberly wrote: With a "retelling", I never know how it will go for me ahead of time.Agreed. I think being familiar with the original premise is a disadvantage this this book (and in most other r..."
That's an interesting thought to me! The original story is my favorite piece of Poe's work and I actually felt like loving the original so much was part of what made this retelling work so well for me (it was one of my favorite reads of 2022).
destiny ♡ wrote: "The original story is my favorite piece of Poe's work and I actually felt like loving the original so much was part of what made this retelling work so well for me (it was one of my favorite reads of 2022)."I'm glad that resonated with you so well with you! I agree she did well with keeping the depressing and ominous mood of the original intact, so I can see why you liked it.
I reckon I might have enjoyed it more if I hadn't read Poe's original, plus a couple other 'inspired by' stories that were really good. I think the bar was set too high for me so this fell woefully short.
My copy arrived last night, and was the only one of the three for this month that didn't arrive damaged *sadface* so I'm starting with this one.Only about 20 pages in, but definitely nails the Gothic vibe.
I'm really enjoying this one so far as I plan to finish it by tonight!
Just got past the pronouns stuff.. like many have stated before me, feels entirely forced and unnecessary. I’m hoping it’s pretty much over for the most part.
I just finished this and absolutely loved it! A perfect 5/5 for me with some crazy scary scenes, awesome characters, and a fitting ending. My goodness, this rocked!My full review below...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
LTJ wrote: "I just finished this and absolutely loved it! A perfect 5/5 for me with some crazy scary scenes, awesome characters, and a fitting ending. My goodness, this rocked!My full review below...
https:..."
wow! That is so cool! I never got to this. I have it on kindle. This month has turned out to be much busier than I planned for. Doing a lot of audiobooks tho! Glad to see your 5 stars. I will likely read this later in the year.
@debbicat: Thanks, my friend! LoL yeah, that happens to me too where it's so many books, such little time! Audiobooks are awesome and thanks for the kind words. I hope when you do get to it, you enjoy it as much as I did :-)
Just finished the book and I was underwhelmed with the first half. Once the action with the fungus actually started, I really got into it.
I’m about 31% through but I’m excited for the spooky things to happen. The unease is building nicely, It’s impressive with how short the book is!
A Story In Punk wrote: "I’m about 31% through but I’m excited for the spooky things to happen. The unease is building nicely, It’s impressive with how short the book is!"Not quite as far but I feel the same way, like dread is building which I appreciate.
I’m 70% in! I’m still reading and waiting for things to start moving!! Those hares and mushrooms though…. They are all high!!!
Marinka wrote: "I’m 70% in! I’m still reading and waiting for things to start moving!! Those hares and mushrooms though…. They are all high!!!"oh no lol..
Calvin wrote: "Just got past the pronouns stuff.. like many have stated before me, feels entirely forced and unnecessary. I’m hoping it’s pretty much over for the most part."The explanations are over, but it comes back a couple times later.
Just remember Va/Van/Vas is a child, and when it comes out of left field the sucker punch will land properly.
Agree it was mostly fluff and unnecessary for my enjoyment of the actual story, but if it made people who don't feel represented happy, I can't really complain. Enjoyed the story regardless.
Sorry for the long quote here but I found this as part of a larger interview with Barnes and Noble (for some reason I can’t get the link to appear here). There is also a bit a little before this that talks about the real life Galacian dialect which she pulled from that has similar pronouns. T. Kingfisher: And ages ago, I had read about a group of people in the Balkans in I believe in Albania is where they mostly live now, where they develop this, what I thought was the most fabulous work around too, women could not inherit property. And that was not a law that they can change. But because they, like many people in many cultures, tended to have fairly high attrition among the young men because of a lot of inter group violence. They were like, Okay, but what if we just make more men, so you could take an oath, and if you were born female, you were now a man, and that was it, you could just swear it out. And for all intents and purposes, you are now male, you can hold property, you can engage in blood feuds, and whatever, it was never treated as a gender identity issue among them, possibly because you know, this practice was largely started centuries ago, and that was not nearly as much thing. It was a logistical one. And so you would have mothers who were widowed and didn’t have any sons and are like, Okay, I can’t have a household. I can’t own property. I have to go live with my in-laws, and that’s going to suck. But I have a daughter. And so there are these reports of mothers begging their daughters to become sons so that they don’t have to go live with their in-laws. And they would be like, yes. Okay, and to honor the oath, and at that point, you’re a dude. That is, you have all the rights and responsibilities, you are not treated any differently. Here’s your sword and have fun. And the thing is, while this is certainly not, Alex’s military is not version of that in Gallatia soldiers amount to a third sex more or less they get they get a second set of primaries as an honorific. But it was the practical workaround of it that I loved the and so it was like, well, we need soldiers, and traditionally only men have become soldiers and we knew that but we’re really running low and somebody just showed up and all the paperwork says their pronouns would be called con, because that’s what soldiers are. So yeah, just give him a rifle and put them on the frontlines, and we’ll worry about it after the war is over. Yeah. And that was how I got there.
Danny wrote: "Sorry for the long quote here but I found this as part of a larger interview with Barnes and Noble (for some reason I can’t get the link to appear here). There is also a bit a little before this th..."Thanks for sharing that interesting background about how Kingfisher developed the history of the protagonist!
Danny wrote: "Sorry for the long quote here but I found this as part of a larger interview with Barnes and Noble (for some reason I can’t get the link to appear here). There is also a bit a little before this th..."This is so fascinating, thank you for sharing!
Adriennelee and Destiny - Absolutely, I thought it was really interesting as well!
Just finished this! I was so, so, so AMAZING! I rated 5 stars and love every single page... I adore Poe, and reading What Moves the Dead made me feel so nostalgic about his work, but still, T. Kingfisher does an excellent job with this retelling of the classic The Fall of the House of Usher.
(view spoiler)
I finished this a couple weeks ago I believe and I can not stop thinking about it. Probably one of my favorites I’ve read this year. It has inspired me to creat a painting based off the rabbits and fungi! Can’t wait to finish this piece.
So cool, hope you enjoy creating your piece! Nothing like being inspired by art!
Mod
I'd love to see that!!!
@Bridgette: I'd love to see it too, please and thank you :-D
Bridgette wrote: "I finished this a couple weeks ago I believe and I can not stop thinking about it. Probably one of my favorites I’ve read this year. It has inspired me to creat a painting based off the rabbits and..."I think we'd all love to see it!
I picked this up today after finishing the other group read, Churn the Soil (It's fantastic, so read it).I realised it's a retelling of Poe's story so now I have to read that again, so have ordered a copy.
Hopefully I can start on Thursday when I'm done with the Poe version.
I just finished it. I haven't read Poe's original story so I can't compare but I liked some of the imagery. I preferred The Twisted Ones if anyone wants to check out more of Kingfisher's work. (view spoiler)
I just read the twisted ones after reading The White People and really enjoyed it. Set in modern times and actually eerie and kind of fun. Good recommendation Chandler
Damn, the month is almost over, and I haven’t read this yet.I’m hoping I can start it later tonight, when I finish my current read.
I really enjoyed this one. It's been a bit since I have read a book by T. Kingfisher and I'd forgotten how much I love her writing. I also love anything with mushrooms, and the cover is just beautiful... I also love The Fall of the House of Usher. I am very familiar with the story but have not read it in a few years, so maybe that is a point in the book's favor since a lot of people seem to have not liked it much. I thought it added some fun elements while paying homage to the original - like a good movie remake. Bridgette, I would also love to see the painting!
Hey everyone!This is a lot of firsts for me! It's my first time participating in the group read and my first time reading T. Kingfisher. I ended up listening to the audiobook version of the story and I have to admit, it took a while for me to actually get into the story. There could have been a lot of factors that could have affected my ability to pay attention but I eventually started to really get into the story. It's been a while since I've read Poe's story but I had some vague recollections while reading this. By the end of it, I really dug it. I really like T's writing style and the imagery of the rabbit dissection really gave me the creeps.
I look forward to reading along with you all again!
This was a very enjoyable read for me! The pacing was great and I have a feeling that it's going to stay on my mind for quite some time. One of my favorite quotes that will also stay with me:
(view spoiler)
Adriennelee wrote: "The scariest scene for me was the bit with the smiling sleepwalker. Something about creepy, unnaturally wide grins just freaks me right out!"You need to watch the horror movie Smile, if you haven’t already. Quite creepy.
I really liked this book. It’s the second by Kingfisher I’ve read; she’s now on my automatically read list.This book reminded me a lot of Leech by Hiron Ennes. I actually thought more about Leech while reading this than The Fall of the House of Usher!! I did like Leech just a bit more, maybe because that story was so unique.
I loved the gothic atmosphere, and the hares were indeed creepy.
The pronouns did not bother me. I did think the va/van was unnecessary.
I was super impressed with how well this tiny book built up the unease and ambiance but I honestly didn’t love the ending But I’m definitely willing to check out more books by T. Kingfisher after this so that’s a plus!
I think this was my first ever spore horror read so that was also really fun c: I loved the descriptions of the hares and learning more about the spore network
Kelly B wrote: "Adriennelee wrote: "The scariest scene for me was the bit with the smiling sleepwalker. Something about creepy, unnaturally wide grins just freaks me right out!"You need to watch the horror movie..."
Thanks Kelly. I did see Smile and was pleasantly surprised since I didn't think the previews were great. Definitely creepy.
This one was a difficult one to review.I spent the time up to the point with the hares constantly thinking 'why is this a retelling'. The original was such a short, sharp read it didn't need to be expanded into this book.
It dipped abit after the hares and then took off into a totally different book, which was great.
I enjoyed it but it would have been better telling it'a own story rather than being an update
i just finished this today. i really liked it. I've never read the poe story, so not sure how it compares. i did struggle with the writing in the beginning, but once i got used to it i flew through the book and enjoyed the story greatly. this was my first book from this author and I'm curious to how her other works are.
I reviewed this one a bit back. I really, really liked it. I previously tried to read the Poe story and couldn't make it through. Kingfisher/Vernon really knows how to make characters though so What Moves the Dead felt like an enjoyable breeze to read through. It helps that I enjoy fungal horror as a trope myself.
