Astoria SP Miskowski Books
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In the aftermath of a shattering tragedy, Ethel Sanders flees her hometown of Skillute in search of a safe place where she can recuperate. She has discarded friends and family in a desperate bid for a new life, yet something is not right in the hideaway she's chosen. Strange images of the past pursue her, even in her dreams. Are they harbingers of the future, reminders of recent events, or her own, personal demons come to stake their final claim?
"Miskowski further enriches the all-too-real horror movie world of Knock, Knock with Astoria, a novella that is part Hitchcock, part David Lynch, and all Miskowski's distinctive, thoughtfully crafted, slow-burn literary terror." —Molly Tanzer, author of A Pretty Mouth
"S.P. Miskowski has been chronicling the mundane horrors of women’s lives – marriage, motherhood, family, and domesticity – through the lens of the supernatural since the publication of her Shirley Jackson Award nominated novel Knock Knock. Continuing with her related Skillute Cycle of novellas, Miskowski is unafraid to plumb the darkest impulses of the female psyche, and her gift for vivid characterization and naturalistic detail suffuses her fiction with a sense of frightening and devastating reality. In Astoria, a white-knuckle terror trip across the landscape of the Pacific Northwest, the darkness closing in on one woman’s desperate bid to escape the monster she birthed and the life she loathes becomes as palpable as the pages we’re turning; we can bolt the door and turn on the light, but in the end, Miskowski warns us, no matter what we do, our demons are coming for us." —Lynda E. Rucker, Black Static columnist and author of The Moon Will Look Strange "Astoria by S.P. Miskowski is a perfect and unique blend of The Omen and Elizabeth Berg’s The Pull of the Moon. Miskowski’s writing is dark, delicious, and wonderfully layered. As always, her effortless elegance shines through the chilling prose, highlighting the ugly feelings that we wish weren’t inside all of us. She manages to turn the reader inside out alongside her characters, revealing that we’re all monsters and merely human at gut level." —Mercedes M. Yardley, author of Beautiful Sorrows
Astoria SP Miskowski Books
Huge fan of Miskowski over here. I am making my way through the Skillute Cycle while I wait for her new book to drop in 2019. Needless to say, I am a fan. I think Miskowski is one of the best horror writers out period. Actually, she could write any genre and would still be my one of my favorites. Her ability to make a story's climate so uneasy and pleasing at the same time is unparalleled in my opinion. This series is about some troubled women who survive in different ways. Trauma, violence, and disturbing relationships clash head-on with love. Astoria tells the story of Ethel, who is trying to change her future by shedding her past. She has a daughter who is likely a sociopath but could also be haunted by Ethel's mother. Ethel is trying to manage a new life after the unbalanced daughter is killed while harassing their neighbor's dog. I say Ethel tries because she can never really escape the past or the dread that comes with it.If you were introduced to Miskowski's work by her novel Knock Knock, as I was, then reading Astoria and the accompanying books seems like common sense and you should continue to read the novellas if you haven't. If you have never read Miskowski but are reading this review thinking it seems right up your alley, it is! I still suggest you read Knock Knock first and if you do I am confident you will make your way to Astoria as I did.
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Astoria SP Miskowski Books Reviews
I'd read a couple of other books by Miss Miskowski (I Wish I Was Like You, Muscadines) which I enjoyed so decided to take a chance on Knock, Knock. Well here I am finished with the 3rd book in the series and I can't wait to start the next!
The worst thing I can say about Astoria, the second novella in S.P. Miskowski's wonderful "Skillute Cycle", is that I wish I could remove those last two letters from the word and call it a novel. Miskowski is one of the best horror authors that I've discovered in recent years, and she is using some interesting techniques to bring us into this frightening world she has created. Beginning in 2011 with Knock Knock (in my opinion, the best horror novel of the year), Miskowski introduced us to Skillute, Washington, and created a fictional town worthy of a space on the twisted atlas of the imagination alongside places like Arkham and Salem's Lot. Rather than go for a sequel, she has chosen to expand on this story with a series of novellas. Last year's Delphine Dodd was shortlisted for a Shirley Jackson award and received well deserved praise and recognition, but I think Astoria is even better.
Astoria primarily deals with Ethel Sanders and her escape from Skillute in the midst of the tragic events of Knock Knock. Ethel begins the story in a fractured state -- her delicate and uneasy family life is destroyed, and she finds herself lost and broken after a tense decade-long domestic stalemate. Herself a child of a broken home with a tragic end, Astoria suggests -- but never tells -- much about cycles of abuse and human weakness. And, while some of Ethel's situation can be excused because of supernatural occurrences, it is interesting and insightful for the reader to view the tragic events around the birth and demise of that evil little turd (sorry) Connie Sara as symbolic of the ways that family tragedies, broken homes, and parental abuse haunt and pursue us in real life.
We do rejoin Ethel's story while she is in flight, running from demons both real and imagined, and Miskowski never pulls the lens far enough out of Ethel's mind to intrude with expository explanations. This is one of the strengths of novellas -- as much as I loved Knock Knock, a wider lens had to be used on that larger story, and I was always very curious about getting deeper into Ethel's mind. I felt like, throughout that novel, we had been kept at a distance, and spending this brief time with her in Astoria really does help to enrich my understanding of her as a person and brings her to life in a very real and most importantly believable way. I particularly enjoyed being in Ethel's mind on her manic car ride during her escape from Skillute -- her frenzied desperation to put distance between herself and her home were perfectly conveyed in these scenes. What Hitchcock managed to convey with Janet Leigh's grim and determined face juxtaposed against the frenetic score on her drive early in Psycho, Miskowski manages to do here in prose.
Another aspect I found fascinating is a re-imagining of the "demon child" trope (most effectively used and often tied to feminist backlash in the late 60's/early 70's by Levin in Rosemary's Baby and Blatty in The Exorcist). With all due respect to both of these classic novels, it is fascinating to experience the psychological and emotional damage tied to either the failure or success of the act of giving birth and how it can impact a woman's sense of self.
Miskowski's prose is sharp and to the point -- she writes more in the Shirley Jackson camp than someone more florid like, say, Stoker. Ethel is a great protagonist of the Jacksonian type for a story of this kind -- because she has recently experienced such an intense amount of trauma and stress, her perceptions are already flawed and her emotional state is fragile enough so that we have a sense of nervousness and psychological unraveling before anything even happens. Given more context for Ethel's behavior and insight into her mind makes her extremely damaged and nearly broken existence even more heartbreaking, and we find ourselves all too easily empathizing with her desire to violently beat a child and pathologically lie about her identity.
Although the reference to Frankenstein and Shelly's misunderstood and ill treated monster is applicable, I found the mention of Jane Eyre to be particularly fascinating. Indeed, it almost seems as if the final third of the novella is setting up a wonderful bit of tension between Ethel and the mysterious owner of the house she is watching, and one could almost imagine Ethel coming down the steps wearing Rebecca's dress at Manderly. Miskowski sets these final scenes with great care and detail, and it is almost disappointing to have the ending come suddenly (and tragically) just when I was getting ready to sink into what felt like the beginnings of a great gothic novel.
Astoria is a great companion piece to a great novel, and another huge victory for Miskowski. A nearly perfect and wickedly fun (if you find the heartbreaking tale of a broken woman's demise and her unsettling descent into insanity to be fun, that is...and I guess I do) read, it is a win on all accounts. There is a lot packed into this slim volume, and there is plenty to delight and disturb as you curl up with it one (hopefully stormy) evening with a glass of wine. With its only flaw being the fact that it leaves greedy readers like myself wanting more, Astoria is highly recommended on all levels, and is the clear forerunner for novella of the year for me. Rating A-
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Astoria is the third book in S.P. Miskowski's Skillute Cycle. A novella that acts as a sequel to her powerful debut novel, Knock Knock. The story focuses on Ethel Sanders and her abrupt departure from Skillute, following the tragic events that took place in Knock Knock. Ethel was my favorite character in Knock Knock, so I particularly enjoyed this exploration of her character, further developing her and giving us a rather revealing look at her thoughts, her emotions, and what makes her tick. Ethel finds, however, that Skillute casts a large shadow, and no matter where she goes, she'll never truly be able to escape.
Ethel leaves Skillute with the hopes of starting over, giving herself a clean slate. She intends on changing every aspect of herself, attempting to completely erase her past in Skillute. This is both exciting and terrifying for her. Her whole life, all she knew was Skillute, and nothing else. Despite her hatred for Skillute, it was familiar to her, and actually acted as a safe haven. She felt the pull of Skillute, it was calling out to her to come back. If she didn't act fast, she would have turned around and drove back.
Ethel though of Long Beach, a place she often went to as a child, and could provide her with the safety she was needing, and, most important, it wasn't Skillute. The ocean tides of Long Beach conjure a lot of memories for Ethel, reminding her of times in Skillute and certain events she experienced during her childhood. When it comes to atmosphere, Miskowski truly shines. Her description of Long Beach creates an atmosphere that comes off, for Ethel, as haunting.
The pearl gray sand and the lilac haze from the sky merged here, throughout the summers of her childhood. A diffuse light had woven the colors of sky and beach. It made her heart ache to remember it. She would have loved to be here in July, with all the kites in the air. She wondered if she would ever see that sight again. As she strolled along the sidewalk in the brisk, cold breeze another memory came to her unbidden.
It's this kind of masterful writing and detailed imagery that whisked me away from my sofa. I was there, with Ethel, at Long Beach, sharing in her memories.
Ethel knew she couldn't stay at Long Beach. She needed to keep going, to escape even further. She decides she is going to completely change her identity, and be the opposite of everything she was while living in Skillute. Identity is an important theme in Astoria. Miskowski often writes of reflections and body doubles. Several times Ethel thought she saw someone who resembled her, and often saw her reflection in mirrors and windows. I feel these scenes serve to emphasize the important role of identity. The entire book is Ethel attempting to completely reshape who she is. She wants to be someone else. She changes her wardrobe, dyes her hair, and even gives herself a different name. All of this is to erase her old self, her old identity.
Ethel decides to look at want ads, and finds something that catches her eye a house sitting job in Astoria. She contacts James Bevin, the owner of the house, and sets up a meeting with him. She gives herself her makeover, and sets off for Astoria. When Ethel arrives in Astoria, things begin to take a turn for the truly strange. Astoria is a sad, haunting, and strange place. The street the house is located on is marked by old Victorian houses and overgrown vegetation and rusting lawn furniture, except for the house she was staying in. Among the historical Victorian houses, it was truly modern. Astoria as whole, though, was odd. Houses stood at odd angles, creating the image of a "play set," a "jumble of buildings arranged in no order, ruled by whimsy." To say anymore about the story would be to spoil it. All I can say is that, in Astoria, reality is truly subjective, and things only get stranger, culminating in Ethel's past finally catching up with her. Ethel's time in Astoria plays out like a David Lynch film. Again, Miskowski shows us why she is the queen of atmosphere.
The mist in the atmosphere shifted and swayed. The damp, the mist, the very air made a sighing sound. As she walked, it rose until she felt it at her back, mocking her. When she reached the wooden arch, she bolted. She didn't stop to glance back and read the sign painted on the arch.
Every aspect of Astoria was almost palpable. I forgot where I was because I was deeply immersed in Miskowki's world. There is still one more book in the Skillute Cycle, but I think it's safe for me to say that Astoria is, without a doubt, my favorite book in the series. Starting with Knock Knock, you can clearly see the progression in Miskowski's writing; you can see that she is honing her craft as a weaver of haunting and poignant tales that will assuredly leave an indelible mark on you. Astoria is Miskowski showing us what she is capable of; why she is a powerhouse of Horror. It's a perfect blend of psychology and horror, both real and supernatural. All those elements come together so smoothly, it's hard to tell if many of things Ethel experiences are real, or something otherworldly. Miskowski knows every nook and cranny of human nature, and is not afraid to explore some of the more darker aspects of our nature; aspects we must acknowledge.
Huge fan of Miskowski over here. I am making my way through the Skillute Cycle while I wait for her new book to drop in 2019. Needless to say, I am a fan. I think Miskowski is one of the best horror writers out period. Actually, she could write any genre and would still be my one of my favorites. Her ability to make a story's climate so uneasy and pleasing at the same time is unparalleled in my opinion. This series is about some troubled women who survive in different ways. Trauma, violence, and disturbing relationships clash head-on with love. Astoria tells the story of Ethel, who is trying to change her future by shedding her past. She has a daughter who is likely a sociopath but could also be haunted by Ethel's mother. Ethel is trying to manage a new life after the unbalanced daughter is killed while harassing their neighbor's dog. I say Ethel tries because she can never really escape the past or the dread that comes with it.
If you were introduced to Miskowski's work by her novel Knock Knock, as I was, then reading Astoria and the accompanying books seems like common sense and you should continue to read the novellas if you haven't. If you have never read Miskowski but are reading this review thinking it seems right up your alley, it is! I still suggest you read Knock Knock first and if you do I am confident you will make your way to Astoria as I did.
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