Deliciously weird ... No straightforward crime-and-coming-of-age story. The novel bristles with dark magic ... The novel has its own peculiar fever-dream logic, especially in the last third, where things get really weird and murky. Plot threads are left frayed and dangling, many mysteries are never resolved, and there are no real answers, which may drive readers craving a more traditional narrative nuts ... The resulting weirdness does the opposite of weighing down the novel — it elevates it to something that is equal parts gruesome and gorgeous and otherworldly. Smothermoss is a compulsive journey.
Resembles a Southern gothic fairy tale, with elements—like the invisible rope attached to Sheila’s neck—that require a certain suspension of disbelief, and the setting of the 1980s South, a challenging place to find one’s voice. Ultimately, the story carries you away, with brief chapters, crisp scenes and high stakes. Each scene builds in tension and a sense of wonder, surprising you with the direction these sisters’ future may take.
Potent if murky ... Some readers will be left scratching their heads, but Alering pulls off an evocative portrait of the creepy rural setting. It’s a passable Appalachian gothic.
A dense, atmospheric novel whose setting operates as fully as any of its characters, Alering’s debut is one part fairy tale, one part thriller, and one part ethnography of an area that endures in our mythopoetic memories even as it vanishes from the face of the land. A compelling debut that glimmers with the lights of the forest as it unwinds its tale.
