The Reformatory
by
Tananarive Due
Horror, Thriller, Supernatural
Richard Alex Jenkins
Four stars for what this book represents:
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me lie down in green pastures," and the soul in the profound words of Psalm 23 and throughout this book. Unfortunately, black people did want for a lot as they were constantly oppressed, harassed and mistreated due to the colour of their skin.
We are born this way and live in the same skin for a lifetime, yet judged and discriminated against because of past events out of our control.
This book focuses on that injustice and how black people, especially young boys, were taken from their homes and set to hard labour until being legally released by the age of 21. Some of them made it, others did not.
Tananarive Due writes in a clear and unambiguous style that's accessible and easy to digest and it's easy to see why people enjoy her work so much.
I also enjoyed the book and want to talk about the wonderments, but have reservations and this is how I really feel:
God damn, the use of the 'horror' tag these days gets on my John Wick!
How many people like myself see that tag and tick it off as their next possible read, only to find 'horror' is probably the fourth of fifth most important element of a book?
It's historical fiction first and foremost, classified as "black horror" due to the terror experienced over centuries by black people and subsequent authors. It has a supernatural element to it, and there's a good dose of thriller and mystery too, but I associate horror as dark, sinister and brooding; instead this feels like young-adult fiction for a mainstream audience.
The real problem is how long-winded it is, using three-hundred words when half that amount would suffice, as gossipy and incidental in gathering steam for more piquant parts. For example, Gloria goes in search of a black lawyer to defend her brother, overhearing meandering dialogue with another client that's of no relevance to the story, but as a reader, you're forced into overhearing it as well as it distracts and slows down the pace. The entire book feels like that.
Time was sequestered against my will instead of being put to good use, through many needless and excessive conversations that failed to engage.
Maybe I was looking for heavy horror, splatterpunk and some really graphic content - it has that in parts - so perhaps this is my peculiar aversion to lack of writing grit and being so damned nice!
The book is so decent and predictable all the way through, with few twists or surprises, but more about the injustice experienced by black people over centuries, so pick out something else if you're looking for dark horror. It's too mainstream for that.
I chose to read this book as the winner of our book of the month poll at
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1236936-horror-haven">Horror Haven</a>.
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