The Exorcism of Sara May by Joe Hart

Ugh. I almost don't want to review this book because the cover image is so creepy. Christian me is clutching my holy pearls at the obviously satanic image on my blog and wondering if it will somehow infiltrate my life through my Chromebook.

But I already read the book so I guess any potential damage has been done. But STILL. Her eyes...blech!

I decided to give this one a go, despite the obvious danger to my soul, because I had read (and liked) another Hart novella, "And the Sea Called her Name."

Much like the last book, Hart creates a creepy setting, but this time it's in the 1930's in Rath, Minnesota. We've got a small dusty town, where all the kids attend school in a single schoolhouse, and farming is the livelihood of many. We hear the story as a retelling from a man who was in love with Sara May, seventy years ago. As a teen boy, Lane's simplest pleasure was getting a Coke at the local store. Things started to get more exciting for him when the father of his crush hired him and a friend to clear some land for planting. But Lane's life was complicated by sinister events that, at first, he wondered if he was just imagining. But when people around him also started experiencing strange things, it was only a matter of time before Lane found himself participating in an exorcism.

What I like about this book is the mood Hart is able to create, and so quickly. I can richly imagine the setting, and there is an undertone to his writing that is just a little bit unsettling. Because this book is so short, the events that occur aren't too spread apart and it packs enough excitement and suspense to keep me reading, and wanting more.

And I'm confident my soul stayed intact after it all was over. Pretty sure at least...

And the Sea Called Her Name by Joe Hart

This is a great novella from Joe Hart about two people who start starry eyed, like any other couple, but slowly grow apart. Set on the blustery Maine coast, Hart describes Jason and Delphi in a quaint home on the seashore, with the cold, dark ocean just beyond their doorstep. We see events through Jason's eyes. A reluctant fisherman following in the steps of his father, Jason wants nothing more than to provide for his wife, Delphi, and build a family. But as Delphi becomes despondent and her behavior stranger and more unexplainable, Jason is hard pressed for any answer that makes sense.

After reading it, I thought, "Okaaaay?" As the ending was a bit fantastic for my taste. But then I read a blurb at the end that Hart wrote about what inspired the story. And that made me appreciate it a lot more. And my heart actually ached a little bit more, not just for Jason and Delphi, but for anyone who has experienced similar devastation, or alienation from a loved one, or complete loss. The symbolism Hart uses to show Jason and Delphi's unraveling is so out there, it shows the extreme ruin people go through emotionally.

So I guess I missed the point until Hart told me what it was. But a little reminder every now and then to look deeper than the surface is ok. And what better place to delve into the depths than the cold, black, sea.