The Upstairs Room

This is not your average ghost story. In fact, its not much of a ghost story at all. It is more a fascinating character study into the lives of people put under immense stress by outside sinister forces. I enjoyed it for the most part, but felt let down by the ending.

Moving house must be one of the most upsetting and unsettling experiences we have to go through at least once in our lives. Sometimes, it may be almost unbearable. Five years ago, my beloved grandma passed away and I moved in her house. It was always meant for me and I remember how she used to beam with ride that her granddaughter would fill the rooms she would leave behind. And yet, when I began to create my own space, I felt so guilty. I felt as if I had no right to alter her house and throw away her furniture. I started seeing weird, frightening dreams that continued for months. And then, I settled in and now I feel her comforting presence and my house became a cocoon that will always protect me. But how much worse can it be when your new house belonged to a complete stranger? Someone who abandoned it under mysterious circumstances?

Eleanor, Richard and their two daughters move to a Victorian four-bedroom house and the problems start almost immediately. The source of the trouble seems to be in an upstairs room whose walls are covered with the word ‘'Emily'' written in childish letters. When Eleanor sees her eldest daughter changing into a wildling, she begins a fight with the house and the winner isn't guaranteed.

The story is not original, and yet it is innovative in the sense that it focuses on the characters, the way the house influences them, changing their lives. The steps, the sounds, the things that seem to be moving without any logical explanation provide the background in front of which we see Eleanor's family turning upside down. This is where certain problems of the novel start, in my opinion.

It is fortunate that Eleanor is such a complex, well-written and realistic character. The agony of the mother, the doubts and the persistence to fight through this horrible experience are depicted perfectly, flawlessly. This makes Richard and Zoe's characters appear even worse than they are. Richard is one of the most irritating, frustrating characters I've recently come across. I couldn't fathom why Eleanor chose him as her husband and I cannot understand why she put up with him and his absolute lack of understanding. I mean, if I were a ghost, I would attack him on the spot as a service to mankind. Zoe, on the other hand, is completely indifferent. Like one of those acquaintances you forget they exist until you meet them again. She has the personality of a doormat, tries to convince herself that she's an artist, but all she thinks about is how to fall in bed. Artistically, mind you...

Therefore, the writing confused me greatly. When the books was a mystery, the writing was top-notch, impeccable. The feeling of dread, the foreboding descriptions were some of the best I've ever read. But it went downhill, after the first 150 pages and rarely picked up again. In my opinion, it would be better if we had 15-20% less content. All these details about the main characters weren't really vital to the story, and Richard, Zoe and Eleanor were not the most interesting people in the planet in terms of life choices.

This brings me to my main complaint about the focus of the story. After a point and following many repetitions, the book moved towards a weird combination of a mystery story and a chic-lit novel of the worst kind. Zoe's affair was utterly ridiculous, badly written and added nothing to the plot. There was too much focus on sex and less on Zoe's development as a character. If the way she viewed sex had anything to offer to the book, I am sorry but I didn't notice it. It's a pity, actually. Modern writers create darkly beautiful Gothic stories and then try their best to destroy them by inserting cheap romance plotlines. Who has told hem that a story is incomplete without romance? Because of this, I skipped a few pages here and there, and I was less enthusiastic about reading further.

A story that could have been 4-5 star-worthy became a 2-3 star rating because of juvenile sex angst and chic-lit clichés. If the end hadn't been so satisfying, I would have rated it lower than 3, because nothing angers me more as a reader than wasted opportunities. However, you should definitely read it. The mystery part is extremely good and Kate Murray-Browne is clearly talented both with descriptions and with dialogue. Just be aware that the ghost of chick-lit is lurking. Perhaps it will bother you less...

Many thanks to Picador and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.