The Homecoming by Alan Russell | Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5)

As a note, a review copy of this novel was provided on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way. Thank you!

Despite what my 3.5 rating says, I liked The Homecoming far more than I disliked it. While it had its flaws and a sort of slowness to it in spots, I liked the complexities in it that reflected family life and one massive mystery. Alan Russell crafts both topics into a tale of... well, everything. It can be very thrilling to read.

One of the first thoughts that comes to mind was how... odd (delightfully so) this novel could be in its prime. I expected something a bit different than I got and that's what reading is all about. Surprising yourself. The Homecoming was often this: a surprise. A mystery. A story that unfolds in a gritty and--at times--shocking manner. Russell portrays the roughness of its exterior quite well; making his mark on a reader as they flip the pages. A lot of it's "can't-put-down-ness" (is that even a phrase?) is pulled off well only because of the way Russell pens the story.

It also has this dark tone that leaves questions in the air even as the pages fly by, leaving it in perfect taste for readers to wonder and maybe even hope for a second installment of it.

Because of the best and most frustrating parts of the story is how many questions you still have, even as you develop the answers you needed. There was something deeply fascinating and frustrating about this. If you're a reader who loves novels of madness that get under your skin, The Homecoming has hints of that--it troubled me, in ways, how it made me feel by the end.

I can't decide if that's a good or bad thing.

Overall, it is a deeply conflicting novel that will make readers think and question at all turns. Thrilling and impossible to put down. Alan Russell is anything but predictable and it's oh-so-delicious.