Brother by Ania Ahlborn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“Rebel raised an eyebrow in approval. “Good idea,” he said. “A party ain’t a party without a splash of red.“
Brother is my first Ania Ahlborn book. I cannot tell you how much it pleases me to have a new horror writer to obsess over! This book, set in the heart of Appalachia, is deeply disturbing. If you aren’t disturbed in some way by this, I’m not sure we can be friends…for real. One of the most disturbing aspects of this book is, it’s so realistic. At least the writing makes it seem so realistic. Why couldn’t this happen? It could totally happen. It is horrible and dreadful but it could happen. Nothing is scarier than mankind and their capacity to harm one another. At least not to me.
This book follows the Morrow Family, but in particular Michael Morrow, the 2nd son and the one who doesn’t seem to belong. Michael was adopted into this family but he has been well conditioned in their ways; bringing to mind the whole nature versus nurture argument. The skill of Ahlborn’s writing was on full display in the intricacies of the familial relationships. The relationship between Michael and his sister, Misty, was heartbreaking and that between Michael and his brother, Reb, the most disturbing and dysfunctional of all. I loved to watch the evolution of the relationships and the way Michael’s outlook begins to change when he befriends someone from outside the home. Even after this happens though, loyalty to the family remains one of the most important themes in his world.
“His conscience wouldn’t let him abandon them. His mind wouldn’t ever let him disconnect.“
I really became attached to Michael as a character. As morally grey as he was he seemed like the one shining light in this gloomy, hostile world. I wanted him to be free, to escape from the clutches of his grim reality. I wanted to help him. It’s weird to me how a character, by no means a perfect person, can become so loved, instilling such heavy feelings of empathy in a reader. This to me is a sign of exceptional character writing. I definitely plan to read more of Ahlborn’s books. If you have read any of her books, let me know in the comments what your favorite(s) are because I definitely want to put them on by tbr!
Also, just a side note, loved the references to The Shining in this one! I always love to see King references in other fiction – it makes my heart happy!