"A Guest in the House" by Emily Carroll
Review by Kim Cluthe, Senior Library Assistant, Central Library
“A Guest in the House” is a chilling, horror graphic novel from Emily Carroll, Canadian writer and illustrator. This is their first long form graphic novel after becoming popular for their webcomics and short stories.
The story centers on Abby, a young woman who has just gotten married to an older man with a daughter. Abby notices some inconsistencies around what happened to her husband’s first wife, Sheila, and she is suspicious about why there are no mementos of hers anywhere to be seen. She becomes enthralled in the mystery of what happened to Sheila and haunted by a presence in the house.
I was astonished by the art in this graphic novel. In Abby’s day-to-day life the art is detailed but drawn in a more mundane greyscale with her inner thoughts written, filling the space between the pictures. However, in the surreal fantasy dream sequence the art is electrifying and full of vivid colours. I especially loved how further into the book the day-to-day and the fantasy art styles start to merge in interesting ways. The art elevated the story for me much higher than the words could on their own.
The story itself is sinister and perfectly paced to devour in one sitting. The writing is very atmospheric and not dialogue heavy which allowed me to really soak in the excellent visuals. One thing that might not be a favourite for all readers is that Carroll left elements of the story, most notably the ending, ambiguous. It left my mind churning with possibilities and rereading passages to decide what I think happened. I prefer to have a clear ending with the stories I read but this book just begs to be discussed with others and the ambiguity lends itself well to this.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys gothic horror and thrillers. If you want more like this, check out Carroll’s collection of short horror tales “Through the Woods” or “Graveneye” by Sloane Leong and Anna Bowles.