The Haunting of Hill House

The Haunting of Hill House was a great book - sometimes it lacked three dimensional characters and a good storyline, but the haunting itself was excellently written. 

Characters:

My favourite character was Dr. Montague. This was purely because he was the only character that I felt a connection with. The only character that I felt partially sorry for; he seemed so sure that the house wasn't haunted, but then - well, it was. He had all of his beliefs challenged and expelled and finally, only after he left did he realise what that house was really capable of. 

Themes:

The gothic. A brilliant theme to perceive horror through. A lens of discomfort and disengagement that only makes it so uncomfortable that we want to read it. This is a funny human thing but works well when it comes to horrific and graphic gothic literature. Some of the quotations are amazing; especially when describing the house. It almost makes you ask the characters: why the hell would you go in there? 

Storyline:

I have to admit, I don't like the typical 'haunted house' storyline, but I enjoyed this because language, form and structure were able to pick it up - rather if it didn't have that; I probably would've had a Gatsby rant about it. 

Verdict:

I give this book 6/9

100% Characters: 

Dr. Montague was relatable, yet unreliable. He was corporate yet emotional and he was scientific yet superstitious. I think he had the best character equilibrium I have seen in the entire book. 

100% Themes: 

A brilliantly written gothic horror modern classic, I believe that this book could be rated just for its use of language around the topic of gothic horror.  

0% Storyline:

I think the storyline needed to be a little more multi-layered than a simple haunted house. I think there could've been more depth to the novel and a better sense of the supernatural (as some of the descriptions were cut short or not focussed enough). 

All in all, I did like this book - but I wouldn't read it again for pleasure. It was mediocre and had a brilliant cast with some well-developed themes, just a let down with the storyline.