After reading the
Fifty
Shades of Grey trilogy, I wanted a standalone read that would be able to
capture my attention and help rid me of the memory of ever reading said
trilogy. Brain bleach, if you will. Upon flipping through my Kindle looking for
a new read, I happened upon
The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan. I had downloaded it months ago with every
intention of reading it, but it didn’t quite happen.
A self-published novel that’s made it to both the
New York Times and
USA Today Bestseller lists,
The Mill River Recluse is highly regarded both via Amazon reviews and word of
mouth. It is a self-published marvel that has sold hundreds of thousands of
copies digitally, without a single hard copy published as of yet. It’s a bit of
an amazing story, and as someone who has an unpublished novel sitting on the
hard drive of my computer, a bit inspirational! But of course, we’re not here
to talk about me (for now), we’re talking about this great book.
The Mill River Recluse
takes place in fictional Mill River,
Vermont, and tells the story of
agoraphobic, reclusive Mary McAllister, a widow who lives atop a large hill in
a marble house built by her late husband. Turned from just a shy girl into a
full-on recluse after being disfigured by her abusive husband, Mary refused to
leave that marble house on the hill. She read and rode her horse, Ebony, to
pass the time, and used her wealth to help the entire town of Mill River,
though they didn’t know it at the time.
An unlikely cast of characters included Father O’Brien, the
town’s priest whose kleptomaniacal tendencies left no spoon in Mill River
safe. He was one of Mary’s only views into the outside world past her window,
and took responsibility for her care for at least 40 years. There is also ‘Crazy
Daisy’, a girl who had an absolutely refreshing view – after being left
somewhat brain damaged from birth, her lackadaisical attitude brought a great
deal of light into an already great story. She spent her time creating ‘magic
potions’, really by just mixing a lot of random things together. There were
others in the town (obviously), including the newest police officer, his
daughter, and a new teacher who held their own storyline along with Leroy,
another police officer with a mean, jealous streak that leads to some of his
own trouble.
From the characters to the writing, I thoroughly enjoyed
reading
The Mill River Recluse. It is
definitely one of those books that you either love or hate – there doesn’t seem
to be a middle ground. One thing I loved, and that was much different than
other novels, is the way it was written. One chapter would begin with a story
about Mary, growing up and giving the reader an idea of how she got the way she
did. The next would was a third-person representation of what was happening
around her. It reminded me a bit of the writing in Chuck Palahniuk’s
Pygmy (and trust me, if you didn’t know
that’s what you were walking into, that book was incredibly confusing). It was
kind of a fun way to read, since you were getting history and back story in
between reading in the present tense.
As of right now, the book is $2.99 in the Kindle store – don’t
try to get a hard copy, though, since they don’t exist (yet). If you’re looking
for a thoroughly enjoyable read that both won’t take long and will leave you
incredibly satisfied at the story’s end, check out
The Mill River Recluse. You will be so glad you did.
