変な家

竜頭蛇尾

変な家 are 竜頭蛇尾 like two pieces that fit together, like a match made in heaven. The first 70% or so are terrific, that's 竜頭. The ending of the book is, in my opinion, 蛇尾 or くそ.

Let me explain. The first 70% are fascinating, we're getting introduced to a handful of characters. They're not really fleshed out but good enough to create a picture in our head so that we can fill out the blanks ourselves. Most of the time they're having a dialogue and we also see, with added pictures in the book, the exact thing they're talking about. it creates mystery, dread, tension, and the interest to read more and more. If this part had been the whole book, with a nice ending, I would have gladly recommended the book to anyone.

Unfortunately, the book takes the wrong exit and turns into a strange, exaggerated and confusing slog, that's blatantly trying to be witful but shamefully fails in that attempt.

I can't recommend the book because of the last 30% alone, but the first 70% still saves the book to 3 stars.