Hi, all:
I keep complaining that although I am a fan of horror books, I don’t read many of them, but I have again managed to fit one onto my reading list. It is in a pretty classic genre, and I enjoyed it… Well, you know what I mean.
Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi. A battle of good and evil fought by children
The Exorcist meets Lord of the Flies, by way of Midnight Mass, in Boys in the Valley, a brilliant coming-of-age tale from award-winning author Philip Fracassi.
“A sublimely chilling story.” —Library Journal, STARRED review
St. Vincent’s Orphanage for Boys.
Turn of the century, in a remote valley in Pennsylvania.
Here, under the watchful eyes of several priests, thirty boys work, learn, and worship. Peter Barlow, orphaned as a child by a gruesome murder, has made a new life here. As he approaches adulthood, he has friends, a future…a family.
Then, late one stormy night, a group of men arrive at their door, one of whom is badly wounded, occult symbols carved into his flesh. His death releases an ancient evil that spreads like sickness, infecting St. Vincent’s and the children within. Soon, boys begin acting differently, forming groups. Taking sides.
Others turn up dead.
Now Peter and those dear to him must choose sides of their own, each of them knowing their lives — and perhaps their eternal souls — are at risk.
About the author:
Philip Fracassi is the author of the story collections Beneath a Pale Sky (named “Best Collection of the Year” by Rue Morgue Magazine and a finalist for the Bram Stoker award) and Behold the Void (named “Best Collection of the Year” by This Is Horror). He is also the author of several novellas, including Sacculina, Shiloh, and Commodore.
His novels include Don’t Let Them Get You Down, A Child Alone with Strangers, Gothic, and Boys in the Valley.
Philip’s books have been translated into multiple languages and his stories have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Best Horror of the Year, Nightmare Magazine, Black Static, Southwest Review, and Interzone.
The New York Times calls his work “terrifically scary.”
You can follow Philip on Facebook, Instagram (pfracassi), and Twitter (@philipfracassi), or at his official website at www.pfracassi.com.
My review:
I thank NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK (Orbit) for providing me with an ARC copy of this novel, which I freely chose to review.
I was not familiar with the work of Philip Fracassi, and judging by other readers’ comments, he is a writer of short stories with a fair bit of following and several awards, although his incursion into writing novels is a bit more recent.
The first sentence in the book’s description compares it to several novels, and the comparison holds, but only to a certain extent (although I am referring specifically to Lord of the Flies and The Exorcist, as I don’t know the other novel well enough to comment). The story does focus, mostly, on a group of young orphaned children (the two oldest ones are 16), living at St Vincent’s, a Catholic Orphanage, supervised by several priests (three), and Mr. Johnson, who is there as a way to avoid serving a prison sentence for his crimes. He is strong as an ox and blindly obeys Father Poole, who is in charge of the Orphanage, and runs it with an iron fist.
When the story began I thought this might go the way of Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys, as there are some scenes of abuse (at the time they might have called it extreme discipline, as it is set at the turn of the century, although I think some of it is extreme even for that era), but then, something extraordinary happens one night, and things change completely overnight. What had been a group of children fairly compliant with their tasks (taking turns working the fields, tending the animals, or cleaning the orphanage), ends up split up into two groups, one that behaves in a way totally uncharacteristic, and the other that tries to hold onto things as they were and don’t quite understand what is happening around them.
The novel does work as a coming-of-age story, particularly that of Peter Barlow, the main character, who narrates part of the story in the first-person, and whom readers get to know quite well. Despite the trauma he suffered as a young child (mentioned in the description and that still has a hold on him as he shows symptoms of what today would be classed as PTSD), he is hard working, a good student, and a boy whom the youngest ones look up to. One of the priests, the youngest and most humane, Father Andrew, is preparing him for the priesthood, although Peter isn’t so sure. Because there is a girl, Grace, who lives on a neighbouring farm, and they have been exchanging correspondence and reading materials for years. Peter’s faith, his loyalty to Father Andrew, his sense of responsibility, and his commitment to keeping the rest of the children safe are put to the test during the novel, and he has to face some tough decisions.
Other themes that run through the story are the nature of families, fatherhood, faith and religion, religious vocation, styles of education, the role of discipline, obedience, free will, what a normal childhood should be like, and the best way to bring up a child, innocence, penance, good and evil…
Readers also get other perspectives of the story, as there are many other characters whose thoughts and experiences we are privy to, although those are narrated in the third person, and they don’t play as important a part in the novel as Peter’s reflections. They help us see other sides of the story and also get information and witness events Peter cannot access. (In most cases, each chapter is told from one person’s point of view, so there is no risk of getting confused.) I particularly liked David, another orphan and the oldest one with Peter, who turns up to be a reluctant hero, and who feels realistic and extremely likeable, with his virtues and plenty of flaws as well. Johnson is also a very interesting and complex character, and one nobody is likely to forget in a hurry.
I will not go into too much detail about the plot, but things get pretty scary, and extreme violence (including to children), murder, and psychological torture are among some of the things that appear on the page. A special warning goes to those who suffer from claustrophobia, as the children are sometimes punished with “the hole”, and that is as bad as it sounds.
The writing is very visual, cinematic even, with short chapters, and the descriptions are mostly of sensations and feelings, rather than lengthy catalogues of objects or materials. Some of the scenes are very memorable, and it is impossible not to imagine how well this book would work as a script, and what a fabulous horror movie it could become, in the right hands (and there is a mention of an adaptation in the author’s note at the end, so that might be already in the works). Some readers complain that, for a period novel, there isn’t much detail about the era and the language is not always accurate. In fact, the children are rarely in contact with anybody from outside (other than accidentally, and, in Peter’s case, through his visits to the neighbouring farm), and they live pretty isolated lives, so the novel feels as if it was taking place in an alternate world, a universe of its own, out of time and out of sync with the rest of the living, rather than one that is heavily influenced by things going on around them. Those who read it expecting the amount of detail of a historical or period novel are likely to be disappointed, but I must admit I got so carried away by the story that I didn’t particularly notice that aspect, and it didn’t bother me at all.
The story flows well, in a reflective and placid mood at first, and then the rhythm increases as events accelerate, and more and more unusual and unexplainable things keep happening, reaching a point where it isn’t possible to play safe anymore.
The ending fits the story, and although I will not share too much about it either, I have said before that I don’t believe a happy ending is best suited to a horror story. It somehow seems to negate all that has gone before and creates a reassuring note that feels alien to the genre, which aims at making readers afraid, anxious, or at least uneasy, but that is my personal point of view only.
I enjoyed the novel (if enjoy is the right word); I grew fond of the characters (some of them at least, not all); and I particularly liked the way the psychology of those characters —even the ones no longer in control of their own minds— is explored. I’d recommend it to people who like horror novels, especially those to do with religion, and who are fond of young protagonists. Anybody with concerns about violence, torture, and abuse, especially when children are the victims, should abstain from reading it, as some of the scenes are very graphic. I look forward to reading more novels by this author, and I will be eagerly awaiting the adaptation of this one to the screen (small or big).
Thanks to NetGalley, to the publisher, and to the author for this novel, thanks to all of you for reading, spreading the word, and, remember to keep smiling. ♥
Just Olga 