As Fun as Cotton Candy, and Just as Substantial - A Review of The Ghost Network

The Ghost Network by Catie Disabato

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Several years ago, a close friend of mine talked about Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves and how she wanted to read it. Since this friend is one of the people whose taste in books I trust most, I decided that, if she was so enthused by the prospect of reading House of Leaves, it might be a good idea to give it a try as well.

That proved to be a very good decision indeed, as House of Leaves has stuck with me as one of the most terrifying horror stories I’ve ever read. It also reintroduced me to the horror genre (after many years without, having already outgrown the Goosebumps books by the time I was fourteen) by showing me that jump scares might not be my thing, but creeping psychological horror very definitely is. While admittedly Danielewski’s style can take some time to get used to, my previous experience reading the works of Jorge Luis Borges prepared me quite well for reading and appreciating Danielewski’s novel. (I do, however, rather agree with some of Danielewski’s critics, who claim that there are times when his style sometimes feels more like the author patting himself on the back for being so clever, instead of actually improving the narrative.)

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