
Roos Beckman has had a spirit companion since childhood. Ruth has meant she was never alone, not even in her darkest moments and with Roos mother there are many dark moments. Roos Mother forces her to perform as a medium in back room séances, and in 1950’s Netherlands there are plenty of clients. Ruth is the spirit of a centuries old body in the bog that latched on to Roos keeping her company as her mother uses her to scam the neighbours. When the wealthy Agnes Knoop attends one of the séances trying to speak to her husband, Roos and Ruth finally find a way out of their current life because Agnes understands them better than anyone, she has her own spirit companion. Agnes invites them to live in the crumbling manor estate she inherited from her husband. The attraction between Roos and Agnes is electric and suddenly Roos has the beginnings of a life she’s only dreamed of when someone is found dead on the estate.
Told in narrative chapters and session transcripts from Roo’s court ordered therapy sessions with psychologist Dr Montague, assigned to determine if Roo’s is mentally fit to stand trial or has created some elaborate fantasy to protect her from the real world, the true unfold over the course of the novel. I love a gothic horror and ghost story so right away I was already happy. The setting in 50’s post World War 2 Netherlands was wonderful, a country full of people grieving, intent on healing and Roos mother there turning her daughter’s gift to her advantage to turn a quick buck. This novel was beautifully grotesque in its imagery particularly in the vivid descriptions of Ruth it really added to atmosphere of the novel and the mounting tension. I Loved the is she or isn’t she ambiguity surrounding Roos mental health and diagnosis that exists throughout the whole book it really helps to heighten the tension and to give you an insight into Roos herself who has her own doubts about what she is or isn’t experiencing. The blossoming romance between Agnes and Roos is sweet and delicate but still has plenty of passion, and Roo’s naivety is both a help and a hindrance. The characters are fully fleshed out and nuanced with a beautiful emotional complexity.
The story is unsettling and immersive is sucks you in and doesn’t let go, its tender and beautiful but also fun and disturbing about love and love and the darkness each of us holds within us.