The End of the Sentence

This is a very smart novella by Kat Howard and Maria Dahvana Headley. It weaves several stories and folktales together to make a truly unique story. It is the kind of book always makes me wish the authors provided footnotes, a list of sources, or even a reading list. I know that I am missing many of the allusions, but I saw clear references to the Irish god Lugh, Irish and Welsh Samhain practices, the Irish folk creature Pooka, and Norse and Germanic mythology. My research also shows that Scottish Gretna Green marriages of the 18th century and myths of the Native American Kalapuya tribe are also very important to Headley and Howard's creation of the story.

The protagonist, Malcolm Mayes, is running away from his previous life. He takes the bus from the South to the Pacific Northwest, where he has used his meager savings to buy a house by paying off its back taxes. When he opens the door to his house, the floor is littered with letters from a nearby prison, all addressed to the previous occupant, who has died. As he's exploring the house, he hears the mail flap. When he investigates, he finds a letter from the same prisoner, addressed to him at this new address. The prisoner, Dusha Chuchonnyhoof, tells Malcolm that "You're my own, as has been everyone who has lived in my house." Chuchonnyhoof informs him that he is soon ending his 117-year sentence and will be returning home. He tells Malcolm that he must help prepare the way. However, living in Dusha's house is not all bad--food appears in the refrigerator, warm baths are prepared by unseen hands, dirty clothes disappear and clean ones appear in their place. Who haunts the house? Dusha? Previous occupants? or is the house itself alive?

Most of this novella follows Malcolm's investigation into such questions and others that directly concern the letter writer: Was Dusha Chuchonnyhoof real? If so, is he really still alive? What crime did he commit? Is his still in prison? Was he in prison before? Each answer leads to more questions. Dusha's letters appear like breadcrumbs leading Malcolm deeper and deeper into a world of angry spirits and vengeful deeds.

This novella is a fun and compelling read. It has good tension and the solution to the mystery is not obvious. I recommend it.