A House at the Bottom of a Lake

July 1, 2020

In a stand-alone novella previously issued by a small press, Bird Box phenom Malerman envisions a first date by a shimmering lake, with 17-year-olds Jim and Amelia captivated by a house they spot at the lake's bottom. What's more unsettling, a voice from within the house is beckoning them to come home. Gurgle.

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September 28, 2020
Bird Box author Malerman leaves readers with more questions than answers with this eerie, atmospheric horror novel. Teenagers James and Amelia spend their first date getting acquainted while winding their way through two idyllic lakes in a canoe. They discover a secret passage through a rocky tunnel to an uncharted third lake that seems to be untouched by humanity—save for the fully intact house they spot at the bottom of its depths. Intrigued, they make plans to return with scuba gear to explore. Diving deep into the building’s depths, James and Amelia learn more about both the house and themselves while embarking on a whirlwind romance. Malerman masterfully builds tension, balancing the exuberance of first love with the foreboding mystery of the house. The uncanny elements and strange, evocative setting will keep readers flipping pages, but the atmosphere never gives way to more visceral scares and the underwhelming resolution leaves the mystery dangling. Readers shouldn’t expect any concrete thrills, but fans of Malerman’s precise prose will be pleased to explore this new and unsettling world.

October 1, 2020
In the throes of first love, two teens have their romance tested after discovering a mysterious house in an abandoned lake. James and Amelia, both 17, are good kids. After becoming instantly attracted to each other in his father's hardware store, they go on a canoe outing on a lake where James' uncle has a place. With kids shrieking in speedboats, James decides to paddle to a second, quieter lake--and then, on a whim, through a graffitied tunnel to a smaller third lake he never knew existed. The water is murky, smells funny, and "felt inhabited." But after getting over the shock of discovering a house below the surface, the adventuresome couple works up the courage to dive down and explore it--first without breathing equipment and then, when they return, with diving gear. Though dresses float through space as if self-animated and there's an indoor pool "with water all its own," there's nothing superscary about the house. But after the couple gets physically intimate in the pool and hears footsteps from the second floor, their lives are forever changed. Originally published in the U.K. in 2016, this short novel was Malerman's first following Bird Box (2014), which was adapted by Netflix in 2018. A spare, unrushed effort, the book has a tingly appeal. But while it succeeds as an endearing study of young love and a dark exploration of the fear of sex, the house never lives up to its promise as a scare vehicle. Malerman, usually a big risk taker, plays things too close to the vest. An enjoyably tenderhearted novel but one that fails to make the most of its spooky premise.

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Starred review from November 1, 2020
Horror master Malerman (Malorie, 2020) scales back both page count and chills in this enchanting, dark fantasy. Amelia and James, 17, are on their very first date, a canoe trip to a hidden lake. But while taking in its beauty, they notice a graffiti-covered tunnel, force their canoe through its tight squeeze and up onto another hidden, although much less aesthetically appealing, lake. While less beautiful, this lake holds a secret: an entire house, submerged just under its surface. The teens spend their summer making the trek over and over, diving to explore every inch of this creepy structure and each other. Written with a third-person omniscient narration that mimics classic fairy tales, this is a thought-provoking, fast-paced novella that readers can dive into and fully inhabit for a few hours. The love story itself is believable and sweet, while the addition of the sunken house, the exhilaration of discovery, the young couple's obsessive curiosity and deep anxiety, and some very real dangers add depth to the story, one that mirrors the complexity of love itself. Suggest to fans of the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire, The Ocean at the End of the Lane (2013) by Neil Gaiman, or The Merry Spinster (2018) by Daniel M. Lavery (Mallory Ortberg).

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