I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Unsuitable by Molly Pohlig Published by Henry Holt & Company on April 14 2020
Genres: Adult, Horror
Pages: 288
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Creepy and atmospheric, this claustrophobic look at mental illness was surprisingly chilling.
She had always loved sleeping and couldn’t understand people who didn’t. It was all of the best things about being dead, but without its permanence.
What an unusual story! The Unsuitable is one of those books that blurs the line between mental illness and the supernatural, so the reader is never really sure whether the main character is simply unstable, or if the horrifying event that she’s experiencing is real. I also want to mention up front that this book includes elements of self harm and suicide that may be triggering to some readers, so do proceed with caution if those things bother you.
Iseult Wince is a twenty-eight year old spinster, still living at home with her verbally abusive father. Her mother Beatrice died in childbirth when Iseult was born, when an incompetent midwife yanked her out by her feet, breaking the baby’s collarbone in the process. Iseult has lived her entire life in black garments, as her father insists on mourning his wife, even twenty-eight years later. But Mr. Wince has had enough: he’s eager to marry his daughter off and rid himself of her for good, but who will have her?
Iseult, you see, has a problem. She believes her mother’s ghost is living in the horrible scar on her neck, the scar from her traumatic birth. Beatrice and Iseult have conversations which only Iseult can hear, but often Iseult is so distressed over her mother’s words that she blurts her half of the conversation out loud. This has led to many embarrassing moments for Mr. Wince and the family housekeeper, Mrs. Pennington, and is the main reason why Iseult is still not married. Even worse, Iseult has discovered that she can silence her mother’s overbearing voice by inflicting harm on herself, mostly in the form of jabbing at her scar with pins and scissors.
And now, a potential husband has been found, a man named Jacob with odd, silver skin, who is otherwise a perfect match. This is Iseult’s chance to finally get out from under the oppressing rule of her father, but is that what she really wants? As the arranged wedding draws near, Iseult must come to terms with her one chance at happiness. That is, if Beatrice doesn’t ruin things for her. . .
I absolutely loved the Victorian setting in The Unsuitable, and I thought it was the perfect time period for such an unsettling, creepy story. It turns out that mental illness among Victorian era women wasn’t that uncommon, what with all the pressures and expectations heaped on them. Women didn’t have any rights and had very little choice in anything, including who they would marry, when they would marry, what they could wear, etc. Whether or not Iseult’s mother was actually a ghost or not is never explained, but it made sense that the only bit of control she had over her circumstances was self-harm, as horrible as that seems. And I loved Iseult’s character. She’s been living her entire life with the guilt of having caused her mother’s death, and she truly believes that her mother is still with her. She’s trapped in a house full of secrets and tragedy with no way out, so it’s no wonder she’s mentally unstable.
Molly Pohlig’s writing has an almost poetic quality to it at times, which added to the overall eeriness of the story. Not a lot actually happens in The Unsuitable, but Pohlig’s ability to create tension through all the little, unnerving events added a wonderful feeling of suspense. The slow pace might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I actually loved the author’s careful build-up of odd elements over the course of the story, like watching a train wreck in slow motion.
The real tragedy of Iseult’s life isn’t that she’s seemingly crazy. It’s the fact that everyone in her family is horrible. Mr. Wince is one of the meanest characters I’ve ever run across. He hates his daughter and wants nothing more than to be rid of her, and his verbal abuse was both shocking and terribly sad. He’s made Iseult dress in black her entire life (in mourning for her dead mother), and it’s only when Jacob enters the scene that he finally relaxes this rule. He tells Iseult that he wished she’d been the one to die instead of Beatrice, and he even tells her he’s tried to send her to a convent. And then you have Beatrice, or what Iseult imagines Beatrice to be. The conversations between the two are manic, and Beatrice flip flops between adoration toward Iseult and hatred. She is constantly trying to convince Iseult to make amends with her father, so that the “three” of them can live together, happily ever after. Once Iseult meets Jacob and imagines an actual future for herself, she finally starts to believe that she would be better off without Beatrice. This ongoing war between the two, with the actions of the horrible Mr. Wince thrown into the mix, were some of the most chilling scenes in the book.
The only person who makes Iseult’s life somewhat bearable is the housekeeper, Mrs. Pennington. Mrs. Pennington is used to covering up blood stains (from Iseult’s mad rampages on her body) and you can tell she cares about Iseult. But she’s also caught in the middle between Iseult and her father, which isn’t a good place to be.
Everything in the story leads up to the main event—the wedding—and by that time the tension is nearly unbearable. I don’t usually like ambiguous endings, but this time it worked. Readers who love a creepy, Gothic story and don’t need everything wrapped up neatly at the end will really enjoy this, and I look forward to reading more by this talented author.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
This sounds good but very dark! I feel like you need to be a good head space to enjoy this book.
Maryam recently posted…Book Review: The Quantum Garden by Derek Künsken (The Quantum Evolution #2)
Definitely. It’s very dark and full of triggers!
Fab review. I loved this book, and I think you’re right about it being creepy and Gothic and Pohlig having the ability to create so much tension on the page.
Priscilla Bettis recently posted…Poetic Prose in Horror
I was surprised how suspenseful it ended up being!
I’m not often one for creepy books but for some reason I do love gothic stories. And I love the time period even though it was horrible for women. I think I would love this book!
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Cover Reveal: Fourth a Lie by Pepper Winters
I loved the historical aspect, and even though times were rough for women, it’s sort of fascinating!
I’ve been curious about this one, because GOTHIC 😀 Glad it worked out for you!
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…Book Review: Looking Glass by Christina Henry
It definitely worked better than the last Gothic story I read!
I genuinely don’t know what to make of this book. It’s not what I expected at all, and I think I need to idigest your review a little bit more.
It wasn’t really what I was expecting either, lol! I was thinking it would be a more straight up ghost story:-)
The further I progressed through your review, the more I became intrigued by this book, even though I know I am already hating Mr. Wince with a passion – and with that surname he was already bound to be an unpleasant character to say the least… 😀
Thanks for sharing!!!
maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…THE DOORS OF EDEN, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The author picked the perfect last name for this weird family, lol.
Sounds interesting but I don’t think it is one for me if its kind of a slow burn…lol. Maybe if I find it on overdrive somet ime. 🙂
I think you would find this way too slow:-P
I love that it deals with mental illness and is atmospheric and I kind of love what you said about the ending, Tammy!
Thanks Jenni!
Love the sound of this one. Also the use of “spinster” haha . I’m being ironic, of course. But I’d wajt to read this at some point for the atmosphere.
I know, horrible to think they called women “spinsters,” right?
Wow, this sounds really interesting. Definitely creepy and Gothic but I love all of the other layers it has as well.
It really was layered, and very different from what I was expecting, but in a good way:-)
This was an amazing review! I was thinking this was not my cup of tea, at all, but your review made me change my mind… I don’t know if I would ever read this book, but I am more curious about it than I was before. Maybe I would try it when I am in the right mood for something creepy and Gothic!
Yes, if you are in the right mood, it’s perfect:-)
I do enjoy this sort of story every so often, with the slow build, potential deterioration of characters and ambiguity of causes. I’m curious to read this one. Thanks for the great review!
It would actually make a really good movie, I can’t believe I didn’t mention that in my review.
I think I would Like this very much. Thanks for the great review.
Lynn 😀
Thanks Lynn, I think you’d like this too.
I’ve been on the fence about reading this one, but it sounds like something I’d probably like.
It’s very slow, but also very creepy. More of a mental illness vibe than supernatural, though.
Oooooh, I have to say your review on this has me interested. One of my favorite things in stories is when you never really know if something supernatural is happening or if there’s some logical explanation. I might have to add this one to my list. Thanks, Tammy!