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3.0étoiles sur 5
Beauty Meanders, Juil 18 2004
Tom Piccirilli is no stranger to fans of the indie horror field. I'm so happy to finally see his work released in the mass market format. This is one author who deserves a wider audience. Comparable to Stewart O'Nan, Piccirilli's writing is always beautiful, always lyrical and very deep. Unfortunately, A Choir of Ill Children, the sad and poetic tale of a young tormented soul, just isn't Piccirilli's best effort yet.The story centers around a young man who has had more than his share of troubles in his life. His father killed himself, his mother disappeared and is still missing, and he is still haunted by horrible dreams and some horrible events of his past. His brothers, conjoined triplets, have powerful minds and thoughts. And everyone in the small town of Kingdom Come is hiding something under the surface. There are just too many dark secrets for this little town. As the dark forces try to avenge the past, Thomas has to deal with his own ghosts, the ones inhabiting his mind. The fact that everyone arounds him seems to be on his case doesn't help matters either. The novel is at its best when Piccirilli brings us into Thomas's past or when he describes some of Thomas's dreams. Those scenes just feel surreal and disturbing, leaving the reader to feel completely uneasy. The story meanders without aim for too long. Although you get to know these characters very well, you never actually feel close to any of them. All of this brings us to the heavy finale, where too many things seem to happen all at once. Everything just explodes and, once again, moves aimlessly towards the finish. That said, A Choir of Ill Children's prose is so powerful, so gripping that you forget about its flaws. Piccirilli has a way of reeling you in and making you want to keep on reading. There is a lot of sadness in these words, the pages are drenched in regret. Superstitions abound, and dark gothic magic comes to play a role in the narrative. I admired the book for the quality of its prose and for the way in which Piccirilli weaves his narrative so seamlessly. But I think, in the end, I just wanted more out of these characters.
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