The Mill River Recluse
Jun. 16th, 2025 02:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearThe Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan tells the story of Mary McAllister, who marries a rich husband and moves into a huge house overlooking the town of Mill River in 1940. It charts her early life through to her death in the flashback narrative, and follows various residents of the town in the present-day narrative and how they are affected by her legacy.
There's some tough subject matter here - assault on a teenage girl, domestic abuse, torture of animals, stalking, arson - but the main thrust of the story is about found family, building a community, treating people with respect and how both small and large acts of kindness can transform people's lives.
I liked the representation of various different aspects of mental health and personal struggles across multiple of the characters, all of whom were layered and engaging. There was some good tension and a lot of heartwarming moments, as well as the trauma and the obstacles people faced in their pursuit of happiness.
Heed the content warnings - but otherwise, very much recommended.
There's some tough subject matter here - assault on a teenage girl, domestic abuse, torture of animals, stalking, arson - but the main thrust of the story is about found family, building a community, treating people with respect and how both small and large acts of kindness can transform people's lives.
I liked the representation of various different aspects of mental health and personal struggles across multiple of the characters, all of whom were layered and engaging. There was some good tension and a lot of heartwarming moments, as well as the trauma and the obstacles people faced in their pursuit of happiness.
Heed the content warnings - but otherwise, very much recommended.
