The Homecoming
by Zoë Apostolides
The protagonist of Zoë Apostolides’s debut novel, The Homecoming, is Ellen, a young ghostwriter sent from London to a remote village in Northumberland to interview Catherine Carey, the elderly owner of the dilapidated Elver House. Although Ellen was raised in the Cumbrian countryside, even that doesn’t prepare her for the wild setting of this stately home—named after the young eels that populate the local river. She arrives at the ruinous house on a dark night and is shocked to find no one at home. However, Miss Carey appears the following morning, and over the next week or so, Ellen attempts—though not without difficulty—to extract memories of Catherine’s upbringing, her father’s tragic death, and a lifetime spent in the dark shadow of the house, which is haunted by its own past and that of its inhabitants.
Zoë Apostolides’s debut is a highly atmospheric tale steeped in Gothic and horror tropes. There are clear echoes of the “haunted house” genre in the suspenseful descriptions of Miss Carey’s mansion and the elderly woman’s tales of the spirits that roam its rooms. The sense of an “outsider” among villagers who know more than they let on evokes strong folk horror vibes. I particularly liked the image of the “elvers”—the eels whose eerie presence brings a sense of dread, while also serving as a metaphor for the voyages of life. Apostolides brings a contemporary feel to a well-established genre by skilfully combining these elements with a portrayal of the predicaments faced by a young woman in today’s world. Miss Carey never married, and this seems to mirror Ellen’s own situation as a woman reluctant to conform to society’s expectations of settling down and having children. The first-person narration alternates with second-person passages addressed to Ellen’s best friend, who, she feels, has drifted away after marriage and motherhood.
There is much to enjoy in this reimagining of the Gothic haunted house genre. However, one key point affected my overall enjoyment of the novel. The central plot premise hinges on a twist à la M. Night Shyamalan, which I saw coming from the early chapters. Now, I don’t purport to be any more perspicacious than the next reader, which leads me to believe that Apostolides intended for us to be one step ahead of the protagonist. If that’s the case, though, I think it may be a misjudgement, as it dulls the element of surprise that might otherwise have had a greater impact—at least in my view.
That said, this is
still a debut I would recommend, especially for its atmosphere and for its poignant and insightful
character descriptions.
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