House of Silence

I used to wonder if Alfie chose me because I was an orphan and on only child. Was that part of the attraction? I came unencumbered, with no family.

We were kindred spirits in a way. Detached, self-centered, yet both obsessed with the past. Our past. The difference was, I had no family and Alfie did. He had a family – a large one – but mostly he behaved as if he didn’t, as if he wanted no part of them, however much they might want a piece of him.

As a lonely child, then a solitary adolescent, I used to fantasize about having a family – a proper family, teeming with rowdy siblings, jolly aunts and uncles and of course doting parents. Alfie had that. But I suspect his fantasy was that they had all died, leaving him in peace as sole owner and occupier of Creake Hall. (From House of Silence)

Linda Gillard, in her novel House of Silence gives the reader a traditional Gothic mystery with a few twists. We have the orphaned Gwen, a costume mistress for movies and Alfie, actor, the son of a massive old house in the country –dismissive of his family much to Gwen’s dismay, because of “how much they expect” of him. Then there is the family – Rae, mother and reclusive author of a popular book series for children based on the adventures of Tom Dickon Harry, the perfect boy and based on Alfie. Rae also has four daughters: Francis and Deborah who do not live at Creake Hall, Vivian – the caretaker of her mother, the Hall, and Hattie, the youngest and most fragile of the daughters.

Finally we have Creake Hall itself, large, old, with extensive gardens. Complete with a lady of the house, Rae, who doesn’t seem like she is quite all there, a handsome, mysterious gardener, hushed silences, broken off conversations, and to top it off, it is Christmas with the requisite mist and snow.

It turns out Alfie only goes home for Christmas and for the first time, he is bringing someone with him – Gwen, happy to be sharing Christmas with in a home and with a family. All this might sound as if it is a formulaic novel but it is much more than just a simple cliche. Gillard is a master at creating a Gothic atmosphere and the mystery surrounding the family’s secret is also well done but she does all this with a wickedly subtle sense of humor. I found Gwen to be a delightful character and I liked Hattie and Alfie as well. And I also understood Rae and what she had been through in her life as the dynamics she grew up with also were the same dynamics in my father’s family. It isn’t a spoiler to say that in Rae’s family, males were prized and females were after thoughts – my grandfather felt the exact same way and even as a little girl of six I could feel it. Luckily for me I had a very strong role model in my mother but Rae was not so lucky.

I found this to be an excellent travel book – fast paced, good storyline, funny in spots – it kept my interest. And it was a great bargain to boot. The bad news is that it is only available as an e-book on Kindle. The good news is that it was only $2.99. I enjoyed it so much that I plan on down-loading Gillard’s other book Emotional Geology.

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