Sarah Pinborough's The Death House was published by Titan Books in September 2015. (This novel was originally published in February 2015.)
Information about Sarah Pinborough:
Sarah Pinborough is a critically acclaimed horror, thriller and YA author. In the UK she is published by both Gollancz and Jo Fletcher Books at Quercus and by Ace, Penguin and Titan in the US. Her short stories have appeared in several anthologies and she has a horror film Cracked currently in development and another original screenplay under option. She has recently branched out into television writing and has written for New Tricks on the BBC and has an original series in development with World Productions and ITV Global.
Sarah was the 2009 winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best Short Story, and has three times been short-listed for Best Novel. She has also been short-listed for a World Fantasy Award. Her novella, The Language of Dying was short-listed for the Shirley Jackson Award and won the 2010 British Fantasy Award for Best Novella.
Click here to visit the author's official website.
Information about The Death House:
Toby's life was perfectly normal... until it was unravelled by something as simple as a blood test.
Taken from his family, Toby now lives in the Death House: an out-of-time existence far from the modern world, where he, and the others who live there, are studied by Matron and her team of nurses. They're looking for any sign of sickness. Any sign of their wards changing. Any sign that it's time to take them to the sanatorium.
No one returns from the sanatorium.
Living in his memories of the past, Toby spends his days fighting his fear. But then a new arrival in the house shatters the fragile peace, and everything changes.
Because everybody dies. It's how you choose to live that counts.
A REVIEW OF SARAH PINBOROUGH'S THE DEATH HOUSE
Sarah Pinborough's The Death House is a beautifully written novel that can be highly recommended to adults and young adults alike. It's a touching and bittersweet exploration of life, death and love in a remote manor house where teenagers are sent to die.
Before I write more about the contents of this novel, I'll mention that I have high quality standards when it comes to young adult speculative fiction, because I'm personally fed up with mediocre YA novels that depict boring love stories between teenagers and various supernatural creatures (another theme that often annoys me is how young heroes or heroines fight against government or sinister groups that mean harm to the society, because too many authors write about this theme in a mediocre way without any kind of quality and sense of style). Fortunately, this novel was a pleasant surprise for me, because it was something different. It differed greatly from what has become the norm for YA speculative fiction and was of high quality.
Sarah Pinborough seems to be a very talented author, because she's capable of writing different kind of stories and doesn't shy away from difficult material. She has previously written dark and twisted fairy tales for adults, thrillers and horror novels, but now she embraces young adult speculative fiction with open arms and delivers a beautiful and touching love story that may break your heart a little.
Here's information about the story:
- This novel tells of a near-future society in which teenagers under the age of 18 end up in the Death House when their Defective gene becomes active. The Matron and her nurses keep an eye on the teenagers and do blood tests. If the teenagers become ill, they're taken to the sanatorium and they'll never return to the Death House.
- Toby resides in one of the dorms of the Death House with three other boys. Toby and the other teenagers spend their time in the house and are being watched after by the Matron and the nurses. All of them are Defective, because blood tests have shown that their Defective gene has become active. They're all waiting for death.
- When Tom and Clara arrive at the house, Toby's life begins to change. During one of his nightly trips, Toby meets Clara and talks to her. They have an argument, but soon they meet each other again and become friends. Gradually they develop feelings towards each other...
This is the beginning of a beautifully told story that is both touching and bittersweet.
The story is told from Toby's point of view. Sarah Pinborough gives Toby a strong, distinct and realistic voice. He's a teenager who has been sent to the Death House and has had to leave his family behind. He has adapted to living in the house and has acquainted himself with the other boys that share the same room. Just like many other teenagers, Toby thinks about girls, sex and intimacy. He has his own thoughts and dreams that are important and personal to him, but being Defective has made his life different.
The flashbacks of Toby's past add depth to the story. They reveal what has happened to him and how his life has changed. The author writes fluently about Toby's past and his feelings and makes him a three-dimensional and easily likeable protagonist that readers can relate to on many levels.
Clara is the object of Toby's affection and infatuation. Clara is different from Toby, because she has a different kind of a way of looking at life. Clara teaches new things to Toby and makes him realise that there's more to being Defective than waiting for death.
The relationship between Toby and Clara develops at an approriately slow pace, which is nice, because it adds realism to the story. The author lets the relationship develop naturally. She seems to understand it's important not to rush when it comes to relationships. She also pays attention to how easily feelings can develop when you share something with another person.
The manor house that is called the Death House is an out-of-time manor house where the teenagers spend their time. They're being looked after by the nurses and they're also being taught things by the teachers, but they don't live a normal life. The author evokes vivid images of the building and its bleak atmosphere, because she writes about the hallways and rooms in an effective way.
It was interesting to read about the nurses and the teachers that work in the Death House and take care of the children, because they're impassive and don't talk much to the children. They also don't show any kinds of emotions. They only work there and supervise things without getting involved in the children's lives.
Sarah Pinborough writes touchingly about the dreams, fears and hopes of the characters. Although the teenagers are waiting for death, they all have their own dreams and hopes that haven't been fulfilled yet. She also writes about how the teenagers cope with the forthcoming death and how they feel about becoming ill. It was interesting for me to read about how the teenagers reacted when one of their friends became ill and was taken to the sanatorium.
The author writes surprisingly well about religion, because one of the boys prays all the time and even makes a church for all of the children. He uses faith as a way to give hope to himself and also to others. This is something that isn't often handled in YA speculative fiction novels.
One of the main themes about this novel is that you must never give up hope, because no matter how ill you are, there's also hope that a cure may be found. The author demonstrates that you can live your life to the fullest and enjoy the time that's left, because the inevitable will happen one day and then it's too late to do anything.
The Death House is one of the best and most thought-provoking speculative fiction novels published this year. The author handles such delicate and difficult themes as dying and love in an excellent way without resorting to using clichés.
I noticed that there was a perfect balance between humorous, dark and sad elements. The author excelled at combining these elements, because she had sense of style that kept the novel from slipping into a mediocre and unrealistic YA love story.
A lot of questions are left unanswered at the end of this novel, which - in my opinion - is a good thing. I normally expect certain things to be explained to readers in this kind of novels, but in this case it's great that the author doesn't spoil the story by too many revelations (too many explanations and revelations would've ruined the story). I respect the author for not revealing everything and leaving room for imagination, because she gives readers an opportunity to think about the happenings and make their own assumptions about certain things. It's great that she trusts that her readership is capable of reading a story that has to be read and felt personally in order to understand its harrowing beauty and sadness.
This novel is all about the characters and their feelings, and also about what it is like to wait for a certain death. If you enjoy reading novels in which the authors concentrate on the characters and their lives, I can guarantee that you'll love this novel. The author writes so realistically and well about the characters and different happenings that you can't help but be fascinated by them. There's harsh and captivating realism in this novel, because the author uses real emotions and feelings to highlight the happenings and doesn't sugarcoat anything.
The story flows effortlessly from the first page toward the achingly touching and beautifully written ending. It has been written so well that it immediately grabs hold of the reader and doesn't let go (it'll be almost impossible for the reader to put this novel down).
In my opinion, Sarah Pinborough's The Death House is an amazing achievement. It's of the same quality as Katrina Mountfort's Future Perfect, because it's boldly different from other novels and the characters are interesting. I was impressed by the author's way of telling the story and writing about the characters, because she avoided clichés and didn't solve problems too easily.
The Death House reads a bit like a combination of Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go and William Golding's Lord of the Flies. If you've read either or both of these novels, you'll most likely love this novel, because it contains elements that will charm and thrill you.
I have to mention that this Titan Books edition has a beautiful and atmospheric cover image. The image depicts a certain scene from the novel, but I won't reveal what happens in the scene, because I want to avoid writing spoilers.
I haven't read all of Sarah Pinborough's novels yet, but I dare say that The Death House is among her best novels. It's one of the finest YA speculative fiction novels of the year and should not be missed by anobody who enjoys reading well written fiction with difficult themes and realistic characters. No matter what you normally read, you should take a look at The Death House, because it's worth reading. It's a stunningly told love story for adults and young adults.
Highly recommended!