A novel set in the 19th Century combining elements of the gothic and the humorous? Surely that cannot work? But indeed it does.
M.N. Seeley’s A Flicker of Shadows is told by its three main characters. Morton is a bat, and a narcissist one at that. This little dude has ideas above his station and decides he is to inherit an old castle in a dark and remote landscape in Eastern Europe, though he’s more of a squatter really. His new dwelling will make him all powerful, and rightly so, according to him. But, he’s a bat. Although he is able to keep a journal so maybe I’m doing him a disservice?
The goodie is Chief Inspector Armin Murnau. This guy is investigating strange happenings in the local village where an ancient demon may well be responsible for the deaths of livestock, and people! Armin interviews the locals and, although he’s a sceptic at heart, becomes embroiled in the dispute between a wealthy family and a rather strange butcher with a rare and beautiful pig. He too is drawn to the castle where Morton resides, and he can feel the evil at work within its walls. Before too long he is in the middle of possibly-supernatural happenings, and barbaric murders.
These two characters channel their thoughts and feelings through Morton’s journal and Armin’s letters to his sister. And of course their stories eventually intertwine. You get to learn of happenings in the plot from one, then hear the other side of the story, and how each misinterpret exactly what is going on.
Finally we have Onno Brouwer, a patient in a lunatic asylum being interviewed by his doctor. Onno’s story is presented through transcripts of him and the doctor, and the doc’s ‘unconventional’ practices. At first Onno is reluctant to speak of his participation in the story, but very soon everything comes together.
As mentioned previously, there are gothic elements at play, and the darkness and shadows portrayed are insidiously creepy. Just what is going on in that castle? Surely it is no coincidence that Morton is a bat? And although he is very much full of himself, he is a really interesting and funny character, although I’m sure he’d be the last to admit to the funny part.
The interviews with Onno begin as rather infuriating, and the doctor shares my thoughts, but before too long he starts to get his answers. And the ending to this particular portion of the novel was pretty shocking.
This is a longish read, and definitely a slow burn, but is well worth the time. It took me a long time to get through this, not because it was a slog, but because the prose is so delightful and, I don’t know, well thought out (more well thought out than this description, obviously!).
Fans of the gothic will love this, as will the not-so-fans. It is always a tough act to get the horrors and the humours right, but M.N. Seeley has done a sterling job with this one.
Categories: book review
MORGAN K TANNER, Writer of Horror 
Leave a comment