Synopsis
For childhood friends Gabe, Xavier, Tavo, Paul, and Bimbo, death has always been close. Hurricanes. Car accidents. Gang violence. Suicide. Estamos rodeados de fantasmas was Gabe’s grandmother’s refrain. We are surrounded by ghosts. But this time is different. Bimbo’s mom has been shot dead. We’re gonna kill the guys who killed her Bimbo swears. And they all agree.
Feral with grief, Bimbo has become unrecognizable, taking no prisoners in his search for names. Soon, they learn Maria was gunned down by guys working for the drug kingpin of Puerto Rico. No one has ever gone up against him and survived. As the boys strategize, a storm gathers far from the coast. Hurricanes are known to carry evil spirits in their currents and bring them ashore, spirits which impose their own order.
Blurring the boundaries between myth, mysticism, and the grim realities of our world, House of Bone and Rain is a harrowing coming of age story; a doomed tale of devotion, the afterlife of violence, and what rolls in on the tide.
Review
The biggest thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!
Riddled with painstakingly elegant prose, Gabino Iglesias’s House of Bone and Rain feels like a revenge tale crafted with raw brutality and unyielding violence yet carries the haunting undertone of a ghost story. Life for Gabe, Xaiver, Tavo, Paul, and Bimbo in Puerto Rico has been no walk in the park. Suffering and pain seem to be part of their DNA, but following the murder of Bimbo’s mother, a vow of revenge is taken by the five friends. Written with the force of a category five hurricane, Iglesias crafts an unforgettably jarring tale of devout devotion of the darkest variety.
House of Bone and Rain is a markedly impressive novel for many reasons, chiefly due to its ability to juggle so many ideas with ease and the strong sense of style it showcases oh-so subtly. The very first pages impart a deeply arresting sense of devastating beauty from Iglesias that imparts an ominous, brooding tone not unlike the churning force of a tropical storm upgrading to hurricane status. Not only is Iglesias’s style equally captivating and dangerous, but the sense of place within House of Bone and Rain facilitates how this explosive story is told. Puerto Rico is undoubtedly a character here, one that is deeply wounded by the wrath of Hurricane Maria. And what a wrath she has. The juxtaposition of beauty and violence, elegance and destruction are executed so expertly that it’s hard to find words to sufficiently impart their power.
Beyond these factors of environment, the character dynamics and relationships read like a mature, darker version of Stephen King’s Loser’s Club from It. Told from various perspectives, this group of friends is a deeply bonded group of individuals who are willing to sacrifice themselves for others, a brotherhood. Gabe, Xavier, Tavo, Paul, and Bimbo are clearly presented as realistic men with unique internal struggles and flaws. Writing like this provides a layer of authenticity in their journey to exact revenge on Bimbo’s mother’s killer. And let me just say, this revenge business is a messy one. It’s the type of work that unearths the harsh truths of each man as we see especially through Gabe’s perspective. He experiences a plethora of emotions, realizations, and confrontations as he navigates this bloody, violent warpath in the name of justice. The result is a feeling of being haunted, each man coming to terms with the reality set before them.
“Todas las historias son historias de fantasmas. All stories are ghost stories.”
And here is where Iglesias really lets his sense of terror shine. The unending levels of anger and hurt experienced by this group of men prove to be a strong motivator for their exaction of repeated violence. Multiple scenes left me visibly wincing and tense as the road to justice is paved with pain. To add to this intensity, the implication of unknown supernatural evils delivered by Hurricane Maria ratchet the stakes of survival to one hundred. This unique blend of hard-to-describe atmospheric horror and sheer, graphic injury forms a boldly horrific narrative that will leave your nerves fried and your mind haunted.
“All stories are ghost stories, and some stories turn us into ghosts.”
With so much accomplished within a succinct novel, Gabino Iglesias’s House of Bone and Rain is an undeniable champion of the horror genre. It is a book that exists on a strong pedestal of place and character but thrives through its unyielding journey into bloody, raging revenge. Expertly juggling the supernatural, intense suspense, and unthinkable violence, House of Bone and Rain will leave you in a perfectly uncomfortable state.
House of Bone and Rain by Gabino Iglesias releases on August 6th from Mulholland Books.
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