Fascinating story with a wonderful ending. Those last few paragraphs are the finest of the whole book, I think. The whole thing's just so weird and sad and strange... I had a vague idea of the plot before I started, and was prepared to feel pity for the parents and none for the girls, but it all got muddled around. To be honest, I kind of ended up feeling that this fictional family has earned their Darwin Awards, which is unkind, but really: think of the gene pool. It's probably better there's going to be no further Lisbon generations...

Mostly, to me, this beautifully written story feels like the genesis of a haunted house narrative. Characters who I felt most sorry for? The young couple, nameless, barely on page, who bought the Lisbon house after all those deaths. Don't tell me they weren't sorry, down the track, that they bought at rock bottom price a home that was cheapened by history. They should have known that never ends well.

If there's one flaw that I think this story has it's that, in place, it wavers in focus. There's a couple of places where the author goes on for pages and pages about minor or supporting characters. Honestly, it didn't seem like it was Lux who was in love with Trip Fontaine - it seemed like it was the narrator who was obsessed with him instead. I was not interested in the slightest. The Lisbon family was fascinating. Everyone else was not.