I have a three-year-old and a six-month old, so sleep evades me right now, but if I woke up the following morning with no idea what happen the night before it would freak me out. The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir, translated by Mary Robinette Kowal explores these mystery nights for Iðunn in a way that may keep you up at night.
Iðunn is in yet another doctor’s office. She knows her constant fatigue is a sign that something’s not right, but practitioners dismiss her symptoms and blood tests haven’t revealed any cause. When she talks to friends and family about it, the refrain is the same—have you tried eating better? exercising more? establishing a nighttime routine? She tries to follow their advice, buying everything from vitamins to sleeping pills to a step-counting watch. Nothing helps. Until one night Iðunn falls asleep with the watch on, and wakes up to find she’s walked over 40,000 steps in the night…What is happening when she’s asleep? Why is she waking up with increasingly disturbing injuries? And why won’t anyone believe her?
The Night Guest is a well thought out and plotted novella from a relatively unknown author, Hildur Knútsdóttir, from Iceland. The author crafts an eerie atmosphere with an environment filled with creeping dread and suspense in only a few short pages. The sense of mystery surrounding Iðunn’s nighttime wanderings is palpable; I found myself frantically turning pages in hopes of uncovering what exactly happens at night. Knútsdóttir excels at creative a vivid picture that lingered long after I closed the book, a thrilling and unnerving exprience.
However, it is worth mentioning that some readers out there may find certain aspects of The Night Guest challenging. This includes triggers such as cats being killed. While it didn’t take much away from the book for me personally, I can see those who have emotional attachments to said animals may find parts of this book disturbing and hard to read. The biggest draw back for me, was the use of one-sentence chapters sprinkled throughout the narrative – these made it hard to flow at moments. Lastly, I was reading along hoping for a grand reveal or satisfying conclusion, but felt a bit let down by how things finished up.
Despite these minor drawbacks, The Night Guest delivers a quick yet potent horror read. It’s not just about scares but also delves into themes like gaslighting and societal neglect of women’s health concerns—topics that add layers of complexity to an already compelling story.
The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir offers a quick horror read for the spooky season. Despite my minor issues with the novella, it remains a captivating read filled with suspense, mystery and horror. I was pleasantly surprised by Knútsdóttir’s Tor Nightfire debut and will be along for the ride in future books.
The Night Guest is available at bookstores everywhere. The audiobook, narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal, is available at Libro.fm!
